Home
Authors
Topics
Professions
Quote Of The Day
Pictures
Authors
Topics
Quote Of The Day
Pictures
Authors:
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Walter Matthau Quotes
American
-
Actor
October 1, 1920 - July 1, 2000
My doctor gave me six months to live, but when I couldn't pay the bill he gave me six months more.
Walter Matthau
Me
Doctor
Medical
Live
Bill
Gave
Months
Six
He
More
Pay
I wanted to be a pharmacist. I liked the way our local pharmacist was always dressed in a nice white coat; he looked very calm, you'd give him money, and he'd give you something that you wanted to buy.
Walter Matthau
You
Money
Calm
Way
Buy
Coat
Dressed
Liked
Local
Looked
Nice
Pharmacist
Always
Give
He
Him
Our
Something
Very
Wanted
White
It's very easy to live here. You're anonymous here. Nobody knows who you are.
Walter Matthau
You
Who
Live
Nobody
Anonymous
Easy
Here
Knows
Very
We're writing a book together. She just finished one. Did you read it? Among the Porcupines?
Walter Matthau
You
Together
Book
Writing
Among
Finished
Did
Just
Read
She
The first girl you go to bed with is always pretty.
Walter Matthau
You
Girl
Go
Always
Bed
First
Pretty
Every actor looks all his life for a part that will combine his talents with his personality... 'The Odd Couple' was mine. That was the plutonium I needed. It all started happening after that.
Walter Matthau
Life
Personality
Will
Looks
Combine
Couple
Happening
Mine
Needed
Odd
Plutonium
Talents
Actor
After
Every
His
Part
Started
Doing a good play on the stage is like eating a good meal at home - assuming your wife is a great cook or that she's hired a great cook.
Walter Matthau
Good
Great
Wife
Home
Assuming
Cook
Eating
Good Meal
Great Cook
Hired
Meal
Stage
Doing
Like
Play
She
Your
Doing a movie is like eating five hundred canapes at a cocktail party - you're never really full. You don't feel as though you've eaten a meal, and yet you can't eat any more.
Walter Matthau
You
Never
Feel
Eating
Cocktail
Eat
Eaten
Five
Hundred
Meal
Party
Any
Doing
Full
Like
More
Movie
Really
Though
I don't know how you can tell a good actor in the movies. I really don't. I think you simply just do the part and hope to God that the director has a good cutter and a good editor, and it'll all get cut and put together so that you look good in it.
Walter Matthau
Hope
Good
God
You
Cut
Director
Editor
Good Actor
Simply
Actor
Get
How
I Think
Just
Know
Look
Movies
Part
Put
Really
Tell
Think
Together
When I was about eighteen, I saw myself as a rather sensitive, delicate, poetic, romantic figure. And then I got into the Civilian Conservation Corps and into the army, and I started smoking and drinking and being tough and getting muscles, and I had a whole different image of myself.
Walter Matthau
Myself
Romantic
Smoking
Army
Civilian
Conservation
Corps
Delicate
Drinking
Eighteen
Figure
Image
Muscles
Poetic
Saw
Sensitive
Tough
About
Being
Different
Getting
Got
Had
Rather
Started
Then
Whole
Of course I gamble, to make the games interesting. But five hundred dollars a game, tops. Or sometimes a thousand. No heart attack bets.
Walter Matthau
Heart
Game
Sometimes
Make
Attack
Bets
Dollars
Five
Gamble
Games
Hundred
Interesting
Thousand
Tops
Course
The only guy that was ever affected by climactic conditions in his acting was Kirk Douglas. He did a superb job in 'Lonely Are the Brave' because we were shooting that picture up at about 12,000 feet, and the rarefied atmosphere sapped him of any energy or strength that he had. That was his best performance.
Walter Matthau
I told Simon, 'I don't want to play Oscar. I want to play Felix because Oscar is too easy. He gets all the laughs. Felix is a hard part; that's the part I want to play.'
Walter Matthau
Hard
Want
He
Easy
Hard Part
Laughs
Oscar
Simon
Because
Gets
Part
Play
Too
I wasn't handsome. I didn't have good clothes. I used to wonder why people would hire me when they could get college graduates and Oxford scholars. Then it became apparent that when I got up on a stage, people actually wanted to look at me.
Walter Matthau
Good
Me
People
Look
Apparent
Became
Clothes
College
Graduates
Handsome
Hire
Oxford
Scholars
Stage
Wonder
Actually
Could
Get
Got
Then
Up
Used
Wanted
Why
Would
Sometimes it takes me six months before I find out what a line means, even if the writing is superficial... To do a play right, really, I'd like to take two years of rehearsal. You study the character by living with him.
Walter Matthau
Me
You
Character
Sometimes
Line
Months
Rehearsal
Six
Study
Superficial
Before
Even
Find
Him
Like
Living
Means
Out
Play
Really
Right
Take
Takes
Two
Writing
Years
Working for the screen is almost like being in the Army: you set your mind to it, and you do it.
Walter Matthau
You
Mind
Your
Army
Screen
Almost
Being
Like
Set
Working
If you're sitting around and doing Chekhov and the cat walks in, you must pay attention to the cat. You cannot continue the dialogue of Chekhov without including the cat. So on live television, we'd automatically go into ad-lib gear.
Walter Matthau
You
Go
Live
Doing
Attention
Automatically
Cat
Chekhov
Continue
Dialogue
Gear
Including
Live Television
Pay Attention
Sitting
Television
Walks
Around
Cannot
Must
Pay
Without
I can relate to anything. I once played Macbeth. I got a lot of laughs, so I quit.
Walter Matthau
Anything
I Can
Quit
Got
Laughs
Macbeth
Played
Relate
I Quit
Lot
Once
People say, 'When are you going to do serious stuff?' I look at them as though they were crazy. My serious stuff is my comedy. That's how I make my points.
Walter Matthau
You
People
Crazy
Look
Comedy
People Say
Points
Serious
Going
How
Make
Say
Stuff
Them
Though
Were
Perfection, to me ,means you spend much too much time trying to be perfect.
Walter Matthau
Me
You
Time
Perfection
Perfect
Spend
Too Much
Too Much Time
Means
Much
Too
Trying
I retired once a couple of times.
Walter Matthau
Once
Times
Retired
Couple
I've made $50 million over the years as a movie star, if you'll pardon the expression, and I've given most of it to the bookies.
Walter Matthau
You
Expression
Most
Made
Million
Movie Star
Pardon
Star
Given
Movie
Over
Years
I still think I'm 28. I'm 73. I think I'm 28, though, except that I won't get into a fight with anybody because I just had a pacemaker put in.
Walter Matthau
Fight
Think
Just
Get
Except
Pacemaker
Anybody
Because
Had
I Think
Put
Still
Though
I lay 11-10 because I know the bookie needs that 5 percent that I give him. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to make a living and go down to Florida with his family.
Walter Matthau
Family
Go
Know
Down
Florida
Lay
Otherwise
Percent
Able
Because
Give
He
Him
His
Living
Make
Needs
I was playing Russell Long, the senator from Louisiana. I had 12 speech teachers watching me. All the other passengers on the airplane were speech teachers, and every time I got it wrong, one of the speech teachers would jump up and correct it.
Walter Matthau
Me
Long
Time
Airplane
Correct
Every Time
Jump
Louisiana
Passengers
Russell
Senator
Speech
Teachers
Watching
Every
Got
Had
Other
Playing
Up
Were
Would
Wrong
Related Authors
Will Rogers
Quotes
Bruce Lee
Quotes
Orson Welles
Quotes
Mr. T
Quotes
John Wayne
Quotes
Clint Eastwood
Quotes
Jack Nicholson
Quotes
James Stewart
Quotes
29Quotes © 2020
About Us
A site designed to inspire you to grow, achieve success, stay well, and live an abundant life.
Authors
Topics
Professions
Nationalities
Quote of the Day
Pictures
Contact Us
