As a leading man, he starred in the best films of his career during the 1960s and 1970s, with his roles declining in quality and quantity as he aged in the 1980s.
The success of these comedies turned Matthau into a leading man with a shaggy dog persona who could squeeze the last bit of humor out of a line of dialogue and mug with the best of them. Matthau had been a recognizable character actor for two decades, often playing heavies, before partnering with Jack Lemmon in The Fortune Cookie (1966) and The Odd Couple (1968) in the mid-1960s.
Walter Matthau was considered a major star in 1980 when he was approached to make Hopscotch, a comic spy adventure tailored to his talents.