“Lonely Are the Brave” (1962) Though Kirk Douglas is the nominal star of this modern Western, Matthau makes a strong impression as the local sheriff.

“Charade” (1963) One of Matthau’s most notable supporting performances features him as an apparent CIA man who’s among those interested in a widow on the run (Audrey Hepburn).

“Fail Safe” (1964) This tremendously tense nuclear-war thriller features Matthau as an adviser to the U.S. president (Henry Fonda).

“The Fortune Cookie” (1966) Matthau leapt into the ranks of Oscar winners – and started a collaboration with Jack Lemmon and director Billy Wilder that would span a couple more films – as a shyster lawyer planning a scam with his TV-cameraman brother-in-law (Lemmon).

“The Odd Couple” (1968) You can’t do a list of Matthau’s best without this iconic Neil Simon comedy about mismatched roommates Felix and Oscar (Jack Lemmon, Matthau).

“Cactus Flower” (1969) Goldie Hawn earned an Academy Award as the much-younger girlfriend of a dentist (Matthau) who uses his nurse (Ingrid Bergman) in a relationship ploy.

“Kotch” (1971) Directed by friend and frequent colleague Jack Lemmon, Matthau plays a senior citizen trying to avoid a nursing-home residency.

“Plaza Suite” (1971) Matthau tackled several more Neil Simon characters by starring in all three stories of this trilogy set in the same room at New York’s Plaza Hotel.

“Charley Varrick” (1973) Director Don Siegel’s twisty-turny bank-heist drama boasts an excellent Matthau in the title role.

“The Taking of Pelham One-Two-Three” (1974) Matthau’s droll wit is ideal for the part of a New York transit cop dealing with hijackers who have captured a subway car and its passengers. This film leads off a night of Matthau features Friday, May 14, on Turner Classic Movies.

“Earthquake” (1974) He goes by an alias in an extended cameo in this disaster classic, but Matthau is unmistakable as a bar patron virtually oblivious to the place crumbling around him.

“The Sunshine Boys” (1975) Matthau and George Burns (the latter winning an Oscar here) are expectedly solid as uncomfortably reunited vaudeville veterans in another Neil Simon tale.

“The Bad News Bears” (1976) Arguably Matthau’s most popular movie for all ages casts him as the unlikely coach of a struggling Little League baseball team.

“Casey’s Shadow” (1978) The horse-racing world supplies the background for this drama of a sketchy trainer (Matthau) who preps a colt for a big competition.

“House Calls” (1978) Matthau and Glenda Jackson are delightful together as a doctor and patient who start a personal relationship. “Hopscotch” (1980) Reunited with the previous film’s Jackson, Matthau has fun in this light espionage tale as a CIA veteran who worries others with his plans for a tell-all memoir.

“First Monday in October” (1981) A properly authoritative Matthau plays a Supreme Court justice who collides with the first female appointee (Jill Clayburgh).

“Grumpy Old Men” (1993) Matthau and Jack Lemmon reunited as neighbors and longtime rivals who are, indeed, grumpy.