FILE PHOTO 2APR98 - Actor Walter Matthau, who rose to stardom playing loutish sports writer Oscar Madison in "The Odd Couple," has died at age 79, television reports said July 1. CNN reported that he died early Saturday near Los Angeles and an NBC television affiliate in Los Angeles said the cause of death was a heart attack. Matthau poses with cement-covered hands during ceremonies honoring Matthau's Broadway and Hollywood career April 2, 1998 at Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

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