Matthew Cowles (September 28, 1944 – May 22, 2014) was an American actor and playwright.

Early life

The son of actor and theatre producer Chandler Cowles, he was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Career

In 1966 Cowles played the title role in

Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as ''The Zoo Story'' (1958), ''The Sandbox (play), The Sandbox'' (1959), ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), ''A Delicat ...

's short-lived adaptation of

James Purdy James Otis Purdy (July 17, 1914 March 13, 2009) was an American novelist, short-story writer, poet, and playwright who, from his debut in 1956, published over a dozen novels, and many collections of poetry, short stories, and plays. His work ha ...

's comic novel ''Malcolm'' on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre. In 1968, he appeared with

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino ( ; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Known for his intense performances on stage and screen, Pacino is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. His career spans more than five decades, duri ...

and

John Cazale John Holland Cazale (; August 12, 1935 – March 13, 1978) was an American actor. He appeared in five films over seven years, each of which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture at their respective awards ceremonies. Cazale starte ...

Israel Horovitz Israel Horovitz (March 31, 1939 – November 9, 2020) was an American playwright, director, actor and co-founder of the Gloucester Stage Company in 1979. He served as artistic director until 2006 and later served on the board, ex officio and ...

's ''

The Indian Wants the Bronx ''The Indian Wants the Bronx'' is a one-act play by Israel Horovitz. Gupta, the Indian of the title, has just arrived in New York City from his native country to visit his son and speaks only a few words of English. While waiting for a bus to T ...

''. In 1983, Cowles joined The Mirror Theater Ltd's Mirror Repertory Company for their first repertory season, performing in ''Paradise Lost'', ''Rain'', ''Inheritors'', and ''The Hasty Heart''. Cowles' first television part was Joe Czernak in the series ''

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

'' in 1969. He was nominated for a

Daytime Emmy The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

as Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

and as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Daytime Drama Series in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, both for his part as Billy Clyde Tuggle in ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...

'', a role that he created and wrote. Cowles' first film was the comedy drama '' Me, Natalie'' (1969) in which he played Harvey Belman.

also made his debut in this film. In 2010, Cowles played a

supporting role A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo a ...

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

's film '' Shutter Island''. Cowles also starred in three short plays for the public radio show and podcast '' Playing on Air''.

Personal life

In 1983, he married actress

Christine Baranski Christine Jane Baranski (born May 2, 1952) is an American actress. She received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Maryann Thorpe in the sitcom ''Cybill'' (1995–1998). Baranski is als ...

with whom he had two daughters, Isabel (born 1984) and

Lily ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...

(born 1987). In a ''New York Times'' profile of his wife, he was described as "the

black sheep In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more comm ...

member of a family with ties to Cowles publishing and Drexel banking". He was an enthusiastic motorcycle rider.'2004 Speaker Biographies'. ''Samuel Dorsky Symposium on Public Monuments'' (2004)
Cowles was a devout

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and taught religious education at the Church of the Nativity in

Bethlehem, Connecticut Bethlehem is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,385 at the 2020 census, down from 3,607 at the 2010 census. The town is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. The town center is a historic dist ...

Death

Matthew Cowles died from

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pr ...

on May 22, 2014.

Filmography

Film

*'' Me, Natalie'' (1969) as Harvey Belman *''

The Friends of Eddie Coyle ''The Friends of Eddie Coyle'' is a 1973 American neo-noir crime film starring Robert Mitchum and Peter Boyle and directed by Peter Yates. The screenplay by Paul Monash was adapted from the 1970 novel '' The Friends of Eddie Coyle'' by G ...

'' (1973) as Pete *''

The Happy Hooker ''The Happy Hooker: My Own Story'' is a best-selling memoir by Xaviera Hollander, a call girl, published in 1971. It sold over 20 million copies. Robin Moore, who took Hollander's dictations of the book's contents, came up with the title, while Y ...

'' (1975) as Albert Ruffleson *''

Slap Shot ''Slap Shot'' is a 1977 American sports comedy film directed by George Roy Hill, written by Nancy Dowd, and starring Paul Newman and Michael Ontkean. It depicts a minor league ice hockey team that resorts to violent play to gain popularity ...

'' (1977) as Charlie *'' The World According to Garp'' (1982) as O. Fecteau *'' Eddie Macon's Run'' (1983) as Ray Banes *''

The Money Pit ''The Money Pit'' is a 1986 American comedy film directed by Richard Benjamin and starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long as a couple who attempt to renovate a recently purchased house. The film is a loose remake of the 1948 Cary Grant comedy fil ...

'' (1986) as Marty *'' Stars and Bars'' (1988) as Beckman Gage *'' White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf'' (1994) as Lloyd Halverson *'' The Cowboy Way'' (1994) as Popfly *''

The Juror ''The Juror'' is a 1996 American legal thriller film based on the 1995 novel by George Dawes Green. It was directed by Brian Gibson (director), Brian Gibson and stars Demi Moore as a single mother picked for jury duty for a American mafia, mafia t ...

'' (1996) as Rodney *''

Nurse Betty ''Nurse Betty'' is a 2000 American black comedy film directed by Neil LaBute and starring Renée Zellweger as the title character, a small town, Kansas waitress who suffers a nervous breakdown after witnessing her husband's torture murder, and s ...

'' (2000) as Merle *'' Shutter Island'' (2010) as Ferry Boat Captain

Television

*''

'' (1977–1980, 1984, 1989–1990, 2011 ) as Billy Clyde Tuggle *''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other so ...

'' (1983) as Lonnie *'' Love on the Run'' (1985) as Yancy *'' Loving'' (1986–1987) as Eban Japes *'' Lonesome Dove'' (1989) as Monkey John *'' Asylum'', a 1991 episode of ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'' as Christian 'Lemonhead' Tatum *''

The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''Th ...

'' (1997) as Curtis Love *'' Oz'' (2003) as

Willy Brandt Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and concurrently served as the Chancellor ...

*''

Life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no conclusive evidence of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that ...

'' (2008–2009) as Cowboy Dan *'' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2007 Season 9 episode 15) as Cyrus Wert

Stage credits

*'' Malcolm'' (1966) Broadway as Malcolm. *''

'' (1968), Astor Place Theatre *'' The Time of Your Life'' (1969) as Dudley *'' Sweet Bird of Youth'' (1975–1976) as Tom Junior *''Dirty Jokes'' (1976) at the Academy Festival Theatre in Chicago, Illinois

Bibliography

Plays

*''Mexican Standoff at Fat Squaw Springs'' *''Our Daily Bread'' *''Noblesse Oblige''

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowles, Matthew 1944 births 2014 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male actors 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century American male actors 21st-century Roman Catholics American male dramatists and playwrights American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors American Roman Catholic writers Male actors from New York City Writers from New York City