Why ‘The Odd Couple’ Star Walter Matthau Turned Down Cryogenic Freezing

Actor Walter Matthau passed away in 2000, leaving behind a legacy of films that cemented him as one of Hollywood’s most distinctive and beloved leading men, known for his sharp wit, gruff charm, and impeccable comedic timing.

But before he passed away, his son, filmmaker Charlie Matthau, searched for any way to keep his father with him just a little longer. In doing so, he introduced his father to the Alcor Life Extension Foundation, a nonprofit organization that specializes in cryonics, the preservation of human bodies (or sometimes just the brain) through freezing in the hope that future medical technology might one day revive and heal them.