The Oscar-winning American actor, Walther Matthau, has died of a heart attack aged 79. He was pronounced dead on Saturday morning shortly after being brought into St John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, said a hospital spokesman.

Matthau was a popular character actor. During his long career, he went from playing villains to become the modern king of the entertainment world's grumpy but lovable slobs.

He made more than 45 films, including The Front Page, The Sunshine Boys and The Bad News Bears. Matthau won the Academy Award for best supporting actor for Billy Wilder's 1966 comedy The Fortune Cookie.

In May 1993 he was honoured with a Lifetime's Achievement Award by America's National Association of Theatre Owners.

The actor survived several serious health setbacks during his career. While making The Fortune Cookie in 1966, he suffered a serious heart attack. His doctor attributed it to smoking three packs a day and constant worry about gambling and told him to give up both. Matthau stopped smoking.

In 1976, he underwent heart bypass surgery. After working in freezing weather for Grumpy Old Men in 1993, he was hospitalized for double pneumonia. In December 1995 he had a colon tumor removed. It tested benign.

He was also hospitalized in May 1999 for more than two months after another bout with pneumonia.