Matthew Cowles

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

Matthew Cowles
Cowles and Jennifer West in the play Malcolm in 1966.
Born	(1944-09-28)September 28, 1944 New York City, U.S.
Died	May 22, 2014(2014-05-22) (aged 69) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1969–2014
Spouses	Kathleen Dezina ​ ​ (m. 1980; div. 1982)​ Christine Baranski ​ ​ (m. 1983)​
Children	2, including Lily Cowles
Parent	Chandler Cowles (father)

Early life

The son of actor and theatre producer Chandler Cowles, he was born in New York City.^[1]

Career

In 1966 Cowles played the title role in Edward Albee's short-lived adaptation of James Purdy's comic novel Malcolm on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre.^[2]

In 1968, he appeared with Al Pacino and John Cazale in Israel Horovitz's The Indian Wants the Bronx.^[3]

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.^[4]

Cowles' first television part was Joe Czernak in the series NYPD in 1969. He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy as Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series in 1978 and as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Daytime Drama Series in 1981, both for his part as Billy Clyde Tuggle in All My Children, a role that he created and wrote.^[5]

Cowles' first film was the comedy drama Me, Natalie (1969) in which he played Harvey Belman. Al Pacino also made his debut in this film.

In 2010, Cowles played a supporting role in Martin Scorsese's film Shutter Island.

Cowles also starred in three short plays for the public radio show and podcast Playing on Air.^[6][7][8][9]

Personal life

In 1983, he married actress Christine Baranski with whom he had two daughters, Isabel (born 1984) and Lily (born 1987). In a New York Times profile of his wife, he was described as "the black sheep member of a family with ties to Cowles publishing and Drexel banking".^[10] He was an enthusiastic motorcycle rider.^[5]

Cowles was a devout Catholic and taught religious education at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Connecticut.^[11][12]

Death

Matthew Cowles died from congestive heart failure on May 22, 2014.^[13]

Filmography

Film

• Me, Natalie (1969) as Harvey Belman
• The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) as Pete
• The Happy Hooker (1975) as Albert Ruffleson
• Slap Shot (1977) as Charlie
• The World According to Garp (1982) as O. Fecteau
• Eddie Macon's Run (1983) as Ray Banes
• The Money Pit (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 (1996) as Rodney
• Nurse Betty (2000) as Merle
• Shutter Island (2010) as Ferry Boat Captain

Television

Matthew Cowles television credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1977–2011	All My Children	Billy Clyde Tuggle	Regular cast (1977–1980, 1984, 1989–1990, 2011)	[14]
1983	As the World Turns	Lonnie		[15]
1985	Love on the Run	Yancy	TV movie
1986, 1987	Loving	Eban Japes	2 episodes
1987	The Equalizer	Rapist #2	Episode: "Nightscape"
1989	Lonesome Dove	Monkey John	TV miniseries
1991	Law & Order	Christian 'Lemonhead' Tatum	Episode: "Asylum"
1997	The Bold and the Beautiful	Curtis Love	13 episodes
2003	Oz	Willy Brandt	3 episodes
2008	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Cyrus Wert	Episode: "Undercover"
2008–2009	Life on Mars	Cowboy Dan	4 episodes

Stage credits

• Malcolm (1966) Broadway as Malcolm.^[2]
• The Indian Wants the Bronx (1968), Astor Place Theatre
• The Time of Your Life (1969) as Dudley^[2]
• Sweet Bird of Youth (1975–1976) as Tom Junior^[2]
• Dirty Jokes (1976) at the Academy Festival Theatre in Chicago, Illinois

Bibliography

Plays

• Mexican Standoff at Fat Squaw Springs^[5]
• Our Daily Bread^[5]
• Noblesse Oblige^[5]