Hello Dolly

Barbra Streisand:Dolly Levi

Walter Matthau:Horace Vandergelder

Michael Crawford:Cornelius Hackl

"Hello Dolly" had strange casting, with a young Barbra Streisand miscast as a much older woman and Walter Matthau singing. The film introduced movie audiences to two performers who later became successful Broadway musical stars - Michael Crawford and Tommy Tune.

Although Walter Matthau delivers the comedic lines well, he was a terrible singer and dancer and it might have helped the film if an actor with musical talent had been hired for the part.

Barbra Streisand(1942-)

Barbra Streisand was born in Brooklyn in 1942. She got her first break on Broadway in "I Can Get it for You Wholesale," in 1962 and she received critical acclaim for performing a number entitled "Miss Marmelstein." However, it was the Broadway play of "Funny Girl" in 1964 that brought her world-wide fame. Although she did not win the Tony award for "Funny Girl," she did receive a special Tony in 1970 for Star of the [1960s] Decade.

"Funny Girl" was Streisand's first movie and from 1968 until 2004, she made 16 additional films, including five more musicals ("Hello Dolly," 1969; "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever," 1970; "Funny Lady," 1975; "A Star is Born," 1976; "Yentl," 1983). She received an Academy Award in 1968 for her portrayal of Fanny Brice.

In addition to her successes on Broadway and in movies, Streisand has had a phenomenal recording career, with 47 Gold and 28 Platinum records and record sales of over 68 million. In her more than four decade career, Streisand has had a number one album on the Billboard charts in each of four decades (1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s).

In addition to her Tony award and her Oscar, Streisand has won both a Grammy award and an Emmy, making her one of only a very few performers to win an Academy Award, a Tony, a Grammy, and an Emmy.

Walter Matthau(1920-2000)

Walter John Matthow was born in New York City in 1920. He grew up in a poor immigrant family and he started working at the age of 11 in Yiddish theater playing bit parts. After high school, Matthau took a variety of non-theatrical jobs, including working as a forester in Montana, as a gym instructor and as a boxing coach.

In 1948, Matthau returned to show business, landing his first part on Broadway as an understudy in "Anne of the Thousand Days." He then worked for 17 years in theater, often on Broadway. In 1962, Matthau won a Tony award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. During this time, Matthau also appeared in many television plays.

Matthau appeared in his first movie, "The Kentuckian," in 1955, but he did not achieve film success or gain leading roles until his performance in "The Fortune Cookie" in 1966. Prior to that film, Matthau played villains in many movies, but "The Fortune Cookie" reversed his film fortunes. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and he began a successful partnership with his co-star, Jack Lemmon. Comedy roles began to come Matthau's way and he reprised his stage role of Oscar Madison in the movie version of "The Odd Couple," opposite Jack Lemmon's Felix Unger. They subsequently made eight more films together.

Matthau, in addition to his Academy Award in 1966, was nominated for Best Actor in 1972 for "Kotch" and in 1975 for "The Sunshine Boys." Matthau continued his successful film career until his death in 2000 from a heart attack.

Michael Crawford(1942-)

Michael Patrick Dumble-Smith was born in 1942 in Wiltshire, England but his family moved to London in 1945. He began singing at the age of seven in a church choir, but this did not last for long. Crawford continued his early theatrical training by appearing and singing in school plays in London.

Crawford made his first movie, "Blow Your Own Trumpet," in 1958. Although he has appeared in several other films, Crawford has been primarily a theater actor for most of his career, performing on the London and Broadway stages. He is probably best known for his performance in "Phantom of the Opera" on the West End and Broadway, but he has also appeared in comedies, dramas and Shakespearean plays, as well as in other musicals.

Crawford made his Broadway debut in 1967 in "Black Comedy / White Lies." It was during this production that Gene Kelly saw Crawford performing and asked him to audition for the movie version of "Hello Dolly."

From 1973 to 1978, Crawford appeared as a regular on a very popular British TV comedy series, "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em." The success of his role on the series led in 1974 to the lead role in the musical play "Billy" in London. In preparation for the part, Crawford took singing lessons and studied dancing with choreographer Onna White. Seven years later, Crawford returned to Broadway in "Barnum."

Crawford won both the British Olivier award (1986) and the Tony award (1988) for his performance of the title role in Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Phantom of the Opera."