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Matthew Cowles

Highest Rated: 98% The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)

Lowest Rated: 20% The Cowboy Way (1994)

Birthday: Sep 28, 1944

Birthplace: New York, New York, USA

With a career that spanned over five decades, Matthew Cowles was an American actor and playwright whose most notable role was Billy Clyde Tuggle on "All My Children" (ABC, 1970-2011). Cowles was born on September 28, 1944 in New York City. He was the son of actor and theater producer Chandler Cowles, who often worked with Italian-American composer and librettist Gian Carlo Menotti. At first, the son followed in the footsteps of his father as a theater actor. One of his first leading roles was the title character in the 1966 Broadway adaptation of James Purdy's comic novel, Malcolm. Three years later, Cowles made his television debut on the crime drama series, "N.Y.P.D." (ABC, 1967-69) and appeared in his first film, "Me, Natalie" (1969) alongside Patty Duke. Through the 1970s, Cowles had small character roles in films ranging from the New Hollywood classics "They Might Be Giants" (1971), "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" (1973) and "Slap Shot" (1977) to the exploitation favorite "The Happy Hooker" (1975). In 1978, he landed the role of the scheming Billy Clyde Tuggle in the hit soap opera "All My Children." Tuggle became a career-defining role for Cowles; he was nominated twice for a Daytime Emmy in 1978 and 1981; perhaps even more importantly, it was on set at "All My Children" that Cowles met his wife, future television star Christine Baranski. The couple married in 1983 and had two daughters. Over the next several decades, Cowles continued to act in both film and television and wrote several plays of his own. His last notable film role came in Martin Scorsese's psychological thriller "Shutter Island" (2010). When "All My Children" was revived in 2013 after ending its original run two years earlier, Cowles reprised his villainous role. It was perhaps fitting that his most notable role was also his last. Matthew Cowles died of congestive heart failure on May 22, 2014.

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Highest rated movies

98% 87% The Friends of Eddie Coyle
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87% 88% Slap Shot
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71% 47% White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf
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20% 59% The Cowboy Way
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Kojak: It's Always Something
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She's Back
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67% Crawlspace
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Season of the Hunted
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42% Stars and Bars
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76% Me, Natalie
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Filmography

Movies

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet Season of the Hunted Unknown (Character) - 2003
20% 59% The Cowboy Way Pop Fly (Character) $19.6M 1994
71% 47% White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf Lloyd Halverson (Character) $8.7M 1994
No Score Yet No Score Yet Kojak: It's Always Something Timonthy (Character) - 1990
No Score Yet No Score Yet She's Back Sherman Bloom (Character) - 1988
No Score Yet 42% Stars and Bars Freeborn Gage Matthew Cowles ... Beckman Gage (Character) $14.9K 1988
87% 88% Slap Shot Charlie Kischel (Character) - 1977
98% 87% The Friends of Eddie Coyle Pete (Character) - 1973
No Score Yet 67% Crawlspace Dave Freeman (Character) - 1971
No Score Yet 76% Me, Natalie Harvey Belman (Character) - 1969

TV

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet Life on Mars Unknown (Guest Star) 2008
No Score Yet 83% Law & Order Unknown (Guest Star) 1991
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Equalizer Rapist #2 (Guest Star) 1986
71% 89% Miami Vice Unknown (Guest Star) 1985