Matheson was born in Casterton, Australia in 1912 where he grew up on a 3,000-acre sheep station. When he was 12, he saw a production of
Sally by a touring company, and that experience sparked his desire to be an actor. His first principal stage performance was in the musical
Roberta at
Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne, Australia in 1934. His London debut was at the
Palladium in
Band Waggon (1939). Matheson performed in dozens of plays, including some major tours, until 1982. He played the clown in the classic
The Twilight Zone episode "
Five Characters in Search of an Exit". He made guest appearances in two 1964 episodes of
CBS's
Perry Mason: once as murder victim B.K. Doran in "The Case of the Accosted Accountant", and once as murderer Howard Hopkins in "The Case of the Wooden Nickels". Some of his best-known film and television roles include: • Felix Mulholland in the
NBC Banacek series • Benjamin Ovington in the movie
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967) • The Clown in the
Twilight Zone episode "
Five Characters in Search of an Exit" • Mr. Agee in the "Kick the Can" segment of
The Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) • Dr. John Keith in the film
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955) • Talbot in the "
Why Wait Until Uncle Kevin Dies" episode of
Hawaii Five-O (1973) Season 6, episode 8. In 1960 Matheson appeared as Alexander on the TV western
Laramie on the episode titled
"Duel at Parkinson Town." In 1960–61, he was cast as Geoffrey Carey in "The Archer's Ring" and as the High Priest in "The Perils of Penrose", respectively, on the
ABC series,
Adventures in Paradise, starring
Gardner McKay. In 1961, he played the lead guest-starring role in the episode "A Rope for Charlie Munday" on another ABC adventure series,
The Islanders, co-starring
William Reynolds. In 1969, he guest starred as an Australian warlock in
Bewitched season 5 episode 28, " Samantha's Good News". In 1970, he appeared in an episode of the ABC crime drama
The Silent Force, and in 1978 he appeared in the "Murder! Murder!" episode of the
NBC crime drama
The Eddie Capra Mysteries. In 1982 he made an appearance on
The Facts of Life S4 E11. Matheson's ashes were scattered into the
Pacific Ocean. ==Filmography==