Matthew Posey obit

Matthew Posey: July 31, 1958-October 2, 2026

 He was not on the list.

Matthew Devon Posey, beloved brother, uncle, friend, actor, director, and storyteller, passed away on October 2, 2026, leaving behind a lifetime of memories and countless people.

Born on July 31, 1958, in Houston, Texas, Matthew was the son of Marvin R. Posey and Mary Louise Wrba Posey, and the youngest of five siblings.

Matthew lived a remarkable and creative life. He had a deep love for the arts and dedicated much of his life to acting, directing, theater, and storytelling. His work brought him into the lives of many people, both on stage and screen, and his talent and distinctive personality left a lasting impression.

The first inkling of Matthew’s genius was his vegetable interviews at age four, most notably the “Carrot” series. As a sophomore at Coronado High School in Lubbock, Matthew gained a wider audience, with his memorable turn as Click Dark, the em-cee of his class play based on American Graffitti. After earning a bachelor's degree in Theater under George Sorenson at Texas Tech University, Matthew interned at the Alley Theater in Houston.

Deep Ellum was his next stop, where he jolted the local culture by building and founding the Deep Ellum Theatre Garage, a venue that hosted boundary-pushing works, including a seminal collaborative work with Fred Curchack entitled “Sexual Mythology.”

Following a 12-year stint in Los Angeles working in the film industry, ghost writing and earning a Masters degree in Film from the American Institute of Film, Posey returned to Dallas as a company member at Undermain Theatre.

Next, Matthew went on to build what would become his crowning achievement: Ochre House Theater. Founded in 2008 in Exposition Park, the intimate, 45-seat storefront theater became a legendary lab for raw, original art. Dubbed by Posey and his core company as the "Pioneers of the Suavant-Garde," Ochre House was famous for its deconstructed, musical-narrative style, incorporating live music, striking visual magic realism, and intricate, Bunraku-inspired puppetry.

Posey’s bound notebooks were the birthplace of more than a decade of original works that keenly examined the human condition, exposing with poetic precision the many sides of love, family, social class, addiction, tradition, domestic and institutionalized violence, peace, self-worth, forgiveness, greed, solace and ultimately, one’s place in the universe.

Under Posey’s guidance, The Ochre House produced and staged original works in such an immediate way that the theater reflected current social, political and world events in an accelerated time-frame that resonated deeply with Ochre’s audiences. Matthew wrote, directed, and produced more than 40 critically acclaimed original plays, including Mrs. Haggardly, Bill, Original Man, and Soft Noodle Map.

Additionally, in partnership with Dallas-based Flame Foundation, Posey was an innovator of original full-length plays incorporating authentic Flamenco. Spanning 15 years, the collaboration brought international and Dallas-based artists to both Dallas and New York stages. Dallas audiences, actors and creatives delved into a world that melded Posey’s prose and the Flame Foundation’s poetic expression into “una colaboración nacida del corazón, donde la magia del teatro experimental se funde con el alma, la pasión y la verdad del auténtico Flamenco (“a beloved collaboration fusing experimental theater with authentic Flamenco”). 

Beyond his theatrical footprint, Posey was a remarkably versatile Hollywood and independent cinema character actor whose screen career spanned over 35 years. He appeared in more than 60 major film and television productions, with iconic roles in Oliver Stone’s JFK, the Academy Award-winning No Country for Old Men, and The Magnificent Seven. On television, his unforgettable performances grounded landmark series such as Lonesome Dove, Rectify, AMC's The Son, and HBO's Love & Death. Matthew’s most recent roles include Josh Jordan’s independent film El Tonto Por Christo and a role in Brothers, a series with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Matthew will be remembered most dearly by his family and friends. He was a unique and unforgettable person whose humor, creativity, stories, and larger-than-life personality made an impression on everyone who knew him. To those closest to him, he was much more than an actor or artist—he was a beloved partner, brother, uncle, friend, and artistic father figure. His family will remember Matthew not only for the life he lived, but for the memories he created and the love he shared. His presence will be deeply missed, but his stories, his work, his humor, and the memories he gave to those who loved him will remain.

Matthew was preceded in death by his parents, Marvin R. Posey and Mary Louise Wrba Posey. Matthew is survived by his life partner, Suzanne Thomas, two sisters, Marlis Hodges and her husband Ralph, Candis Posey, and his two brothers, William Marvin Posey and his wife, Krystin, Richard Daniel Posey and his wife Timmye, along with numerous nieces and nephews who loved him dearly. He leaves behind countless friends and his beloved cats, Chet and Etta.

Matthew’s devoted artistic family—the core ensemble of company members, designers, and musicians at Ochre House Theater—will always remember his fierce, grassroots commitment to original theater, and the many opportunities he provided them.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you make a donation to Ochre House Theater at OchreHouseTheater.org

 

Filmography

Film

Year     Title     Role

1984    Places in the Heart      Eugene

1986    True Stories     The Computer Guy

1989    Night Game     Donnie (as Matt Posey)

1990    Big Bad John  Male Cashier (as Matt Posey)

1990    I Come in Peace          Psycho #1

2001    Pendulum        Frank

2003    The Life of David Gale           Inmate Cook

2007    No Country for Old Men        Sporting Goods Clerk

2007    Mr. Brooks      AA Leader

2007    Living & Dying          Captain Burleson

2007    Walking Tall: The Payback     Otis

2010    The Final         Parker

2010    Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach      Male Parent 2 at Sports Meeting

2011    Seeking Justice            Rabbit

2011    Language of a Broken Heart   Donovan

2012    Abel's Field     Officer Paulson

2013    Cry      Mr. Gleason

2016    The Magnificent Seven           Hank Stoner

2018    Mind of Its Own         Therapist

2019    This World Won't Break         Lonnie Milligan

2025    El Tonto Por Cristo     Father John

2027    Verano Nelson

Television

Year     Title     Role

1984    With Intent to Kill       Larry Rigoli

1988    It Takes Two   Hotel Clerk

1989    Lonesome Dove          Jim #1

1989    The Fulfillment of Mary Gray            Mike Duzak

1991    Final Verdict    Mootry

1991    Finding the Way Home           Inspector

1991    In Broad Daylight       Mayor Dan Austin

1991    Ninth Life        Sam Webster

1991    A Killing in a Small Town      Norman Billings

1992    Sinatra Harry James

1992    Afterburn         Stanley

1992    Cruel Doubt    Keith Mason

1992    Stay the Night D.A. Tom Charron

1993    Victim of Love: The Shannon Mohr Story     —

1993    L.A. Law         Dr. Scott Anson

1993    In the Heat of the Night          Bernard "Monk" Stiles

1994    The Corpse Had a Familiar Face        Sam

1995    Kansas Vernon

1995    Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan       Sam

1995    Death in Small Doses Guthrie

1997    Sleeping with the Devil          —

2000    Walker, Texas Ranger Smokey Cole / Ron Mott

2010    Chase  Man in Motel

2010    The Good Guys           Bartender

2010    Temple Grandin          Ted Gilbert

2011    In Plain Sight  Saken

2012–2013      Dallas  Head Driller / Foreman / Brian Davis

2013    Necessary Roughness Doug the Club Owner

2014    Rectify Charlie the Chaplain

2016    American Crime          Nate

2017    The Son           Tom Sullivan

2023    Love & Death Bob Pomeroy

2026    Brothers           Bartender