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EspañolJACK LEMMON
'John Uhler Lemmon III' (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001), better known as 'Jack Lemmon', was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actor and comedian. He starred in legendary classics such as ''Some Like It Hot'', ''The Apartment'', ''Days of Wine and Roses'', ''Irma La Douce'', ''The Great Race'', ''The Odd Couple'', ''The Out-of-Towners'' and ''The China Syndrome''.
| Contents |
| Life and career |
| Filmography |
| TV work |
| Quotes |
| Trivia |
| Awards and nominations |
| Academy Awards |
| Golden Globe Awards |
| Discography |
| Bibliography |
| Footnotes |
| External links |
Life and career
Jack Lemmon was born in an elevator at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, where his father, John Uhler Lemmon, Jr., was the president of a doughnut company. His mother was Mildred Burgess Noel.[1] After attending Phillips Academy and Harvard University (becoming president of the Hasty Pudding Club), Lemmon joined the Navy, received V-12 training and served as an ensign. On being discharged, he took up acting professionally, working on radio, television and Broadway. He studied acting under the legendary teacher, Uta Hagen. He also became infatuated with the piano and had learned to play by himself. He could also play the harmonica and the bass fiddle.
Lemmon's film debut was a bit part as a plasterer/painter in the 1949 film ''The Lady Takes a Sailor'', but he was not noticed until his official debut opposite Judy Holliday in the 1954 comedy, ''It Should Happen to You''. Lemmon worked with many legendary leading ladies of the cinema screen. He worked with Marilyn Monroe, Natalie Wood, Betty Grable, Janet Leigh, Shirley MacLaine, Doris Day, Kim Novak, Judy Holliday, Rita Hayworth, June Allyson, Virna Lisi, Ann Margret, Sophia Loren, Grace Lee Whitney, Kathryn Grant and many, many more. He was also close friends with Tony Curtis and Walter Matthau. He made two films with Curtis and a total of eleven films with Matthau.
He became a favorite actor of director Billy Wilder, starring in his films ''Some Like It Hot'', ''The Apartment'', ''Irma La Douce'', ''The Fortune Cookie'', ''Avanti!'', ''The Front Page'' and ''Buddy Buddy''. Wilder felt Lemmon had a natural tendency toward overacting that had to be tempered; the Wilder biography "Nobody's Perfect" quotes the director as saying: "Lemmon, I would describe him as a ham, a fine ham, and with ham you have to trim a little fat."
The same Billy Wilder biography quotes Jack Lemmon as saying: "I am particularly susceptible to the parts I play... If my character was having a nervous breakdown I started to have one."
Jack Lemmon at Expo 1967.
Lemmon was awarded the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1956 for ''Mister Roberts'' (1955), and the Best Actor Oscar for ''Save the Tiger'' (1973), being the first actor to achieve this double. He was also nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his role in the controversial film ''Missing'' in 1982. In 1988, the American Film Institute gave him its Lifetime Achievement Award.
''Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962) was one of his favorite roles. He portrayed Joe Clay, a young, fun-loving alcoholic businessman. In that film, Lemmon delivered the line, "My name is Joe Clay ... I'm an alcoholic." Three and a half decades later, he admitted on the television program, ''Inside the Actors Studio'', that he was not acting when he delivered that line, that he really was an alcoholic in real life.
Throughout his career, Lemmon often appeared in films alongside actor Walter Matthau. They would go on to be one of the most beloved duos in cinema history. Among their pairings was as Felix Unger (Lemmon) and Oscar Madison (Matthau) in the 1968 film, ''The Odd Couple''. They also starred together in ''The Fortune Cookie'', ''The Front Page'', and ''Buddy Buddy''. Additionally, both had small parts in Oliver Stone's 1991 film, ''JFK'' (the only film in which they both appear, but share no screentime). In 1993, the duo teamed up again to star in ''Grumpy Old Men''. The film was a surprise hit, earning the two actors a new generation of young fans. During the rest of the decade, they would go on to star together in ''Out to Sea'', ''Grumpier Old Men'' and the widely-panned ''The Odd Couple II''.
At the 1998 Golden Globe Awards, he was nominated for "Best Actor in a Made for TV Movie" for his role in ''Twelve Angry Men''. He lost the award to Ving Rhames. After accepting the award, Rhames asked Lemmon to come onstage and in a move that stunned the audience, gave his award to him. (The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which presents the Golden Globes, decided to have a second award made and sent to Rhames.)
Lemmon was one of the best-liked actors in Hollywood. He is remembered as taking time for people, as the actor Kevin Spacey recalled in a tribute. When already regarded as a legend, he met the teenage Spacey backstage after a theater performance and spoke to him about pursuing an acting career. Spacey would later work with Lemmon in the critically acclaimed film ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1992). Lemmon's performance even inspired Gil Gunderson, a character on The Simpsons that is modeled on Lemmon's character in the film.
Lemmon was married twice. His son, Chris Lemmon, (b. 1954), was his first child by his first wife, actress Cynthia Stone (b. February 26 1926, Peoria, Illinois). He is also an actor. His second wife was the western actress Felicia Farr, with whom he had a daughter, Courtney, born in 1966.
Lemmon with his frequent film co-star and friend, Walter Matthau
Jack Lemmon died of "carcinomatosis and metastatic cancer of bladder to colon" (according to his death certificate at [1]) on June 27, 2001. He had been fighting the disease, very privately, for two years before losing the battle.
Jack Lemmon's son, Chris Lemmon, Made several TV shows and movies. He also wrote a book about his father after his death, named "A Twist of Lemmon: A Tribute to My Father". He has three kids named Sydney Noel, Chris Jr. and Jonathon.
He is interred at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, Westwood, Los Angeles, California, where Walter Matthau is also buried. In typical Jack Lemmon wit, his gravestone simply reads 'Jack Lemmon — in'. After Matthau's death in 2000, Lemmon appeared with friends and relatives of the actor on a ''Larry King Live'' show in tribute. A year later, many of the same people appeared on the show again to pay tribute to Lemmon.
Filmography
TV work
★ ''That Wonderful Guy'' (1949-1950)
★ ''Toni Twin Time'' (1950) (canceled after 6 months)
★ ''The Ad-Libbers'' (1951) (canceled after 5 episodes)
★ ''The Frances Langford-Don Ameche Show'' (1951-1952)
★ ''Heaven for Betsy'' (1952) (canceled after a few weeks)
★ ''The Road of Life'' (1954) (canceled after a few weeks)
★ ''Alcoa theatre'' (1959), one of five rotating stars for a full season
★ ''The Dinah Shore Show'' (1962), a guest appearance
★ ''The Entertainer'' (1976)
★ ''Long Day's Journey Into Night'' (1987)
★ ''The Murder of Mary Phagan'' (1988)
★ ''For Richer, for Poorer'' (1992)
★ ''A Life in the Theater'' (1993)
★ ''The Simpsons (1997) (voice)
★ ''12 Angry Men'' (1997)
★ ''The Long Way Home'' (1998)
★ ''Inherit the Wind'' (1999)
★ ''Tuesdays with Morrie'' (1999)
Quotes
★ "The worst part about being me is when people want me to make them laugh."
★ "Nobody deserves this much money - certainly not an actor."
★ "Some Like It Hot, Nobody's perfect."
★ "If you think it's hard to meet new people, try picking up the wrong golf ball."
★ "Stay humble. Always answer your phone. No matter who else is in the car."
★ "I won't quit until I get run over by a truck, a producer or a critic."
★ "Failure seldom stops you. What stops you is the fear of failure."
Trivia
★ Before every take in every one of his films, Jack Lemmon would always say quietly to himself; "It's Magic Time".
★ While filming ''Some Like It Hot'' in 1959, Lemmon decided to get the right comic effect for his female character Daphne. He had stuffed his car keys, cigarettes and some loose change in his "bra".
★ Lemmon was 5"9 (1.75m) tall.
★ Lemmon also recorded his own album in 1958 while filming ''Some Like It Hot'' with Marilyn Monroe. Twelve jazz tracks were created for Lemmon and another twelve tracks were added which were the soundtracks to his 1959 comedy film, 'Some Like It Hot'. Lemmon also played the piano on his Frank Sinatra-type album. He recorded his own versions of Monroe's trademark songs, ''I Wanna Be Loved By You'' and ''I'm Through With Love''. These two tracks can be heard on the album, which was eventually released in 1959 and was titled "A Twist of Lemmon/Some Like It Hot".
★ His favourite film performances of his career were ''Some Like It Hot'', ''The Apartment'', ''Days of Wine and Roses'' and ''Save the Tiger''.
★ He was married twice. Firstly to a young television actress called Cynthia Stone. They were married in May of 1950 but divorced in 1956, due to the fact that Lemmon was becoming a big name in show business. Secondly, he was married to western actress Felicia Farr in 1962 until his untimely death in 2001.
★ He enjoyed playing golf whenever he wasn't working on films. But he wasn't very good at it!
★ On every set of his films, Lemmon would always request a piano to keep him busy and focused if he wasn't rehearsing.
★ At seventeen years old, Lemmon graduated from Harvard University. He was a member of several Drama Clubs and was one of the most active members. Lemmon also revealed that he knew he wanted to be an actor from the age of eight.
★ The only death scene that Lemmon performed was in ''The China Syndrome'' in 1979.
★ Lemmon was the owner of Jalem Productions, which co-produced a number of his films as well as ''Cool Hand Luke'', a 1968 film which starred Paul Newman.
Awards and nominations
Academy Awards
★ 1955 - Won - Best Actor in a Supporting Role - ''Mister Roberts''
★ 1959 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - ''Some Like It Hot''
★ 1960 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - ''The Apartment''
★ 1962 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - ''Days of Wine and Roses''
★ 1973 - Won - Best Actor in a Leading Role - ''Save the Tiger''
★ 1979 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - ''The China Syndrome''
★ 1980 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - ''Tribute''
★ 1982 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - ''Missing''
Golden Globe Awards
Currently, Jack Lemmon holds the record for most Golden Globe nominations with twenty-two.
★ 1959 - Won - Best Actor, Musical/Comedy - ''Some Like It Hot''
★ 1960 - Won - Best Actor, Musical/Comedy - ''The Apartment''
★ 1962 - Nominated - Best Actor, Drama - ''Days of Wine and Roses''
★ 1963 - Nominated - Best Actor, Musical/Comedy - ''Irma la Douce''
★ 1963 - Nominated - Best Actor, Musical/Comedy - ''Under the Yum Yum Tree''
★ 1965 - Nominated - Best Actor, Musical/Comedy - ''The Great Race''
★ 1968 - Nominated - Best Actor, Musical/Comedy - ''The Odd Couple''
★ 1970 - Nominated - Best Actor, Musical/Comedy - ''The Out-of-Towners''
★ 1972 - Won - Best Actor, Musical/Comedy - ''Avanti!''
★ 1973 - Nominated - Best Actor, Drama - ''Save the Tiger''
★ 1974 - Nominated - Best Actor, Musical/Comedy - ''The Front Page''
★ 1979 - Nominated - Best Actor, Drama - ''The China Syndrome''
★ 1980 - Nominated - Best Actor, Drama - ''Tribute''
★ 1982 - Nominated - Best Actor, Drama - ''Missing''
★ 1986 - Nominated - Best Actor, Comedy/Musical - ''That's Life!''
★ 1987 - Nominated - - ''Long Day's Journey Into Night''
★ 1988 - Nominated - Actor in a Motion Picture Made for TV - ''The Murder of Mary Phagan''
★ 1989 - Nominated Best Actor, Drama - ''Dad''
★ 1991 - Won - Cecil B. DeMille Award
★ 1993 - Won - Best Ensemble Cast - ''Short Cuts''
★ 1993 - Nominated - Actor in a Motion Picture Made for TV - ''A Life in the Theater''
★ 1997 - Nominated - Actor in a Motion Picture Made for TV - ''12 Angry Men''
★ 1999 - Nominated - Actor in a Motion Picture Made for TV - ''Tuesdays with Morrie''
★ 1999 - Won - Actor in a Motion Picture Made for TV - ''Inherit the Wind''
Discography
★ '''A Twist of Lemmon/Some Like It Hot'''
24 vocal tracks recorded in 1958 and released in 1959
★ '''Piano Selections from Irma La Douce'''
Recorded and released in 1963
★ '''Piano and Vocals'''
Recorded and released in 1990
★ '''Peter and the Wolf'''
Recorded and released in 1991
★ '''Sings and Plays Music from Some Like It Hot'''
Re-released in 2001
Bibliography
★ 2006 - A Twist of Lemmon by Chris Lemmon
Footnotes
1. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~battle/celeb/lemmon.htm
External links
★
★
★
★ Jack Lemmon's Gravesite
★ GERMAN WEBSITE OF JACK LEMMON & WALTER MATTHAU
★ GERMAN WEBSITE OF JACK LEMMON
★ 2006 BOOK COVERING THE FILM CAREER OF JACK LEMMON
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