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"It's hard enough to write a good drama,
it's much harder to write
Real Name:
John Uhler Lemmon III
To me, Jack Lemmon was one of the best actors that ever lived. Just a few of my favorites: The Apartment, The Great Race, Some Like it Hot, The Odd Couple, Tuesdays with Morrie... He truly loved his craft and was passionate about it. He so often portrayed the "everyman" but he was also a private man. Here is an excellent article about Jack by Jerry Gladman of the Toronto Sun: Friday, June 29, 2001 A lovable LemmonThe consummate actor, Jack Lemmon also proved that nice guys don't have to finish lastBy JERRY GLADMAN He was, simply, the nicest man in Hollywood. Jack Lemmon -- Mr. Everyman whose enormous talents elevated almost every one of the 60-plus films in which he starred during an impeccable 50-year career -- died yesterday in hospital from complications of cancer. He was 76. His second wife, actress Felicia Farr, and other family members were at his bedside at USC/Norris Cancer Centre when he died. It would be hard to find someone in the back-biting town of Hollywood who didn't like Lemmon, a Harvard-educated, Oscar-winning performer who could do it any way he was asked -- funny, serious, big or small. Not only was he the consummate actor, but he also forever put the lie to the old axiom that nice guys finish last. And even though he occasionally played fellows of dubious character who crossed the line, he most often was able to bring that "nice guy" image to the roles he took. "As the years go on, you really get to appreciate someone like him, not only for the quality of his work, but just for the quality of the person that he is, too," Michael Douglas, an occasional golfing partner, said of him recently. "His acting has the same effortless quality. You don't see the homework, although it's all there. I love him as an actor, but really admire him as a human being." Probably the best example of the respect others had for Lemmon came in 1998 when character actor Ving Rhames won a Golden Globe for his TV role as boxing promoter Don King, and gave the award to Lemmon. He said he wanted to make the point that there are other artists who "had given much more to the art than I have in my career." Lemmon biographer Michael Freedman summed it up nicely when he said: "Everybody likes Jack. Attacking him would be like pulling a chair out from under your mother." On the professional side, all you have to do is list some of his films and watch people nod their heads and smile. To wit: Mister Roberts, Irma La Douce, Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Days Of Wine And Roses, The China Syndrome, Missing, Save The Tiger, The Odd Couple, Grumpy Old Men, The Fortune Cookie, JFK, and Glengarry Glen Ross. During his glittering career, Lemmon, a master of sardonic comedy who could slide over to drama as smoothly as anyone, had three major collaborators --comedic director Billy Wilder, grumpy-faced character actor Walter Matthau and playwright Neil Simon. He co-starred with Matthau in 10 films, many of them directed by Wilder, and also did three huge howling hits with Simon (The Odd Couple, The Out-Of-Towners and Prisoner Of Second Avenue). He and Matthau, who died last July, were the best of friends and although they often bickered on film, both swore they had never had an argument in 40 years. Lemmon, who was nominated for numerous Oscars, including seven for lead actor, won gold twice -- best supporting actor for his quirky role as Ensign Pulver in Mr. Roberts (1955), and best actor for his desperate garment manufacturer turn in Save The Tiger (1973). In many of his movies, he played pleasant guys who had little weaknesses, and he was always trying to rise above his stutter and nervousness. But as a mature actor, he shone in the more dramatic parts (TV's Inherit The Wind, 12 Angry Men) and copped an Emmy for his work in Tuesdays With Morrie. Unlike most folks, John Uhler Lemmon III was born in an elevator -- on Feb. 8, 1925. His mother, Mildred, a serious bridge player, went into labour during a match and the closest she made it to the delivery room was the hospital lift. In later years, he said he used his mother, a bit of a character who often drank too much at parties, as inspiration for his wonderful cross-dressing turn in Some Like It Hot. His father, an amateur soft-shoe dancer who eventually became vice-president of the Doughnut Corporation of America, had high hopes that his son would follow him into business. But Jack, an only child whose easy-going manner enabled him to cope with his parents' disintegrating marriage, was more interested in "the theayatuh," as he called it. He attended Harvard and managed decent enough grades in drama classes to convince himself his future was as an actor. He served as an ensign in the Navy (good training for Mister Roberts) and returned to Harvard to graduate in 1947. Then he was off to New York, where he mostly supported himself playing piano in a local saloon. But he soon began getting roles, and in all, he appeared in 400 live dramas and a couple of TV sitcoms before he decided to try Hollywood. His first film was opposite blonde comedienne Judy Holliday in It Should Happen To You (1954) and it almost proved to be his last. When director George Cukor suggested he tone down his performance, Lemmon said: "Are you telling me not to act?" Cukor smiled. "Oh God, yes." But he listened and it paid off, especially when he played Ensign Pulver in his fourth film, Mister Roberts, which saw him win the Oscar and firmly establish his career. After 15 straight comedies (My Sister Eileen, Bell, Book And Candle, The Notorious Landlady) he ached to show what he could really do and took the role of the anguished young alcoholic husband in Days Of Wine And Roses. From that point on, he could pick and choose. Fans still seemed to love him most in his comedies as the neurotic glump beset by all of life's little disasters. He often said those roles were closest to him as a real person. One of his finest performances was as Shelly (The Machine) Levine, a desperate real estate hustler in David Mamet's brilliant and dark Glengarry Glen Ross. After the day's shoot, he'd play the piano while fellow cast members Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Alec Baldwin and Alan Arkin would sing, much like he did on Mister Roberts with Henry Fonda, James Cagney and William Powell. As far as Lemmon's private life was concerned, he was never targeted by the tabloids, although he admitted he had a booze problem and even attended AA. He and Farr were considered one of the classier couples in Tinseltown. Near the end of his career, Lemmon teamed with old crony Matthau for such box-office successes as Grumpy Old Men, Grumpier Old Men, Out To Sea and, finally, Odd Couple II. But every so often, just as a reminder, he'd do a Tuesdays With Morrie and knock everybody out of the park. Through it all, Lemmon remained one of the nicest, most approachable guys in Hollywood. Neighbour Jay Leno once described him as the most regular guy in town. "I saw him the other day walking his dog, and he still has that kid-like enthusiasm, telling me about all the work he's doing," said Leno. "He's not a guy who has to tell anybody he's a star." They knew. They always knew.
Film: "It Should Happen to You" (1954)
TV: "Inherit the Wind" (1999)
Goodbye, Jack. Your legacy will live on!
For info and links to many other pages about JACK LEMMON, check out CLASSIC MOVIES: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/9766/lemmon.html
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