Jack Lemmon: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
Line 7: Line 7:
Lemmon's film debut was a [[bit part]] in the [[1949]] film ''The Lady Takes a Sailor'' but he was not noticed until his official debut opposite [[Judy Holliday]] in ''[[It Should Happen to You]]'' ([[1954]]). He became a favorite actor of [[Film director|director]] [[Billy Wilder]], starring in his films ''[[Some Like It Hot]]'', ''[[The Apartment]]'', ''[[Irma La Douce]]'' and ''[[Avanti]]''.
Lemmon's film debut was a [[bit part]] in the [[1949]] film ''The Lady Takes a Sailor'' but he was not noticed until his official debut opposite [[Judy Holliday]] in ''[[It Should Happen to You]]'' ([[1954]]). He became a favorite actor of [[Film director|director]] [[Billy Wilder]], starring in his films ''[[Some Like It Hot]]'', ''[[The Apartment]]'', ''[[Irma La Douce]]'' and ''[[Avanti]]''.


Lemmon was the first actor to have won a [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] award and a [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]] award. He was awarded Best Supporting Actor for ''[[Mister Roberts]]'' ([[1955]]), and Best Actor for ''[[Save the Tiger]]'' ([[1973]]). In [[1988]] the [[American Film Institute]] gave him its [[AFI Life Achievement Award|Lifetime Achievement Award]].
Lemmon was the first actor to have won a [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] award and a [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]] award. He was awarded Best Supporting Actor for ''[[Mister Roberts]]'' ([[1955]]), and Best Actor for ''[[Save the Tiger]]'' ([[1973]]). He was also nominated for Best Actor award for his role in the controversial film [[Missing]] in 1982. In [[1988]] the [[American Film Institute]] gave him its [[AFI Life Achievement Award|Lifetime Achievement Award]].


''[[Days of Wine and Roses (movie)|Days of Wine and Roses]]'' (1962) was one of his finest and most favorite roles. He portrayed Joe Clay, a young fun loving alcoholic businessman. In that film Lemmon delivered the memorable line: "My name is Joe C and I am 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. Indeed, his name really is 'Joe C.'
''[[Days of Wine and Roses (movie)|Days of Wine and Roses]]'' (1962) was one of his finest and most favorite roles. He portrayed Joe Clay, a young fun loving alcoholic businessman. In that film Lemmon delivered the memorable line: "My name is Joe C and I am 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. Indeed, his name really is 'Joe C.'

Revision as of 18:50, 9 April 2006

File:Lemmon.jpg
Jack Lemmon

John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001), better known as Jack Lemmon, was a Hollywood movie star and one of the most award-winning American actors of his generation.

Life and career

He was born in an elevator in Newton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, where his father was a successful businessman. After attending Phillips Academy and Harvard University (becoming while there 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.

Lemmon's film debut was a bit part in the 1949 film The Lady Takes a Sailor but he was not noticed until his official debut opposite Judy Holliday in It Should Happen to You (1954). He became a favorite actor of director Billy Wilder, starring in his films Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Irma La Douce and Avanti.

Lemmon was the first actor to have won a Best Actor award and a Best Supporting Actor award. He was awarded Best Supporting Actor for Mister Roberts (1955), and Best Actor for Save the Tiger (1973). He was also nominated for Best Actor award 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 finest and most favorite roles. He portrayed Joe Clay, a young fun loving alcoholic businessman. In that film Lemmon delivered the memorable line: "My name is Joe C and I am 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. Indeed, his name really is 'Joe C.'

At the 1998 Golden Globe Awards, he lost "Best Actor in a Made for TV Movie" to Ving Rhames, who promptly gave the award to Jack Lemmon.

Lemmon was one of the best-liked actors in Hollywood. He is remembered as taking time for people, as the actor and director Kevin Spacey recalled in a tribute. When already regarded as a legend, he met the then teenager Spacey backstage at a theater after a 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), where one of its most powerful scenes involves Lemmon's character begging Spacey's character for another shot at making a sale.

Lemmon was twice married. His second wife was the actress Felicia Farr. His son Chris Lemmon was also an actor and frequent guest on To Tell The Truth and The Match Game.

Jack Lemmon died of cancer on June 27, 2001. He was 76. He is interred at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, Westwood, Los Angeles, California, where Walter Matthau, who had co-starred with him in several films, was also buried. After Matthau's death in 2000, Lemmon had joined other friends and relatives on a Larry King Live show in tribute to Matthau; a year later, many of the same people appeared on the show again, this time in tribute to Lemmon.

Filmography

TV work

Academy Award and Nominations


See also

External links

Preceded by Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
1955 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Academy Award for Best Actor
1973 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jack_Lemmon&oldid=47730864"