Background
Lemmon was born on February 8, 1925 in Newton, Massachusetts, United States; the son of John Uhler Lemmon and Mildred LaRue Noel.
1945
Jack Lemmon and Kim Novak in the film "Phffft".
1950
CBS television show Toni Twin Time features emcee Jack Lemmon.
1955
Jack Lemmon
1958
Elsa Lanchester, Kim Novak and Jack Lemmon on the film set of 'Bell Book and Candle' by Richard Quine.
1974
Jack Lemmon holds his Oscar after being named the best actor of the year at the 46th annual Academy Awards presentations.
1975
Jack Lemmon at Home.
1983
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau during Charity Golf Tournament.
1994
Jack Lemmon and Clint Eastwood during AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Spyglass Hill Course at Pebble Beach in Monterey, California, United States.
2000
665 W Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007, United States
Jack Lemmon during The 52nd Annual Emmy Awards - Pressroom at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, United States.
Jack Lemmon with Ward Bond in "Mister Roberts", 1955.
Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick in "Days of Wine and Roses", 1958.
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in "The Odd Couple", 1968.
Jack as C. C. Baxter in "The Apartment"
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.
The Golden Globe Awards that Jack Lemmon received in 1960, 1961, 1973, 1991, 1994 and 2000.
The British Academy Film Awards that Jack Lemmon received in 1960, 1961 and 1980.
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States
Harvard University where Jack Lemmon studied.
180 Main St, Andover, MA 01810, United States
Phillips Academy where Jack Lemmon studied.
10 Dolphin Rd, Newton Centre, MA 02459, United States
John Ward Elementary School where Jack Lemmon studied.
Jack Lemmon in the 1960s.
Jack Lemmon and Jo Van Fleet holding their Oscars at the 28th Academy Awards, Los Angeles, March 21st, 1956.
Lanewood Ave &, N La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028, United States
Lemmon's Star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon on the set of the film "Some Like it Hot" in Los Angeles, California.
Jack Lemmon in his office April 17, 1982 Beverly Hills, California.
9641 Sunset Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, United States
Michael Douglas, Jack Lemmon, and Milos Forman during Kodak Century Award To Milos Forman at Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills.
American actor Jack Lemmon sprays the roses at his new home near Hollywood, California, circa 1954.
Lemmon was born on February 8, 1925 in Newton, Massachusetts, United States; the son of John Uhler Lemmon and Mildred LaRue Noel.
Lemmon attended John Ward Elementary School in Newton and the Rivers School in Weston, Massachusetts. He also graduated from Phillips Academy Andover in 1943 and Harvard University in 1947.
Lemmon served as an ensign in the United States Navy during World War II and was stationed on an aircraft carrier for a time. Then, in 1947, he moved to New York City, where he worked as a piano player and actor. Jack's debut was a bit part as a plasterer and painter in the film "The Lady Takes a Sailor" in 1949, but he became more successful after the comedy "It Should Happen to You" in 1954. He starred as Ensign Pulver in the comedic war drama "Mister Roberts", 1955. That role established him as one of the screen’s brightest new comic actors.
In addittion to his career of an actor, Lemmon was an accomplished singer. His singing was first heard on two film soundtracks "Three for the Show" and "My Sister Eileen" in 1955. He also performed songs in the film "You Can't Run Away from It" in 1956. His first solo album "A Twist of Lemmon" was released in 1958 on Epic Records. Lemmon released a second album "Some Like It Hot" in 1959.
Jack worked on a number of films with comedian Ernie Kovacs, including "Bell Book and Candle", 1958; Operation Mad Ball, 1957 and "It Happened to Jane", 1959. Also in 1959, he gave one of the top comedic performances of his career in the film "Some Like It Hot", by Billy Wilder. Then Jack continued his collaboration with that writer-director and starred in such films as "The Apartment", 1960; "Irma la Douce", 1963; "The Fortune Cookie", 1966 and "Buddy Buddy", 1981.
In 1962, Lemmon gave a heartbreaking performance as an alcoholic husband in "The Days of Wine and Roses" by Blake Edwards opposite. The 1970s were a time of great dramatic performances for Jack. He played a man having a midlife crisis in the film "Save the Tiger" in 1973. Then in 1978, Lemmon starred as a press agent dying of cancer in the film "Tribute". Also in 1982, Jack gave another riveting dramatic performance in the film "Missing", where he played a father searching for his politically radical son who disappeared in Chile during the 1973 coup.
Lemmon made his directorial debut with the film Kotch in 1970 starring the actor Matthau, with whom he appeared in such films as "The Fortune Cookie", 1966; "The Odd Couple", 1968; "Grumpy Old Men", 1993 and others.
One of Lemmon's most significant later roles came in 1999 with the television movie "Tuesdays with Morrie". He played the title character, a professor struggling with Lou Gehrig's disease, who develops a friendship with one of his former students.
Quotations:
"No matter how successful you get, always send the elevator back down."
"It's hard enough to write a good drama, it's much harder to write a good comedy, and it's hardest of all to write a drama with comedy. Which is what life is."
"Success is always somebody else's opinion of you; but it doesn't amount to a damn compared to your own opinion of yourself."
"Everything that is truly worthwhile - I think passion is involved in your approach to it. No matter what it is."
"Failure seldom stops you. What stops you is the fear of failure."
Lemmon was president of the Hasty Pudding Club, the Delphic Club for Gentleman and a member of several Drama Clubs. Also during 1980s and 1990s Lemmon served on the advisory board of the National Student Film Institute.
On May 7, 1950 Jack Lemmon married Cynthia Boyd Stone, with whom he had a son, Chris Lemmon. On August 17, 1962 he married Felicia Farr. The marriage produced a daughter, Courtney.