Lemmon, Jack (redirected from Lemmon)

Lemmon, Jack (John Uhler Lemmon 3d), 1925–2001, American actor, b. Newton, Mass., grad. Harvard (1947). He became famous in roles ranging from sardonic comedy to compelling drama, ultimately achieving the status of a kind of modern American Everyman, often hapless yet persevering. A talented piano player, he worked as a musician and acted in late 1940s and early 50s radio, television, and stage productions. He soon moved on to Hollywood, making his first film in 1954 and attracting wide attention as the likably brash Ensign Pulver in Mister Roberts (1955; Academy Award). His other early comedies include Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot (1950) and The Apartment (1960). In 1962, Lemmon starred as an anguished alcoholic in his first movie drama, the harrowing Days of Wine and Roses. During his career, Lemmon appeared in more than 60 movies, among them The Odd Couple (1968) and its sequel (1998), Save the Tiger (1973; Academy Award), The China Syndrome (1979), Tribute (1980), Missing (1982), JFK (1991), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), and Grumpy Old Men (1993) and its sequel (1995). He also continued to act on stage and television, e.g., in Long Day's Journey into Night (1986–87) and the Emmy-winning Tuesdays with Morrie (1999).

Bibliography

See biographies by M. Freedland (1985) and D. Widener (rev. ed. 2000); J. Baltake, Jack Lemmon: His Films and Career (rev. ed. 1986).

---

Lemmon, Jack

 orig. John Uhler Lemmon III

(born Feb. 8, 1925, Boston, Mass., U.S.—died June 27, 2001, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. actor. He attended Harvard University and acted in radio and television dramas before making his Broadway debut in 1953. He established his movie career in Mister Roberts (1955, Academy Award) and became noted for his character portrayals, often playing excitable, baffled individuals in movies such as Some Like It Hot (1959), The Apartment (1960), The Odd Couple (1968), and The Out-of-Towners (1970). His many other films include Save the Tiger (1973, Academy Award), The China Syndrome (1979), Missing (1982), and Glengarry Glen Ross (1992). He received an Emmy Award for his portrayal of a dying college professor in the television film Tuesdays with Morrie (1999).

---

Lemmon, (John Uhler, III) Jack (1925–  ) movie actor; born in Boston, Mass. At Harvard College he appeared in the Hasty Pudding Club shows. After Navy service, he went to New York City where he found work as a radio actor, in off Broadway productions, and on television. He first came to wider acclaim in a Broadway revival of Room Service (1953) and he made his movie debut in It Should Happen to You (1954). He went on to make a long series of popular movies, winning an Oscar as best supporting actor in Mister Roberts (1955) and as best actor in Save the Tiger (1973). Moving deftly between comic and serious roles, he proved to be one of Hollywood's most versatile and personable actors. He also returned to Broadway as the father in O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night (1986).