Jack Lemmon (1925–2001,) fully John Uhler Lemmon III, was a popular American screen and stage actor and musician. Adept at both comedy and drama, he was celebrated for his portrayals of high-strung and neurotic characters in American films.
Bon in Newton, Massachusetts, Lemmon served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and graduated from Harvard. He worked as a piano player and actor, taking roles in radio dramas and live television programs. He made his Broadway début in Room Service (1953) and attracted the attention of Hollywood.
A major Hollywood star, Lemmon gained a reputation as a character actor, a comedian, and a dramatic performer. His most notable films include Mr. Roberts (1955; Best Supporting Actor Oscar,) Some Like It Hot (1959,) The Apartment (1960,) Days of Wine and Roses (1962,) The Fortune Cookie (1966,) The Odd Couple (1968,) Save the Tiger (1973; Best Actor Oscar,) Missing (1978,) Glengarry Glen Ross (1992,) and Short Cuts (1993.) He occasionally returned to the stage and directed one film, Kotch (1971.)
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Jack Lemmon
If you really do want to be an actor who can satisfy himself and his audience, you need to be vulnerable. [You must] reach the emotional and intellectual level of ability where you can go out stark naked, emotionally, in front of an audience.
—Jack Lemmon
Topics: Audiences
Failure seldom stops you. What stops you is the fear of failure.
—Jack Lemmon
Topics: Failure
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.
—Jack Lemmon
Topics: Authors & Writing, Writers, Writing
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