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Jack and Walter

The Films of Lemmon and Matthau

Five Star Publications, Inc.

Jack Lemmon

February 8, 1925 - June 27, 2001

All celebrities enjoy making a memorable entrance - be it on film, on the red carpet or into the current hot spot restaurant or nightclub - however, I doubt any celebrity made a more memorable entrance into life than that of John Uhler Lemmon III, better known as Jack to millions of movie lovers.

Jack Lemmon was born on February 8, 1925 in the elevator at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in the Boston suburb of Newton, Massachusetts.

Born prematurely to parents Mildred LaRue Noel Lemmon and the president of the Doughnut Corporation of America John Uhler Lemmon, Jr., baby Lemmon was cleaned up and removed from his unusual delivery unit. A nurse looked at the jaundiced baby, quipping, "My, look at the little yellow Lemmon." Neil Simon couldn't have scripted it better.

An only child, due in large part to his unique arrival, Lemmon spent much of his youth combatting virtually every illness known to man in those days. "You name it, I had it," confided Lemmon to author Don Widener, "this fever, that fever, rheumatic fever, scarlet fever ... plus the measles and mumps and five major operations ..." - all this just in his first decade of life.

Applause is a much welcomed reaction that every performer craves - Lemmon began his addiction at the early age of four. It happened when he appeared briefly onstage with his parents in a community theatre production of Gold in Them Thar Hills. The acting bug really bit Lemmon when he was nine years old while attending the private Rivers Country Day School in Brookline, Massachusetts. Twenty-four hours prior to raising the curtain on the current offering, a lead became ill and Lemmon was thrust into a featured role. Overcoming every obstacle this situation provided and receiving laughter as a reward for his efforts, Lemmon may well have experienced his first "magic time." More on "magic time" later.

As his health improved with each passing year, his parents' marriage began to crumble. Now enrolled at Andover Academy and dealing with his new surroundings - not to mention the problems that occur when parental relationship problems arise - Lemmon often found solace in an upright piano in a dining hall on campus.

His love of acting and music was soon followed by a passion for running track and for fishing - casting a line would remain a favorite pastime for life.

Upon graduating in 1943, Lemmon joined the Marblehead Players in Boston, which at the time was a formidable theatrical stock company. This led to a featured role in Burlesque starring Bert Lahr, who will be forever remembered as the Cowardly Lion in the MGM classic, The Wizard of Oz. The elation Lemmon felt while preparing to get this new production on the boards was short-lived - he was fired after four days of rehearsals when Lahr found out that talented piano-player Lemmon couldn't read music. There was no time for self pity however, as Lemmon would soon be enrolling at an esteemed university called Harvard.

Lemmon's popularity grew on campus with each passing semester - all the while honing his acting and musical skills. Such dedication eventually paid off as his fellow students nominated and voted Lemmon to the office of presidency of their famed dramatic society, the Hasty Pudding Club.

In 1946, Lemmon took a three-month break from schooling to serve in the Navy as an ensign, assigned to the USS Lake Champlain, an aircraft carrier. This brief stint led to his degree in War Services Sciences upon his graduation from Harvard.

With discharge and graduation behind him, the actor was restless and decided it was time to try out for New York City and Broadway. With a $300 loan from his father, Lemmon arrived in the Big Apple in 1947. Times were tough and life around Broadway was even tougher. As the year drew to a close, Lemmon feared he would soon return to Boston, giving up his dream of life as a professional actor and giving in to his parents preference to join the "doughnut dynasty."

Come January 1948, Lemmon bumped into former Harvard alum Paul Killiam, who was now in charge of booking talent into the Old Knickerbocker Music Hall. Lemmon auditioned and was hired (no salary, free meals and occassional tips) and joined the likes of Jack Albertson, Maureen Stapleton, Gene Barry, Cliff Robertson and Darren McGavin on the Old Knick boards - singing, waiting tables or accompanying old silent films on the piano.

For The Films of Jack Lemmon, he recalled for author Joe Baltake, "I hardly made anything; in a way, it was a very black period. But watching [Charlie] Chaplin and [Buster] Keaton night after night was like a Harvard education in comedy technique."

Soon Lemmon was cast by theatrical legend Uta Hagen in an Off-Broadway production of Tolstoy's The Power of Darkness in the lead role of Nikita. Actress Cynthia Stone was chosen to play Nikita's sweetheart Marina and the romance enacted upon the stage soon replicated itself in real life. Now that his personal life found success, his professional life began to blossom as roles on radio, early television (then pioneering from New York City), and stage began to materialize more often.

Cynthia Stone returned to her hometown of Peoria, Illinois and married Lemmon on May 7, 1950. The newlyweds continued performing together, co-producing and co-starring on the little screen in four different series - The Ad-Libbers, The Couple Next Door, Heaven For Betsy and Wonderful Guy - all running fifteen-minute segments each.

Television, in its infancy, kept Lemmon busy, with the actor once estimating that he played over 400 roles in the medium. It was during this part of his career that Tinseltown began noticing this "new face."

Hollywood legend James Cagney penned his autobiography Cagney By Cagney in 1976, recalling: "When I saw this young man on television he went all through that hour show without missing a beat. An apple-pie performance. I missed the credits on the program, so I didn't know who he was. I called the office of Cagney Productions and said, 'Sign this young man if we can get him, whoever he is.' We weren't able to ..."

Cagney would see Lemmon again on another television program, again amazed at his talent, again unable to track him down - but, as fate would have it, their paths would cross soon, and famously so.

With his resumé growing, Lemmon would finally make his Broadway debut in the ill-fated yet career-changing revival of the comedy Room Service on April 6, 1953. Ill-fated because the show only ran for 16 performances; career-changing because Max Arnow, a talent scout for Columbia Studios, caught a performance and promptly touted Lemmon to studio boss Harry Cohn and legendary director George Cukor. Like Cagney, Arnow was also impressed by Lemmon after seeing the actor on TV, this case being a segment from Robert Montgomery Presents.

Less than a month after Lemmon took his final bow at the Playhouse Theatre in New York City, he and his wife Cynthia loaded their belongings, which included their terrier Duffy, into an old station wagon and drove across the country to Hollywood, California.

The toughest of all the studio bosses, Cohn was a man used to getting his way, more often than not. This being the case, the movie mogul uncharacteristically welcomed Lemmon to Hollywood with open arms and even lost the argument to change his name from Jack Lemmon to Jack or John Lennon. Cohn felt that critics would drop one "m" to Lemon if one of his films or performances failed - the actor argued that Lennon would make the audience think of a Russian dictator.

Lemmon would remain Lemmon and soon starred in his first motion picture, It Should Happen to You, opposite Judy Holliday. Director Cukor guided Lemmon through his first celluloid role as the "Average American Male" or "Mr. Everyman" - a moniker that would stick with the actor throughout his 45 plus year career in the cinema.

1954 proved to be a wonderful year for Lemmon - not only did he score with his motion picture debut, but on June 22, his son Christopher Boyd was born in Hollywood - in a large hospital proper and healthy.

After only three films for Columbia, the studio loaned Lemmon out to Warner Brothers for the movie version of the stage hit Mister Roberts. Lemmon was offered the role of Ensign Pulver - a role he wanted when the property was on Broadway. The cinematic version proved just as popular as the staged production, and Lemmon nearly stole the show - no small feat considering his co-stars included Henry Fonda, Cagney, William Powell and Ward Bond, to name but a few.

Cagney, again in his self-penned tome, remembered: "... a mind worked in back of Jack Lemmon's acting, and that he was determined to bring some distinction to any part he was playing."

Fonda shared Cagney's enthusiasm of Lemmon, telling author Don Widener, "I had never been more impressed. Lemmon gave Pulver another dimension ... he was Pulver; you couldn't beat him."

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences took notice also - members nominated Lemmon for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for 1955 - Lemmon won the prestigious award, beating competitors Arthur Kennedy, Joe Mantel, Sal Mineo and Arthur O'Connell for their supporting turns in Trial, Marty, Rebel Without a Cause and Picnic, respectively.

The high of an Oscar nomination and win would sadly prove to be short-lived - like his parents before him, his marriage to Cynthia was crumbling. In The Films of Jack Lemmon, the actor offered: "It (the marriage) was never right. We split up four times before we finally got divorced. I don't know what happened to us. It's just that we were dead with each other.

"It was like that with my parents. They were separated for years. They parted after my college days. They lived five minutes away from each other and would see each other all the time. They just couldn't live together. Neither could we, I suppose."

The divorce was final in late 1956. With his failed first marriage behind him, the actor continued to find success on the big screen. Lemmon appeared opposite talents such as Robert Mitchum and Rita Hayworth in Fire Down Below, Glenn Ford in Cowboy and James Stewart and Kim Novak in Bell, Book and Candle.

Music remained a mainstay in his life and in 1958 Epic Records released A Twist of Lemmon. The album of standards and Lemmon-penned ditties proved so popular that Epic released a second album the following year by Lemmon featuring songs from the Roaring 20s - the platter shared the title of his current film offering - Some Like It Hot.

Lemmon shared the screen with Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe in the classic prohibitionera comedy under the direction and writing talents of Billy Wilder. Started by Cukor, stardom for Lemmon was now cemented by Wilder. Decades after the films release, the American Film Institute voted Some Like It Hot the funniest movie of all time. You've no doubt seen it at least once - enough said.

The Wilder-Lemmon magic was conjured up a second time with the release of The Apartment in 1960, landing the actor his second Oscar nomination for Best Actor (his first, also courtesy of Billy Wilder, was for Some Like It Hot). Though Lemmon lost to Burt Lancaster for Elmer Gantry, The Apartment won five statuettes, including Best Picture and Best Director. Shirley MacLaine and Fred MacMurray co-starred for Wilder.

The writer-director assessed Lemmon this way: "All I can say is, 'Not since Cary Grant.'" Lemmon replied: "He has an eye and an ear like a hawk. With Billy, it's never just words on paper. He sees scripts. I just consider myself blessed he's seen me in so many of them."

Cinematic success followed Lemmon for several years, including two classic turns for director Blake Edwards - Days of Wine and Roses and The Great Race, released in 1962 and 1965, respectively. The films and roles are worlds apart however both showcased the brilliance of Lemmon - first as the alcoholic newlywed and second in a dual turn as a cartoonish villain and an impish royal. Both were box-office successes; the first release lauded by critics - the second, lambasted. Both films remain two of Lemmon's best efforts where fans are concerned.

Lemmon met actress Felicia Farr back in 1958 on the set of Cowboy and they slowly began their sometimes tumultous relationship, which culminated in marriage on August 17, 1962, with Wilder and fellow director Richard Quine serving as best men.

The nuptials took place in Paris where Lemmon and Wilder were working on what would become another hit, Irma La Douce, again featuring MacLaine.

Bantam Books published My Lucky Stars -A Hollywood Memoir in 1995 by Shirley MacLaine, who recounted: "Jack Lemmon, my darling Jack, (The Apartment, Irma La Douce) is the epitome of what it means to be a nice person. He was always prepared, yet mischeviously open for a good laugh. His genius was so riveting that I would often come in on my days off or stay late at night just to watch him cast his comic spell before the camera."

In 1966, the Lemmons welcomed their daughter, Courtney Noel, into the world on January 7 - her godfather is Billy Wilder.

The hits kept coming and Lemmon won his second Academy Award, this time as Best Actor, for his devastating portrayal of middle-aged businessman Harry Stoner in the drama Save the Tiger, released in 1973 by Paramount Pictures.

Lemmon made this statement about both of his Oscar triumphs in 65 Years of The Oscar by Robert Osborne: "With whatever problems one faces in trying to decide which of five different performances is the best, there is still no question that the fortunate winner is receiving a very high honor indeed. But there are many who may justifiably feel that the nomination itself is an equal honor. Though the craft of acting is basically geared to a general audience acceptance, there is still the understandable and special pride that the actor feels when his peers deem his efforts to be worthy of an Oscar. Long may that joy persist."

With all of his Hollywood big screen success, Lemmon occasionally returned to the stage and television, most notably in a 1970 revival of Idiot's Delight at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, and in 'S Wonderful, 'S Marvelous, 'S Gershwin for NBC-TV in 1972. He also turned to producing films under the banner of his own Jalem Productions, including the classic Cool Hand Luke, starring Paul Newman.

His star continued to ascend, most notably with releases such as The China Syndrome (1979), Missing (1982), Dad (1989),Glen garry Glen Ross (1992) and Hamlet (1996).

As Lemmon entered the decade of the 90s, he appeared in several noteworthy television projects including 12 Angry Men in 1997 and Inherit the Wind in 1999. He copped an Emmy for his work in Tuesdays With Morrie for executive producer Oprah Winfrey.

The turn of the century and the year 2000 saw his last work on the big screen. Lemmon provided the narration for director Robert Redford's film The Legend of Bagger Vance, which starred Will Smith, Matt Damon and Charlize Theron.

With a film career that entered into a sixth decade, Lemmon proved time and again that he was one of the best actors from his generation -certainly one of the best-liked performers in Hollywood. His leading ladies ranged from Doris Day to Elaine May; from Sissy Spacek to Jane Fonda and Julie Andrews. He chewed the scenery with fellow actors such as Al Pacino, Fred Astaire, Michael Douglas, George C. Scott and Kevin Spacey. He traded comedic quips with legends such as Ernie Kovacs and Carol Burnett.

An example of Lemmon's popularity amongst his peers occurred during the 55th Annual Golden Globe Award ceremony in Beverly Hills, California, in January of 1998. Lemmon was nominated in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV category. The actor was nominated for his turn as Juror #8 in William Friedkin's Showtime Network remake of 12 Angry Men.

When fellow nominee Ving Rhames was announced the winner for his portrayal of Don King for the HBO movie Don King: Only in America, a shaken Rhames took to the stage and asked Lemmon to join him. Confused, Lemmon reluctantly joined Rhames, who stunned both those in attendance and those watching from the comfort of their homes by praising Lemmon's work then handing him the award!

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Excerpted from Jack and Walter by Ben Costello. Copyright © 2009 Ben Costello. Excerpted by permission of Five Star Publications, Inc..
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