Jack Lemmon
Born - 8 February 1925 - 
Boston Massachusetts.
Died 28 June 2001

Lemmon was a semi-private man, always congenial and lighthearted, but with a certain reserve that hinted of his Boston birth and Ivy League education. Nonetheless, he's willing to reflect openly on the beginnings of his life as an actor, all part of performing his chore of calling attention to his new film, "The Odd Couple II," which opens today. He rejoins his old sparring mate, Walter Matthau, in a script by Neil Simon, a follow-up to their 1968 hit. 

Lemmon, winner of two Academy Awards, has enjoyed 45 years of uninterrupted stardom in films. 
"I was attracted to acting for the simple reason that I was accepted by my peers, the kids at school, when I performed. I said, 'Gee, this is terrific.' It had nothing to do with talent; it had everything to do with being accepted. 

"So I kept at it and started doing bits between classes. The kids would start coming over and saying, imitate W.C. Fields for us or Mae West. Do this, do that, tell us a story.  Every night, instead of studying, I'd make up stories at home. Then I'd tell them to the kids. Later I fell in love with it when I started acting." 

Thanks to his schooling at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. he was accepted to both Harvard and Yale. He decided on Harvard to be close to his family in Boston. Later, he realized he could have taken advantage of the Yale Drama School. Harvard had no such curriculum, but he did appear in plays for the Hasty Pudding Club and the drama club. 

Before his service in the Navy, Lemmon spent two seasons in summer theater. After the war he studied with the great teacher-actress Uta Hagen as well as the coach David Alexander. "We did scene-study classes with David," Lemmon recalls. "On Wednesday nights we would do the scenes before the class, and the students would critique it.  Then he would say, 'What about counterpoint, going exactly the opposite? What would happen?' Now, the scene wouldn't hold up that way. But it was interesting ...to see the actor trying to play it that way, stretching himself, also using what David called obstacles: thinking of things to get in the way of achieving what the actor does in the scene." 

This helps explain the Lemmon style, especially in comedy: It's offbeat, seemingly tentative, often surprising. You're never sure what he's going to do next, hence you need to keep your eyes on him. 
In New York, Lemmon began finding jobs in radio and off-Broadway, playing piano in bars during lean periods. Then came one of the great American acting schools: live television. 

During the 1950s, the networks offered numerous dramatic programs that brought experience and recognition to a new generation of actors, among them Paul Newman, Grace Kelly, James Dean, Rod Steiger, Cliff Robertson, Lee Remick, Steve McQueen, Eva Marie Saint, Charlton Heston -- and Jack Lemmon.  "It was great training, no question," Lemmon says. 

Actors needed to learn their roles fast and be prepared for any emergency. No retakes, no second chances. The programs were transmitted instantaneously to millions.  One of Lemmon's first shows was an hour drama for Kraft Television Theater. During a long speech, he drifted to a fireplace. Unbeknownst to him, that part of the set had been hauled upwards, "exposing three guys playing cards."  Lemmon went sprawling. He got up, said, "I'm sorry," and continued his speech. 

Television helped attract Hollywood interest. Lemmon costarred with Judy Holliday in his first movie, "It Should Happen to You." As Ensign Pulver in his fourth film, "Mister Roberts," he won the 1955 Academy Award for supporting actor, and his career was established. 

In 1973, he won the Oscar as best actor for "Save the Tiger," and he has been nominated for "Some Like It Hot," "The Apartment," "Days of Wine and Roses," "The China Syndrome," "Tribute" and "Missing."  Lemmon has been working almost nonstop for two years. He won't be in front of the camera again until the fall when he and Matthau shoot "The Odd Couple III." He also planned to make a TV movie version of "Inherit the Wind," the play and later a film that fictionalized the Scopes trial. George C. Scott will costar.  Unfortunately, that never came to pass.

"I love it," Lemmon says. "I'll never quit." He didn't - really.