Jack Lemmon(1925-2001)
- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Jack Lemmon was born in Newton, Massachusetts, to Mildred Lankford Noel and John Uhler Lemmon, Jr., the president of a doughnut company.
His ancestry included Irish (from his paternal grandmother) and
English. Jack attended Ward Elementary near his Newton, MA home. At age
9 he was sent to Rivers Country Day School, then located in nearby
Brookline. After RCDS, he went to high school at Phillips Andover
Academy. Jack was a member of the Harvard class of 1947, where he was
in Navy ROTC and the Dramatic Club. After service as a Navy ensign, he
worked in a beer hall (playing piano), on radio, off Broadway, TV and
Broadway. His movie debut was with
Judy Holliday in
Une femme qui s'affiche (1954).
He won Best Supporting Actor as Ensign Pulver in
Permission jusqu'à l'aube (1955). He received
nominations in comedy
(Certains l'aiment chaud (1959),
La garçonnière (1960)) and drama
(Le jour du vin et des roses (1962),
Le syndrome chinois (1979),
Un fils pour l'été (1980) and
Missing - Porté disparu (1982)). He won the Best Actor
Oscar for Sauvez le tigre (1973)
and the Cannes Best Actor award for "Syndrome" and "Missing". He made
his debut as a director with Grand-père à louer (1971)
and in 1985 on Broadway in "Long Day's Journey into Night". In 1988 he
received the Life Achievement Award of the American Film Institute.
