Jack Lemmon was born in an elevator. He must have been in a bit of a rush and never seemed to slow down from there. He died at 76 in 2001 after a diverse career in both comedies and dramas. He left his mark as one of America's favorite actors of all time. Let's look at some stats of his career:
Although widely known as a great comic actor, seven out of his eight Oscar nominations were for dramas. Lemmon worked on four films with Billy Wilder and made eight films with Walter Matthau. Lemmon died almost exactly one year after the death of Matthau, and he arranged to be buried right next to him. With typical Jack Lemmon wit, his gravestone simply reads "Jack Lemmon — in." From the beginning to the end of his life, Jack Lemmon didn't do anything just as everyone else did. (The video shows a hilarious Oscar night speech by Lemmon and Matthau about directors.)
A Harvard graduate, Lemmon was often cast in "everyman" roles. He was the cameraman bowled over and injured by the football player in "The Fortune Cookie." He was the struggling musician going to great lengths to avoid the mob in "Some Like it Hot," named by AFI the funniest movie of all time (and my favorite). He was a fast-talking reporter, with a style often imitated, in "The Front Page." And he portrayed a regular guy going through a very dark midlife crisis in "Save the Tiger."
When Jack Lemmon died, movie stations on TV seemed to show all Jack Lemmon, all the time. I watched many of the movies and recorded a few more. I still miss him.
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