Captivating Close-Up: Jack Lemmon

John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor known principally for his comedic roles. He starred in over 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Days of Wine and Roses, Irma La Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger, The Out-of-Towners, Glengarry Glen Ross, The China Syndrome and JFK.

Lemmon's film debut was a bit part as a plasterer/painter in the 1949 film The Lady Takes a Sailor but he was not noticed until his official debut opposite Judy Holliday in the 1954 comedy, It Should Happen to You. Lemmon worked with many legendary leading ladies of the cinema screen, among them Marilyn Monroe, Natalie Wood, Betty Grable, Janet Leigh, Shirley MacLaine, Romy Schneider, Doris Day, Kim Novak, Judy Holliday, Rita Hayworth, June Allyson, Virna Lisi, Ann Margret, Sophia Loren, Grace Lee Whitney, Kathryn Grant and many, many more. He was also close friends with Tony Curtis, Ernie Kovacs and Walter Matthau. He made two films with Curtis and eleven with Matthau.

Jack Lemmon died of colon cancer and metastatic cancer of the bladder on June 27, 2001. He had been fighting the disease, very privately, for two years before his death.

Lemmon's son, Chris Lemmon, made several TV shows and movies. He also wrote a book about his father after his death named 'A Twist of Lemmon: A Tribute to My Father'.

Source: Wikipedia