Hello and thank you for being a DL contributor. We are changing the login scheme for contributors for simpler login and to better support using multiple devices. Please click here to update your account with a username and password.

Hello. Some features on this site require registration. Please click here to register for free.

Hello and thank you for registering. Please complete the process by verifying your email address. If you can't find the email you can resend it here.

Hello. Some features on this site require a subscription. Please click here to get full access and no ads for $1.99 or less per month.

Jack Lemmon

He is a Hollywood star with an unusual reputation: you cannot find anyone to say a bad word about him.

His versatility has earned him a career that has lasted over 50 years. He has twice won an Oscar and been nominated eight times. He gained recognition as a comic actor in films like Some Like It Hot and The Odd Couple, and as a serious one in The China Syndrome and Missing. And he is a fine stage actor, too. He looked back on a series of enviable achievements and said "the worst part about being me is when people want me to make them laugh."

Let's discuss the American actor Jack Lemmon.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 113June 1, 2023 3:38 AM

A discussion with Jack Lemmon and Sue Lawley on Desert Island Discs (1989)

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 1May 27, 2023 2:36 AM

The perfect American everyman

by Anonymousreply 2May 27, 2023 2:40 AM

His son Chris had a career for a few years and then disappeared. I wonder what he thought when Ving Rhames gave his award to him?

by Anonymousreply 3May 27, 2023 2:41 AM

Agree he was terrific. I think his first role was in an absolutely charming/hilarious movie called It Should Happen to You with Judy Holiday. Very sweet scene where they sing together at a piano.

I always thought of Lemmon and William Holden as two sides of the same coin. Lemmon the sunny side and Holden the dark, sexy side. But they always reminded me of each other in a doppelgänger fashion.

by Anonymousreply 4May 27, 2023 2:42 AM

R3 I think his son won a big lawsuit and then inherited a lot from his father.

by Anonymousreply 5May 27, 2023 2:45 AM

Audiences for Jack's Army training films were standing room only

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 6May 27, 2023 2:46 AM

Love him in Day of Wine and Roses with Lee Remick

by Anonymousreply 7May 27, 2023 2:49 AM

It wasn't until Jack Lemmon portrayed a woman that he became a leading man.

by Anonymousreply 8May 27, 2023 2:52 AM

He was perfect. Perfect timing. Charisma like he was born to be in front of a camera. Absolutely natural. I can't think of anyone better.

by Anonymousreply 9May 27, 2023 2:57 AM

Favorite actor after Brando. The quintessential great at comedy/great at drama actor.

by Anonymousreply 10May 27, 2023 2:59 AM

He was handsome in an honest way.

by Anonymousreply 11May 27, 2023 3:01 AM

[quote]His versatility has earned him a career that has lasted over 50 years.

You know he's dead, right?

by Anonymousreply 12May 27, 2023 3:02 AM

He is one of my favorite actors of all time, so I am a little biased. His works with Neil Simon give me life. Thank you for the thread, OP

Someone in a thread a few weeks ago called him a ham. Perhaps a bit of scenery chewing here and there, but so delightfully done that I cannot complain

by Anonymousreply 13May 27, 2023 3:07 AM

Wasn't he a mentor to La Spacey? Doesn't exactly speak to his character judging abilities.

by Anonymousreply 14May 27, 2023 3:09 AM

I wonder if Harry Cohn tried to change his name when he was signed by Columbia.

by Anonymousreply 15May 27, 2023 3:09 AM

I truly believe Spacey lead an insidious life as an actor on movie sets in which he could successfully keep hidden his wicked ways from most of the other actors and crews. And his young victims were simply too intimidated to come forward with accusations. I doubt Lemmon ever saw or even heard about Spacey's other life.

by Anonymousreply 16May 27, 2023 3:17 AM

It's magic time.

by Anonymousreply 17May 27, 2023 3:21 AM

In his later years, he gave some damn fine dramatic performances:

JFK

Glengarry Glen Ross

Hamlet

12 Angry Men

Inherit the Wind

Tuesdays with Morrie

by Anonymousreply 18May 27, 2023 3:24 AM

What is with this OP, who keeps posting copied-and-pasted shit about famous people and then commands that we "talk about them" while she curates like a reading club monitor.

by Anonymousreply 19May 27, 2023 3:26 AM

I loved him. One of the finest film actors of all time in my opinion.

by Anonymousreply 20May 27, 2023 3:28 AM

Mrs. Lemmon...

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 21May 27, 2023 3:30 AM

R19 It is fun discussion. You can move on

by Anonymousreply 22May 27, 2023 3:37 AM

Jack and Judy had real chemistry.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 23May 27, 2023 3:42 AM

Mr Roberts. Such a great film and Lemmon was great in it.

by Anonymousreply 24May 27, 2023 3:47 AM

I just found out Tom's son Truman plays the younger version of him in 'A Man Called Otto'. I bet that eats Chet up that both of his brothers get to act with their dad. I blame Rita for Chet.

by Anonymousreply 25May 27, 2023 3:57 AM

oh sorry r25 is in the wrong thread. lolz

by Anonymousreply 26May 27, 2023 3:58 AM

Love his friendship with Walter Matthau

by Anonymousreply 27May 27, 2023 4:00 AM

Well, Hanks and Lemmon *do* share an amiability.

by Anonymousreply 28May 27, 2023 4:01 AM

He was indeed a great actor but for some reason I like him best in Bell, Book, and Candle where he is the epitome of careless charm.

by Anonymousreply 29May 27, 2023 4:03 AM

The Apartment - he was just so lovely in The Apartment . Oh and in Days of Wine and Roses when he ruins his father in laws Green House looking for the liquor bottle - it is so repulsive and pathetic - he was wonderful. ….. You know I haven’t seen it in about 20 years or more but he did that 1980s tv “extravaganza” about the Murder of Mary Phaegan with Peter Gallagher. ……. What was the movie where he was an illustrator that later was My World an Welcome to It with William Windom?

by Anonymousreply 30May 27, 2023 4:26 AM

I hope Chris was more a Truman than a Chet...

by Anonymousreply 31May 27, 2023 4:27 AM

What happened to his ass?

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 32May 27, 2023 4:35 AM

[quote] lolz

LoL! :)

by Anonymousreply 33May 27, 2023 4:36 AM

A great talent !

by Anonymousreply 34May 27, 2023 4:36 AM

R5, what was the lawsuit about?

by Anonymousreply 35May 27, 2023 4:37 AM

As far as I can see he did not act with or know Eric Porter. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

by Anonymousreply 36May 27, 2023 4:40 AM

He did an interview w/James Lipton on the Actors' Studio. That's when I knew Lipton was an inflexible interviewer and could only stick to the questions on his cards. Jack opened the door and said something about his alcoholism. Lipton froze, went back to his cards, and no more was said about Jack's alcoholism.

Anyway, I recently rewatched (partially) Glengary Glenross. Whoa. Do not watch that movie if you're feeling depressed.

I think Michael Imperioli had really good things to say about Jack Lemmon.

by Anonymousreply 37May 27, 2023 4:47 AM

Can anyone do Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon for Lemmon and Eric Porter without cheating?

by Anonymousreply 38May 27, 2023 4:51 AM

R30, James Thurber - The War Between Men and Women.

by Anonymousreply 39May 27, 2023 5:13 AM

Growing up, my mother used to complain about Lemmon because he “shouted all the time.”

Which was odd, because my mom is a constant shouter..

by Anonymousreply 40May 27, 2023 5:27 AM

Lemmon and Sandy Dennis were delightful in The Out-of-Towners.

by Anonymousreply 41May 27, 2023 5:30 AM

Everyone has nice things to say about Jack Lemmon. I suppose back in his drinking days he could probably be a cunt but everyone he ever worked with said he was a lovely man so maybe he was a quiet drunk.

Save the Tiger was a really good movie.

by Anonymousreply 42May 27, 2023 5:37 AM

The first movie of his that comes to mind is Costa-Gavras's 1982 film Missing, with Lemmon and Sissy Spacek. It's been decades since a I've seen it, and this thread has inspired a rewatch. Anyway, I also love the guy and he's the movie dad I never had

by Anonymousreply 43May 27, 2023 5:38 AM

R40, are you the nice one in the family?

by Anonymousreply 44May 27, 2023 5:40 AM

To be fair, Neil Simon's dialogue almost demands to be shouted.

by Anonymousreply 45May 27, 2023 5:51 AM

[quote]Lemmon and Sandy Dennis were delightful in The Out-of-Towners.

I'm a fan of both actors, but I despise that movie, which I find about as funny as a cholera epidemic. Neil Simon at his very worst. And Lemmon's character is incredibly annoying from start to finish.

by Anonymousreply 46May 27, 2023 6:47 AM

I love Jack Lemmon!

by Anonymousreply 47May 27, 2023 7:10 AM

I played golf with him in a celebrity tournament. He was a good player, nice, personable man, and just as you might imagine, a bit jumpy. His wife was quite nice at the dinner afterwards.

by Anonymousreply 48May 27, 2023 7:21 AM

He was divorced from his first wife - a brief marriage. His second marriage was very successful. He married her in the early 1960's and stayed married to her for the rest of his life. Unusual for Hollywood.

by Anonymousreply 49May 27, 2023 7:28 AM

Oh and just to add to the fun above, Johnny Mathis was also in our 4-some. Niiice!

by Anonymousreply 50May 27, 2023 7:31 AM

Most of the above is true, except it was discovered after his death that his home in Beverly Hills had a secret torture dungeon in which he anally raped babies.

by Anonymousreply 51May 27, 2023 7:36 AM

No, of course not.

by Anonymousreply 52May 27, 2023 7:36 AM

Okay R51 but at least he didn't do any GROOMING, that would be really bad. So he anally raped a few babies, at least he didn't circumcise them, that would be awful.

by Anonymousreply 53May 27, 2023 7:47 AM

Universally loved. He annoys the fuck out of me. I said he never goes for reality in his acting. That that would be boring. It shows. He does the heterosexual version of camping it up when he acts.

Another one everyone loves > I've just been on facebook and reading a thread about Michael Caine - people think he's some sort of messiah. I can't bear him. I hate everything about him.

One more, everyone loves him but me actor, before I go - Peter Sellers.

ciao

by Anonymousreply 54May 27, 2023 8:40 AM

I always found Neil Simon to be beyond formulaic, but with the exception of The Out of Towners, Lemmon was able to make his characters appear human.

I know there's love here for The Odd Couple, but the one I remember fondly is Prisoner of Second Avenue with Anne Bancroft.

[quote]I wonder what he thought when Ving Rhames gave his award to him?

God, I forgot all about that.

That was so weird, and IIRC Lemmon was thoroughly embarrassed by it.

by Anonymousreply 55May 27, 2023 9:16 AM

[quote]I know there's love here for The Odd Couple, but the one I remember fondly is Prisoner of Second Avenue with Anne Bancroft.

VERY dated now (& not in a good way).

by Anonymousreply 56May 27, 2023 9:37 AM

R54, agree completely with you. Lemmon always gives the same hyped-up, spazzed out, over-the-top hammy performance. The bundle-of-nerves schtick wears thin quickly.

Okay, ready for the hate on me!

by Anonymousreply 57May 27, 2023 11:19 AM

Love lemmon

by Anonymousreply 58May 27, 2023 12:29 PM

Fun fact. Lemmon got to keep the globe Rhames gave him. And Rhames got one of his own also. One of the top five award show moments ever. I tear up when I rewatch it. Lemmon was one of the most extraordinary actors ever to grace Hollywood. The reaction in that room to him the night of the Golden Globes tells you all you need to know.

by Anonymousreply 59May 27, 2023 12:37 PM

R39 That’s right - rmthats it! The War Berween Men and Women. I have a vague childhood memory of seeing that at the Drive in with my parents.

by Anonymousreply 60May 27, 2023 12:49 PM

I love Jack Lemmon in many things, both early (THE APARTMENT) and late (GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS), but he could be mannered beyond belief, especially in a "serious" role -- check out his dreadful turn in LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, for instance.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 61May 27, 2023 12:52 PM

Terrible ham in "Save the Tiger."

by Anonymousreply 62May 27, 2023 12:53 PM

I like Grumpy Old Men too

by Anonymousreply 63May 27, 2023 12:53 PM

I got to know him a little bit 1980ish. He was a good customer at the fancy men’s store in NYC, Andre Oliver. He was very nice, normal and paid as he bought with a credit card- no assumptions of house accounts due to fame. It definitely occurred to me that he drank a lot- watery eyes, ruddy complexion etc. But he was a nice guy- not a hint of do you know who I am.

by Anonymousreply 64May 27, 2023 12:54 PM

OS, I think my favorite film of his is Day of Wine and Roses- pretty heavy stuff with an excellent Lee Remick.

by Anonymousreply 65May 27, 2023 12:58 PM

PS, oops

by Anonymousreply 66May 27, 2023 12:59 PM

I think of him as the Tom Hanks of his era but much better.

by Anonymousreply 67May 27, 2023 1:22 PM

R64 he admitted to being an alcoholic on Inside The Actors Studio, which kind of surprised me. Lemmon seemed so intelligent, poised and confident. You really never know with anybody and their inner lives. This might’ve been around the time he was on the sauce the most.

by Anonymousreply 68May 27, 2023 1:32 PM

“Wasn't he a mentor to La Spacey?“

Wasn’t that Jason Robards?

by Anonymousreply 69May 27, 2023 1:48 PM

Having worked with Spacey on LONG DAY'S JOURNEY, Lemmon presumably played a role in Spacey's getting small parts in THE MURDER OF MARY PHAGAN and DAD.

I'm not aware of a personal Spacey-Robards connection, but I'm sure that Spacey yearned to BE Robards, especially in playing LONG DAY'S JOURNEY, ICEMAN and MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN.

by Anonymousreply 70May 27, 2023 2:18 PM

Forgive my ignorance but what are the details on the incident with Ving Rhames at the Golden Globes?

by Anonymousreply 71May 27, 2023 2:44 PM

Google is your friend, R71.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 72May 27, 2023 2:58 PM

Pauline Kael, in a post-retirement interview, when asked how SHORT CUTS features both the worst and the best of Altman:

"The camera fastened on Jack Lemmon's back as he walks down the hospital corridor pushes its point -- it's awful. Lemmon tries so hard, he has a special mood-altering quality. He seems to be pleading with you, and you think, 'What is it he's pleading with us for, in movie after movie? What does he want from us?'"

by Anonymousreply 73May 27, 2023 3:04 PM

R70, Kevin Spacey will tell you himself . . .

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 74May 27, 2023 3:51 PM

[quote]He married her in the early 1960's and stayed married to her for the rest of his life. Unusual for Hollywood.

He knew Felicia was a catch, r49.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 75May 27, 2023 4:09 PM

[quote]Terrible ham in "Save the Tiger."

And yet he won the best actor Oscar for it, which tells you something about the Oscars.

by Anonymousreply 76May 27, 2023 5:36 PM

Yes, they give lifetime achievement awards disguised as Best Actor awards. Terrible film.

by Anonymousreply 77May 28, 2023 1:42 PM

Good in the forgotten about The Grass Harp. Direct by Charles Matthau, based on the novella by Truman Capote.

Great cast too: Lemmon, along with Piper Laurie, Sissy Spacek, Nell Carter, Mary Steenburgen, Roddy McDowell, Charles Durning, Joe Don Baker, Doris Roberts, Bonnie Bartlett, and Walter Matthau.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 78May 28, 2023 11:47 PM

Spacek must have felt let down working on [italic]The Grass Harp[/italic], after the dizzying heights of her success with [italic]The Mommy Market[/italic] just a year or so before.

by Anonymousreply 79May 29, 2023 3:25 AM

R79 sarcasm?

by Anonymousreply 80May 29, 2023 3:14 PM

Jack was a movie star, not a character actor. He had a distinct personality and when cast properly he really shone. Where so many of you see hamminess (which he was quite capable of), I see a certain midcentury personality type: the hopeless, frantic striver who is doomed to forever be on the outside, never to grasp that brass ring that men of his era were supposed to try for.

This same "character" spans all the way from The Apartment to Days of Wine and Roses to Save the Tiger to Glengarry Glen Ross. A guy who believes in the American Dream of success, a businessman who sweats and frets but never can quite make it. The All-American Loser.

I knew people very much like him in real life. He felt authentic to me, even when he was irritatingly kinetic. Being irritating was part of that "loser" persona. Maybe he feels inauthentic and forced to younger people because his generation is all gone now, along with those ideals of success that his characters failed to reach.

by Anonymousreply 81May 29, 2023 5:02 PM

Well said, R81 -- and all of it is why he was such a spectacularly bad fit for James Tyrone, Sr.

by Anonymousreply 82May 29, 2023 5:19 PM

R81 nails it. And while Lemmon excelled in certain dramatic roles (especially Days Of Wine And Roses), genuine tragedy (i.e. Long Day's Journey) was beyond his capabilities.

Someone above mentioned HAMLET. You must be joking. Fortunately he plays Marcellus which is a small role at the beginning, but Lemmon's flat, awkward line readings stick out in the worst way. It was a bit of stunt casting by Kenneth Branagh to help get financing.

by Anonymousreply 83May 29, 2023 5:49 PM

Stunt casting? But, whatever do you mean, r83??

And yes, BRAVO to r81 for that brilliant assessment.

by Anonymousreply 84May 29, 2023 6:00 PM

R84 stunt casting is when a director hires a "bankable" actor. In Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet, Branagh hired Lemmon as Marcellus, Billy Crystal as the Grave Digger, Robin Williams as Orsic, and Charlton Heston as the Player King.

Only Heston was good.

by Anonymousreply 85May 29, 2023 6:51 PM

Action hero

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 86May 29, 2023 6:57 PM

I love Jack Lemmon as a dramatic actor. Missing is one of my favorite films. But as a comic actor, a little Jack Lemmon goes a looong way.

by Anonymousreply 87May 29, 2023 7:04 PM

R48 and R50

And who might you be to get to play golf with Lemmon and Mathis?

I hate golf, but I'm still insanely jealous.

by Anonymousreply 88May 30, 2023 3:43 PM

I loved him in The Great Race. He was hilarious as Professor Fate. And dealing with Natalie Wood - who had a nervous breakdown during the taping. And immature ass - Tony Curtis - must have been challenging.

by Anonymousreply 89May 30, 2023 10:26 PM

He was also a Harvard grad, back when that meant something before it became a factory for turning out MAGA assholes.

by Anonymousreply 90May 30, 2023 10:33 PM

[quote]I loved him in The Great Race. He was hilarious as Professor Fate. And dealing with Natalie Wood - who had a nervous breakdown during the taping. And immature ass - Tony Curtis - must have been challenging.

I'm quite sure "The Great Race" was shot on film rather than videotape.

by Anonymousreply 91May 31, 2023 1:21 AM

Perfect actor

by Anonymousreply 92May 31, 2023 3:04 AM

The first Grumpy Old Men was his peak as an actor, he was able to balance drama and comedy.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 93May 31, 2023 3:25 AM

My Fellow Americans, about two former Presidents (one Republican, one Democrat), with James Garner is fantastic. It held up well. Could be a hilarious remake potentially.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 94May 31, 2023 3:27 AM

R94 too political

by Anonymousreply 95May 31, 2023 3:44 AM

R95 that would be the comedy. Imagine Cory Booker and Matt Gaetz types stuck together on a road trip.

by Anonymousreply 96May 31, 2023 4:09 AM

[quote] My Fellow Americans, about two former Presidents

Lemon represented Jimmy Carter. Garner represented Reagan.

by Anonymousreply 97May 31, 2023 5:02 AM

R97 Lemmon was the Republican and Garner the Democrat. Lemmon’s character was a mix of Carter and GHWB, Garner’s was a horn dog like Clinton.

by Anonymousreply 98May 31, 2023 5:05 AM

Some critics speculated that Jack Lemmon's character in "The China Syndrome" (a nuclear engineer who was a submarine commander in the navy and is a strong supporter of nuclear energy) was at least partly inspired by then President Carter, who had been a naval nuclear engineer and in 1952 was send to Chalk River, Ontario to lead a maintenance crew after a partial meltdown at a reactor there. Less than a month after "The China Syndrome" was released, Carter visited the Three Mile Island nuclear plant which had just suffered a partial meltdown at a reactor.

by Anonymousreply 99May 31, 2023 5:42 AM

[quote] Carter visited the Three Mile Island nuclear plant which had just suffered a partial meltdown at a reactor.

Yes with horrible consequences

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 100May 31, 2023 5:50 AM

This is a tough one. I admired so many things about his talent, but unfortunately that era of comedy, the 1960’s color films with broad, goofy jokes and irritating obvious gags, and the bug-eyed comic frustrations and disbeliefs, hasn’t aged well. But maybe that’s a function of the era, and the writing and staging. Watching Neil Simon is pretty frustrating now. I just wish it was funnier, and I feel bad for the actors trying to make it funny. But I understand the time specific taste for comedy, and maybe I will appreciate the films more in time. I do like the period styling and autos and sets, though.

But the overall arc of his work/craft is pretty masterful. A talented guy with a lot of good fortune, and some humility about it. That seems rare.

by Anonymousreply 101May 31, 2023 10:10 AM

Fell “in love” with him in “Mr Roberts”; did not realize at that tender age that my desire to comfort him in his moment of grief and loss meant that I really wanted ti suck his duck ( PS exactly the same held true for Tony Perkins in “Friendly Persuasion” -I was a slow learner).

by Anonymousreply 102May 31, 2023 12:46 PM

R101 do you not like Murder by Death?

by Anonymousreply 103May 31, 2023 1:08 PM

R103 God I really wanted to like that film, but found the jokes to be so cheesy and goofy, but not in a very clever or subversive way. Let me watch again. I loved Eileen Brennan so much in everything else, so…

by Anonymousreply 104May 31, 2023 1:58 PM

'What is it he's pleading with us for, in movie after movie? What does he want from us?'"

That's it! That's the quality in his acting I couldn't pinpoint.. I think it had something to do with wanting to be liked. It could be a little embarrassing, a bit too effortful.

by Anonymousreply 105May 31, 2023 3:49 PM

IMO, professionally his acting washammy, and personally he was boring.

by Anonymousreply 106May 31, 2023 4:05 PM

Tom Hanks is a kind of Jack Lemmon only less annoying.

by Anonymousreply 107May 31, 2023 4:28 PM

Holy shit! That Army film not only had Jack Lemmon starring, but also included DL fave Connie Ford!

by Anonymousreply 108May 31, 2023 4:56 PM

My mother lived her life on a chance encounter with Jack Lemmon. My father was in a NY bar for the second night. Jack Lemmon was sitting next to him, and said, "Hey! Don't I know you? Oh, yeah, you're the guy who was sitting next to that knockout brunette last night." My mother never got to see Lemmon, just retell the story. Of course, Lemmon was her favorite movie star. We heard the story ad nauseum growing up.

by Anonymousreply 109May 31, 2023 5:13 PM

[quote] That Army film not only had Jack Lemmon starring, but also included DL fave Connie Ford!

I watch a lot of those old training films. They're interesting not only for who you may recognize but also you never know when you might have occasion to properly load a bazooka so as to kill a herd of giant mutant ants

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 110May 31, 2023 5:21 PM

Too much muchness.

by Anonymousreply 111May 31, 2023 5:52 PM

Matthau & Lemmon were the perfect comedy pair

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 112June 1, 2023 3:20 AM

[quote]Only Heston was good.

Well, r85, he *did* like to do the classics, like...Peer Gynt.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 113June 1, 2023 3:38 AM
Loading
Need more help? Click Here.

Yes indeed, we too use "cookies." Take a look at our privacy/terms or if you just want to see the damn site without all this bureaucratic nonsense, click ACCEPT. Otherwise, you'll just have to find some other site for your pointless bitchery needs.

×

Become a contributor - post when you want with no ads!