Known For: American actor (1925–2001)
Category: Actors
Occupation: film actor, film director, character actor, television actor, actor, television presenter, stage actor, musician, comedian
Country: United States of America
City: Newton
Date of Birth: Sunday, 08 February 1925
Died: 2001-06-27 00:00:00 in Q65
John Uhler Lemmon III was an American actor. Considered proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures. He received numerous accolades including two Academy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. He received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1988, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1991, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 1996. The Guardian labeled him as "the most successful tragi-comedian of his age."
| BirthPlace | Newton |
| Education | Q13371, Q1432645, Q49123, Q7338301, Q5629067, Q3017750 |
| Awards | Q1265782, Q106291, Q103916, Q1631998, Q1738793, Q292044, Q989453, Q17985761, Q2665878, Q640353, Q181883, Q181883, Q181883, Q251542, Q400007, Q400007, Q400007, Q586140, Q586140, Q2089923, Q819973, Q287062 |
| Spouses | Cynthia Stone, Felicia Farr |
| Children | Chris Lemmon |
| Wikipedia | Jack_Lemmon |
Lemmon was born on February 8, 1925, in an elevator at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, Massachusetts. He was the only child of Mildred Burgess (née LaRue; 1896–1967) and John Uhler Lemmon Jr. (1893–1962), who rose to Vice-president of Sales of the Doughnut Corporation of America. John Uhler Lemmon Jr. was of Irish heritage, and Jack Lemmon was raised Catholic. His parents had a difficult marriage, and separated permanently when Lemmon was 18, but never divorced. Often unwell as a child, Lemmon had three significant operations on his ears before he turned 10. He had spent two years in hospital by the time he turned 12. During his acceptance of his lifetime achievement award, he stated that he knew he wanted to be an actor from the age of eight. He began to act in school productions. Lemmon attended John Ward Elementary School, Rivers Country Day School (Class of 1939) and Phillips Andover Academy (Class of 1943), where he pursued track sports with success. He entered Harvard College (Class of 1947), where he lived in Eliot House. At Harvard, he was president of the Hasty Pudding Club and vice president of Dramatic and Delphic Clubs. Except for drama and music, however, he was an unexceptional student. Forbidden to act onstage due to academic probation, Lemmon broke Harvard rules to appear in roles using pseudonyms such as Timothy Orange. A member of the V-12 Navy College Training Program, Lemmon was commissioned by the United States Navy, serving briefly with the rank of ensign as a communications officer on the aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain during World War II before returning to Harvard after completing his military service. After graduation with a bachelor's degree in War Service Sciences in 1947, he studied acting under coach Uta Hagen at HB Studio in New York City. He was also a pianist, who became devoted to the instrument at age 14 and learned to play by ear. For about a year in New York City, he worked unpaid as a waiter and master of ceremonies at the Old Knick bar on Second Avenue. He also played the piano at the venue.
