Speaking Volumes | Go to the library to remember the comedy of actor Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon was born Feb. 8, 1925, in a hospital elevator in Newton, Mass. He was, and is, a beloved comic actor who often played characters in a style that his own son described as “bumbling bewilderment and vulnerability.”
He starred in over 60 films and reportedly made at least 400 appearances on television. But Lemmon didn’t start in Hollywood wanting to be on the big screen. In fact, he was a bit of a theater snob with roots in Harvard’s acting club and performing in shows in New York City.
It wasn’t until he was recruited for Columbia Pictures and starred in the 1954 film It Should Happen to You with Judy Holliday that he took serious interest in films. And thank goodness. What would 1968’s The Odd Couple be without Lemmon playing neurotic, clean-freak Felix opposite Walter Matthau’s portrayal of absolute slob Oscar?
That film is a hilarious and surprisingly sweet film about best friends living together. When neurotic Felix (Lemmon) becomes separated from his wife, he becomes depressed and suicidal. His best friend, Oscar (Matthau), offers his apartment as a new home and haven. Frenzy, frustration, and chaos ensues. This film adaption of a Neil Simon play has huge critical acclaim and was shortly turned into a successful television show starring Jack Klugman and Tony Randall.
Lemmon frequently worked with Simon. Simon admired his personality, especially how Lemmon made a point to make sure everyone felt welcome. In fact, many of his cast and crew peers remember him for his temperament, his talent, his hard work, and his joyfulness.
And what about 1959’s Some Like it Hot without Lemmon? A movie with a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and the No. 1 comedy on AFI’s 100 funniest movies list of American Cinema. Two musicians Jerry and Joe, played by Lemmon and Tony Curtis respectively, find themselves running for their lives after they witness a mob massacre.
They join an all-women band on board a train for Florida, disguised as women: for most of the movie Lemmon played “Daphne,” Jerry’s undercover alias. At first, they think than can keep their cover, but things get complicated when they meet Sugar (Marilyn Monroe) and start to compete for her affection. But how can you flirt with another woman while you’re dressed as a woman? Hilarity ensues.
Other notable films include The Apartment, Mister Roberts, Grumpy Old Men, How to Murder Your Wife, and more. For an idea of who he was as a person, read his son Chris Lemmon’s book A Twist of Lemmon : A Tribute to My Father, published in 2008 and covering Lemmon’s battle with cancer and subsequent death in 2001.
So, celebrate Lemmon’s birthday and honor his legacy by checking out any of these films from your local Manatee County library, or with your card on Hoopla!
Speaking Volumes is written by staff members with the Manatee County Public Library System. Olivia Tooker is on the staff at the Braden River library.