Jack Lemmon

John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor and executive producer. Considered proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, he was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in comedy-drama films. He received numerous accolades including two Academy Awards, seven 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".

Lemmon received two Academy Awards: for Best Supporting Actor for ''Mister Roberts'' (1955) and for Best Actor for ''Save the Tiger'' (1973). He was Oscar-nominated for ''Some Like It Hot'' (1959), ''The Apartment'' (1960), ''Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), ''The China Syndrome'' (1979), ''Tribute'' (1980), and ''Missing'' (1982). He is also known for his roles in ''Irma la Douce'' (1963), ''The Great Race'' (1965), and ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1992). He produced two films in which he did not appear, ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967) and ''Kotch'' (1971), the latter of which he also directed, both through his production company, Jalem Productions.

For his work on television he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for ''Tuesdays with Morrie'' (1999). He was Emmy-nominated for ''The Entertainer'' (1975), ''The Murder of Mary Phagan'' (1988), ''12 Angry Men'' (1997), and ''Inherit the Wind'' (1999). On stage, Lemmon made his Broadway debut in the play ''Room Service'' (1953). He went on to receive two Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play nominations for his roles in the Bernard Slade play ''Tribute'' (1978) and in the Eugene O'Neill revival ''Long Day's Journey into Night'' (1986).

He had a long-running collaboration with actor and friend Walter Matthau, which ''The New York Times'' called "one of Hollywood's most successful pairings", that spanned ten films between 1966 and 1998 including ''The Odd Couple'' (1968), ''The Front Page'' (1974) and ''Grumpy Old Men'' (1993). Provided by Wikipedia