Jack Lemmon

Born (in a Boston elevator) on Feb. 8, 1925, Jack Lemmon was a Harvard graduate and a Navy veteran. After brief work on New York radio, television and Broadway, he made his debut in two 1954 Judy Holliday comedies (It Should Happen to You and Phffft!). He won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his next film, Mister Roberts.

Proving his range in both comedy and drama, Lemmon scored additional Oscar nods for Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Days of Wine and Roses, The China Syndrome, Tribute, Missing and Save the Tiger. With his 1974 win for Tiger, Lemmon became the first actor to win both supporting and leading role Academy Awards.

1966's The Fortune Cookie also marked the first of eight teamings with Walter Matthau. Lemmon's only directing effort was the 1971 Matthau vehicle Kotch. Lemmon died June 27, 2001, having made a final, brief appearance in The Legend of Bagger Vance.

Filmography