The Jack Lemmon Fansite
Dedicated to the legendary Hollywood actor
Trivia
+ As a child, Jack had a fear of hospitals (he underwent over 13 operations before the age of 13 to cure illnesses such as tonsillitis and mastoiditis) and playground slides.
+ When Jack was four, his father bought him a pony called Pepper but he only fell off the animal every time and disliked riding horses throughout his life -- despite this, he starred in the western Cowboy in 1958 and saw it as a great challenge to learn.
+ Jack is one of the rare graduates of Harvard University to go into an acting career.
+ He almost broke his ankle after jumping over a sharp fence. He was doing his own stunts for when he starred as John Wilkes Booth for the TV show, The Day Lincoln Was Shot in 1956.
+ Similar to his character in The Apartment, Jack had nasal problems in real life. Sitting in his dressing room one day during the filming of the movie, he accidentally squeezed the liquid into his eyes.
+ Jack was suffering from a bad cold during the filming of Fire Down Below in 1957.
+ Jack was in the same class as President John F Kennedy at school -- in which they kept in contact.
+ On his honeymoon with second wife Felicia Farr, Jack had a serious stomach upset after swallowing foul water when he fell in the Seine, where he was filming scenes for Irma La Douce in 1962.
+ During the filming of The Fortune Cookie in 1966, Jack saw a hit-and-run driver. So he gave chase and then provided the local police with the necessary information. The following week, he was subpoenaed to testify in court.
+ Jack shed 30 pounds to play Harry Berlin in Luv in 1967. Making his potential weight to be 138 pounds (from 168), he would eat 30-cent hamburgers in the studio canteen. The loss of weight clearly showed in the movie and it was a huge risk to take. Therefore he soon went back to his usual weight once filming wrapped up.
+ For the heavy rain scene in The Out of Towners in 1970, Jack wore a wet suit under his costume to keep from freezing, when crew members soaked him with ice cold water.
Resource(s): 'Lemmon' by Don Widener and 'Some Like It Cool' by Michael Freedland.
Some of the Movies Jack Turned Down
Joseph and His Brethren (1954)
The Hustler (1961)
Promises! Promises! (1963)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe? (1966)
Cool Hand Luke (1968)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
*Note: Some of these were only rumoured to have been offered to Jack.
Joseph and His Brethren (1954)
The Hustler (1961)
Promises! Promises! (1963)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe? (1966)
Cool Hand Luke (1968)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
*Note: Some of these were only rumoured to have been offered to Jack.
Jack's Movie Songs
Jack playing piano on the set of 'My Sister Eileen', 1955
Let's Fall in Love - ("It Should Happen to You", 1954)
Down Boy ("Three For The Show", 1955)
I've Got A Crush On You - ("Three For The Show", 1955)
It's Bigger than You and Me - ("My Sister Eileen", 1955)
Howdy Friends and Neighbors - ("You Can't Run Away from It", 1956)
Thumbin' A Ride - ("You Can't Run Away from It", 1956)
Temporarily - ("You Can't Run Away from It", 1956)
Harmonica theme ("Fire Down Below", 1957)
Stormy Weather - ("Bell Book and Candle", 1958)