Jack Lemmon

Jack Lemmon, the two-time Oscar winner whose acting talents ranged from adroit comedies "The Apartment" and "Some Like It Hot" to the dramatic intensity of "Days of Wine and Roses" and "Tuesdays with Morrie," has died in Los Angeles. He was 76. Lemmon died Wednesday night from complications related to cancer, said longtime spokesman Warren Cowan. His wife Felicia, his two children and a stepdaughter were at his bedside at USC/Norris Cancer Center, Cowan said. The Harvard-educated actor began in films with two stylish comedies and a musical with Betty Grable. Then in 1955, his unique comedy style shined through as the hapless Ensign Pulver in "Mister Roberts," a role that won him a supporting actor Oscar. Throughout his career, from "The Fortune Cookie" to "The Odd Couple" and "The Front Page," all films he made with Walter Matthau, Lemmon was cast as the well-meaning fellow, a trifle square, who is taken advantage of. But in 1962, Lemmon switched from lighthearted comedies to intense drama. In "Days of Wine and Roses," he played an alcoholic who induces his new wife (Lee Remick) to join him in drinking sprees. His performance earned his first Academy nomination as lead actor. Of his seven Oscar nominations for lead actor, two were for comedies and five for dramas. His other nominations came in "The Apartment," "Some Like It Hot," "The China Syndrome," "Tribute," "Missing" and "Save the Tiger," which won him a second Oscar for best actor. Lemmon's comedic style was based on his portrayal of a well-meaning Everyman beset by disasters. Such a guise seemed to come easily - he was a self-proclaimed klutz. His career in film was marked by two inspired collaborations, with director, Billy Wilder and Matthau. Wilder first directed Lemmon in "Some Like It Hot" and "The Apartment," which resulted in back-to-back Oscar nominations. They joined in five more films: "Irma La Douce," "The Fortune Cookie," "Avanti!" "The Front Page" and "Buddy Buddy." From his first film with Matthau, "The Fortune Cookie" in 1966, Lemmon's fresh-faced, Ivy-League manner proved a perfect match for the slouching, gruff Matthau, who won the supporting actor Oscar. "The Odd Couple" in 1968 cemented their relationship, and they costarred in six more films including "Buddy, Buddy," "Grumpy Old Men," Grumpier Old Men,"The Odd Couple II," "Out to Sea" and "The Grass Harp." He remained active in films and television through the 1990s taking cameo roles in "JFK," "The Player," and Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet." His full name was John Uhler Lemmon III. His father owned a bakery business, and young Jack was brought up in comfortable circumstances. He made his acting debut at 4 in an amateur play, but his real passion was music, and he taught himself to play piano. At Harvard, his grades were modest except in drama. When he returned from Navy service as an ensign in World War II, he announced to his father his resolve to become an actor. "I'll have to try it or all my life I'll wonder," he said. "Do you really love it?" his father asked. When Jack replied yes, his father said, "That's good, because the day I don't find romance in a loaf of bread, I'm going to quit." With dlrs 300 from his father, Lemmon moved to New York. His first Broadway play, a revival of "Room Service," lasted only two weeks but provided a ticket to Hollywood. A Columbia Pictures scout recommended him for the lead opposite Judy Holliday in "It Should Happen to You," and studio boss Harry Cohn agreed. After another comedy with Holliday, "Phffft," and a musical, Lemmon was loaned to Warner Bros. for the film that established his movie career, "Mister Roberts." Lemmon was married from 1950 to 1956 to actress Cynthia Stone, and they had a son, Chris. In 1962, he married actress Felicia Farr, with whom he had a daughter, Courtney.