Jack Lemmon Jack Lemmon John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor and musician. Lemmon was an eight-time Academy Award nominee, with two wins. He starred in over 60 films, such as "Some Like It Hot", "The Apartment", "Mister Roberts" (for which he won the 1955 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor), "Days of Wine and Roses", "The Great Race", "Irma la Douce", "The Odd Couple" and its sequel "The Odd Couple II" (and other frequent collaborations with "Odd Couple" co-star Walter Matthau), "Save the Tiger" (for which he won the 1973 Academy Award
Richard Burton role of George. Jack Lemmon was offered the role initially, but when he turned it down, Warner Bros. president Jack L. Warner agreed on Burton and paid him $750,000. Nichols was hired to helm the project at Taylor's request, despite having never directed a film. Albee preferred Bette Davis and James Mason for Martha and George respectively, fearing that the Burtons' strong screen presence would dominate the film. Instead, it proved to be what Alpert described as "the summit of both Richard's and Elizabeth's careers". The film's script, adapted from Albee's play by Ernest Lehman, broke new ground for its