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
Jack Lemmon Night". Lemmon was Spacey's mentor, and reportedly taught Spacey that people who do well in a business have an obligation to "send the elevator back down" to help lift people starting out on the ground floor. In his autobiography, "My Life", Burt Reynolds recalls Lemmon as the quintessential gentleman who never spoke ill of anyone, even if they deserved it. This kindness backfired for Reynolds: prior to accepting the lead in "W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings" (1975), directed by John G. Avildsen, Reynolds asked Lemmon, whom Avildsen had directed in "Save the Tiger" (1973) for an opinion of Avildsen as