Jack Uhler Lemmon III was a consummate Hollywood actor.

Born in Boston, Lemmon's father was a successful businessman in the Boston area. Lemmon attended Harvard, where he served as president of the Hasty Pudding Club. He joined the Navy, serving as an ensign, after which took up acting professionally, working on radio and early television, and on Broadway.

Lemmon's film debut was a bit part in the 1949 film The Lady Takes a Sailor, but got noticed in his official debut opposite Judy Holliday in It Should Happen to You (1954).

Lemmon was awarded two Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor for Mister Roberts (1955), Best Actor for Save the Tiger (1973). He was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Film Institute in 1988.

Lemmon was a favourite of director Billy Wilder, and did a series of films with Wilder, including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, and Irma La Douce.

In June 2001, he died from cancer at the age of 76, and was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. Walter Matthau - his costar from several films - had also been buried at the cemetery. Twice married, he was a devoted father, and one of the best-liked actors in Hollywood.

After Matthau's death, Lemmon as well as other other friends and relatives had appeared on Larry King Live in an hour of tribute and remembrance. Poignantly, many of those same people appeared on the show almost exactly one year later, this time reminiscing about Lemmon.