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American Morning
Jack Lemmon Dies; 'TV Guide' Writer Discusses Life
Aired June 28, 2001 - 10:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: For millions of moviegoers, Jack Lemmon's brilliance was not blinding -- it was enlightening, often as warming as the afternoon sun. Over a remarkable career of more than 50 years, Lemmon made us laugh, as the neurotic Felix Unger, and made us think, as the dying professor named Morrie.
Today, Jack Lemmon is again bringing a range of emotions to an audience that is learning of his death. The 76-year-old Lemmon died late last night, of complications from cancer. His wife, son and daughter were at his bedside. Lemmon's work, in both sidesplitting comedies and heart-wrenching dramas, earned him numerous awards, including two Oscars. Just last year, he won an Emmy for his work as the title character in "Tuesdays With Morrie."
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: For a closer look at Jack Lemmon -- both the characters he brought to life on screen and the life he led out of public view -- let's turn to CNN senior entertainment reporter Bill Tush, who's checking in from New York.
Good morning, Bill.
BILL TUSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon.
He certainly was something. Jack Lemmon, 76 years old -- his longtime publicist, Warren Cowan, said he was a beautiful person. As you said, he was surrounded by his family when he passed away, early this morning.
I have a list of his movies and television shows here, and it goes on and on and on. It started in 1949 in live television, with film called "That Wonderful Guy." -- maybe that's a way to describe him.
Let's take a look back now at some of Jack Lemmon's most memorable roles. .
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER FONDA, ACTOR: You're the laundry and morale officer. I doubt if you've ever seen the laundry.
JACK LEMMON, ACTOR: I was down there only last week. FONDA: And you're scared of the captain.
LEMMON: I am not scared of the captain.
FONDA: Then why do you hide in the passageway every time you see him coming. You've scared of him.
LEMMON: I am not. I'm scared of myself. I'm scared of myself. I'm scared of what I might do to him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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LEMMON: Oh, I tell you, my dear, this is the only way to travel.
MARILYN MONROE, ACTOR: You'd better put on the lights. I can't see what I'm doing.
LEMMON: No lights -- we don't want them to know we're having a party.
MONROE: But I might spill some.
LEMMON: So spill it. Spills, thrills, laughs and games.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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LEMMON: Human sacrifices: White-collar workers tossed into the computing machines and punched full of those little square holes.
SHIRLEY MACLAINE, ACTOR: How many drinks did you have?
LEMMON: Three.
MACLAINE: I thought so.
LEMMON: Wait a minute. I thin I hear the sound of running water. I'll be right back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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JACK KLUGMAN, ACTOR: How are you feeling, fellow?
LEMMON: Rotten.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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LEMMON: What's the matter here. I didn't take anything. Just leave me alone. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean you didn't take anything? What did you take?
LEMMON: Nothing. I didn't take anything.
Don't tell Francis what I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He took pills.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many pills?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What kind of pills?
LEMMON: I don't know what kind -- little green ones out of her medicine cabinet.
Don't call her, now. Don't call Frances.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Felix, when did you take these pills?
LEMMON: I don't know, a couple of hours ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEMMON: Johnnie Robbins (ph) is the very best. There's never going to be any questions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you wake up? There are always questions.
LEMMON: Phil, how the hell do think that Beckman (ph) pulled out? Now, do you think his fire was spontaneous combustion?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't give a good goddamn...
LEMMON: Well, I give a good goddamn; we almost went on our ass last year, and this is our only chance to bail out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dave, are you OK?
LEMMON: Oh, no -- no, no, oh no -- oh, my God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cut him off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're losing picture.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened?
LEMMON: Oh, no. Oh no. Oh, my God -- oh, my God, why?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALTER MATTHAU, ACTOR: You did it for a dame?
LEMMON: She's not a dame -- she's my wife. Actually, she's my second wife. I loved my first wife, Cecilia. I gave up everything: the three kids, house, and the insurance -- I owned a piece of the rock -- and the two cars and the Betamax and...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHAU: ... did you?
LEMMON: What?
MATTHAU: You know.
LEMMON: That's a private matter.
MATTHAU: Private, my foot -- did you?
LEMMON: That's all I can tell you.
MATTHAU: You better tell me.
LEMMON: All right, we did the horizontal mambo. We danced it. It was the greatest sex I ever had in my life. All right -- are you happy?
(CROSSTALK)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANK AZARIA, ACTOR: Sorry, dropped my keys -- Mitch, Mitch Albom. I called, I spoke to your wife.
LEMMON: I don't get a hug after 16 years?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUSH: Of course, everybody will probably remember Jack Lemmon best with his collaboration with Walter Matthau, longtime friends in real life, and to think Walter Matthau passed away July 1, 2000. Jack Lemmon passes away almost to the day a year later.
One thing that a lot of people don't remember about Jack Lemmon was when he was already a big movie star in the 1960s, his good friend Ernie Kovacs was a big TV star, and Ernie had a little group on his show called the Nairobi Trio, three men dressed in monkey suits that would playing weird music. Jack Lemmon, for a laugh, used to play one of the Nairobi Trio.
HARRIS: I didn't know that.
TUSH: I don't know if you knew that or not.
HARRIS: No, that's amazing.
KAGAN: We did not.
Bill Tush, thank you for that little bit of trivia -- we appreciate it.
TUSH: Back to you guys.
KAGAN: To keep the discussion going about Jack Lemmon, we'll get a view from inside the entertainment industry.
For that, we're going to turn to Mark Schwed, national writer for "TV Guide". He's joining us from Los Angeles.
Mark, good morning, thanks for being with us.
MARK SCHWED, "TV GUIDE": Good morning, Daryn.
KAGAN: Let's start in your medium and also with one of Jack Lemmon's most recent successes, his role, as you just saw there, in "Tuesdays With Morrie." Almost up until the end, a successful actor, turning in brilliant performances and winning an Emmy for that performance as Morrie.
SCHWED: From the beginning to the end, he won an Oscar for, I believe, his third movie, "Mister Roberts," and capped it off with a really incredible portrayal of a teacher who was dying, in "Tuesdays With Morrie," which won him an Emmy and once again made us just say, my God, what an actor. The guy could make you laugh or smile or cry -- as he did in "Mister Roberts," all in one movie. He was just a fantastic actor, a great guy.
It's been a tough week for us in Hollywood.
KAGAN: Carroll O'Connor, yes.
SCHWED: We lost Carroll O'Connor and now Jack Lemmon, and both of them had something in common, and that is that no matter what they did, they just chewed up the screen. They always played guys just trying to do the right thing and trying to have a good life, even though life seemed too complicated, terribly for them.
Just a wonderful actor, wonderful actor.
KAGAN: Both very good at playing the common man, who life kind of got to, in some kind of circumstance.
SCHWED: And they kept fighting.
KAGAN: And with great appeal. SCHWED: Yes.
KAGAN: Because it seems like just yesterday that we saw Jack Lemmon accepting that Emmy, I think his death has taken a lot of people by surprise. Of course the news is that he died of cancer. Was there word in Hollywood, within the industry, that he wasn't well?
SCHWED: Well, yes. Jack had had some health problems, and we were aware of that. You never know someone's going to die, and of course, we didn't he was this sick, but I'm sure his family was aware of it. It's just an amazing thing that his final movie was "Tuesdays With Morrie," which is about a man who's facing death with a huge smile on his face, a guy who thought that life was beautiful.
KAGAN: Another great coincidence -- and Bill Tush just pointed this out -- it's almost a year to the day that Walter Matthau passed away, these two forever linked in our minds in film history for "The Odd Couple" and a number of other roles and pairings together. They were good friends off screen as well. That they would go a year apart -- there's more than coincidence there, I think.
SCHWED: You know, I think Jack Lemmon certainly was with Walter when he was dying. It's a shame that Walter couldn't be with Jack, but they're together now, and they're probably causing all kinds of trouble up there.
KAGAN: Trouble and laughs at the same time.
SCHWED: Yes, they are, yes.
KAGAN: One thing in interview and interview that Jack Lemmon talked about was his passion for acting. That must be so refreshing, to come across an actor like that in a town where things can get cynical and money can be the bottom line and it's about being a big star. But this man, from the day that he told his father, when came back from the Navy, in World War II, that he wanted to be an actor, it was about the passion for acting and the craft.
SCHWED: The guy has a passion for life, too, and that's more important, but you're right. There are lot of people with giant egos in this town. A lot of people who take their power and their fame and abuse people, and Jack Lemmon was the exact opposite of that guy. He was a true, good guy, and the guy you saw, the roles that he played, that you just couldn't help but like this guy -- that's the way he was in real life.
KAGAN: Later, we're going to have our viewers write in through e-mail and talk about their favorite Jack Lemmon moments. Why don't you share yours? What was your favorite role of his?
SCHWED: "Tuesdays With Morrie."
KAGAN: Really? Right at the end.
SCHWED: Absolutely. I absolutely loved "Mister Roberts." I thought it was a wonderful movie. "Some Like It Hot" was great. "The Apartment" -- I could name 20 movies that I really like, but there was just something about seeing an actor who has been around the block putting in one of the performances of his career. And it turned out to be his final performance; again, it's about a guy who was dying, but who passed along his love of life to this student of his, Mitch Albom, who wound up writing the book the movie was based on. It just couldn't get any better than that.
KAGAN: Very fitting.
Mark Swhwed, thanks for joining our discussion about Jack Lemmon, this morning, good to see you.
SCHWED: Sure thing.
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