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American Morning

Author Discusses Jack Lemmon's Favorite Role

Aired June 28, 2001 - 11:28   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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We continue our look back at the wonderful, incredible long life and career of Jack Lemmon, who passed away last night. Two years ago, Jack Lemmon turned in a critically- acclaimed performance in the TV movie based on the best-selling book "Tuesdays With Morrie." Morrie Schwartz was dying of Lou Gehrig's disease, and The author of the book, "Detroit Free Press" sports writer Mitch Albom would pay him weekly visits.

Well, Albom joins us now from Detroit to talk some more about Jack Lemmon's performance in that movie.

Good to see you, Mitch, how are you?

MITCH ALBOM, AUTHOR, "TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE": Nice to see you guys, too; I'm fine, thanks.

HARRIS: Listen, I've got to ask you first off, your thoughts this morning after hearing the word about Jack Lemmon's death?

ALBOM: Well, I was terribly saddened. And I certainly wasn't the first person to make friends with Jack Lemmon, but I was probably amongst the last. You know, I met him on the set of the movie for the first time and we became friendly with one another and he embodied a lot of the spirit of Morrie more than, I think, you normally do when an actor takes on a role. He often thanked me for having the opportunity to play somebody like that, and I never quite understood that...

HARRIS: ... no kidding.

ALBOM: ... until later on and when I realized I think he was fighting his mortality, too, and that's why he took to that role.

HARRIS: Do you think that he was aware of his -- I guess, of his -- how much time that he left by that point?

ALBOM: I know so. I mean, on the set of the movie it was pretty clear that he wasn't completely healthy. He had to go home early sometimes. And we were kind of asked to keep it quite, but I think he was battling things even then.

And then, of course, his friendship with Walter Matthau; he was going through sort of his own thing with visiting somebody that was very dear to him and was dying. So I know that was a good fit for him, that role, and I'm happy that he got a chance to play it. And he was a good choice.

HARRIS: And we've got evidence of how good a fit that was, with you and him working together. We've got this clip that we found from a December of 1999 appearance the two of you made on "LARRY KING LIVE." Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LARRY KING LIVE," DECEMBER 3, 1999)

KING: Jack said something, Mitch, which you might find interesting during the break. You said you didn't think Mitch appreciates how great a book this is.

JACK LEMMON, ACTOR: I don't think he realizes what a great book it is. I think that -- I may be wrong, and I certainly don't mean that in any denigrating way -- but I think that Mitch, knowing Morrie, put down, you, know...

KING: He's a reporter...

LEMMON: And verbalized their association and his feelings and his thoughts, and Morrie's words. But I really wonder if he knows how terrific that book really is, because it is the opposite of the sentimental soap opera. It's truth and wisdom. Absolute truth and wisdom at all times.

ALBOM: Thank you.

KING: You can't buy that.

LEMMON: No, no way.

KING: Mitch, do you realize it? Do you pinch yourself; do you say -- do you take a step back? Can you do that?

ALBOM: Well, I know this, Larry, I don't want to be disingenuous; I mean, I've written books before, mostly about sports. I wanted as many people as possible to read them. I did what probably every writer did, wanted to have a best-seller, make it as good as you can.

This book was a labor of love. I never had any thoughts about who would read it. And I guess that's why I still am kind of stunned -- it was just sort of our personal story. In fact, I raked through it. The reason it's as short as it is is because every time I got a little maudlin or a little mawkish or anything like that, I took those lines out because I said, I don't want this to be about my writing or my ability to craft a sentence. I just want to tell this little story.

And the last thing Morrie said to me before he died about this book, because I didn't start writing it until after he died, was he said, whatever you do, Mitch, just make it about life. Don't make it about death, make it about life. And that was my only directive in it, so...

KING: Did it help you, Jack... LEMMON: Yes.

KING: DO you think it's going to help you age?

LEMMON: Yes, I said so. As I said earlier, I can only hope to be, you know, somewhat like Morrie.

KING: I know, but are there times you think of it, when you do a role like this where you'll be driving along and you'll think of something Morrie said?

LEMMON: Yes. I think that this -- I have always said that I don't have a favorite part, which is true up until now. I think that if I have to pick a part...

KING: You're kidding.

LEMMON: ... in my entire career, I cannot imagine picking something over Morrie, I cannot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Man, I've got to tell you, I hear something like that and, in my mind, I'm looking at a dictionary that has the term "high praise," and that has got to be the definition of it, Mitch.

ALBOM: Well, I'm getting a little teary eyed looking at that because I remember that night. What's funny is, when he got nominated for the Emmy Award I called him and I teased him. I said, now don't forget when you win, don't forget the writer, because they always forget the writer. And I was just teasing him; I didn't expect him -- and sure enough, when he won the Emmy Award one of the first things he said when he stood up there was, I want to thank Mitch for this book.

And, I mean, look, I'm this big, you know, and he's like. And he took the time to do that. And from everything that I understand about him, that was pretty typical of Jack Lemmon. So I'm really proud to have had an opportunity to get to know him late in his life.

HARRIS: You know, that's amazing. Going into it, I guess you had to have your own predisposition -- I guess, your preconceived notions of what you expected him to be like. But, you know, how different, I guess, could you say, I guess, was the real Jack Lemmon versus what you thought he was going to be like when you first began working with him.

ALBOM: Well, I have to tell you, I didn't think he was a very good choice to play Morrie when I found out that that's who they had chosen. I had always liked Jack Lemmon's movies, but I always thought of his as Felix Ungar or the guy from "The Out-of-Towners," you know, kind of a self-conscious funny type. And Morrie was, you know, a small Jewish man with a high lilting voice. That certainly wasn't Jack Lemmon.

But the first day I met him on the set he was made up to look like Morrie. They had done some, you know, makeup work and some things with his nose and chin. And he walked up to me, and I did a double-take. I mean, I thought, this is Morrie in front of me. And the first thing he said to me, first words were, "thank you for letting me have the opportunity to play this part." Not, "I'm Jack Lemmon, who are you?"

And I think from that point forward, the fit was perfect.

HARRIS: Well, I have to tell you, we're going to have to let you go now, Mitch -- and I to put you on the spot like this, but you're pretty good at what you do, so I want to ask you, if you were asked to write his eulogy, can you imagine what your first line would be, or what you would say about him?

ALBOM: I would say that acting was a very small part of what this man was all about. He was far bigger than any role he ever played. And the endearing quality that he brought to his acting had to come from somewhere within because it wasn't phony.

HARRIS: You've got all of us in here feeling kind of misty, too.

Mitch Albom, thanks much for your time...

ALBOM: It was a pleasure.

HARRIS: ... All the best to you. Good luck to you. See you down the road.

ALBOM: Thanks a lot.

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