orig. John Uhler Lemmon III
born Feb. 8, 1925, Boston, Mass., U.S.
died June 27, 2001, Los Angeles, Calif.
U.S. actor.
He attended Harvard University and acted in radio and television dramas before making his Broadway debut in 1953. He established his movie career in Mister Roberts (1955, Academy Award) and became noted for his character portrayals, often playing excitable, baffled individuals in movies such as Some Like It Hot (1959), The Apartment (1960), The Odd Couple (1968), and The Out-of-Towners (1970). His many other films include Save the Tiger (1973, Academy Award), The China Syndrome (1979), Missing (1982), and Glengarry Glen Ross (1992). He received an Emmy Award for his portrayal of a dying college professor in the television film Tuesdays with Morrie (1999).