Lemmon remembered for his dedication

  Daily Bruin File Photo Jack Lemmon
received the Spencer Tracy Award for lifetime achievement in film
in Royce Hall on Nov. 28, 2000.

By Angela Salazar
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Jack Lemmon’s respect was hard-earned, but UCLA got
it.

The 76-year-old actor ““ a two-time Oscar winner (Best
Supporting Actor for 1955’s “Mister Roberts” and
Best Actor for 1973’s “Save the Tiger) ““ died
Wednesday of complications from cancer. He is best remembered for
his roles opposite Walter Matthau in such films as “The Odd
Couple” and “Grumpy Old Men” as well as his lead
roles in the Billy Wilder films “Some like it Hot” and
“The Apartment.”

Lemmon appeared at UCLA last November to accept the Spencer
Tracy Award. Given out annually by the Campus Events Commission,
the award honors an outstanding dramatic actor in motion pictures.
Lemmon was the 12th recipient of this award.

An accomplished Hollywood star, Lemmon held firm to traditional
performance and actor training techniques. In an interview with the
Daily Bruin prior to the 2000 Spencer Tracy Award ceremony, Lemmon
said that one of the problems with films today is that young actors
come to L.A. and want to be famous right away but lack real
experience. He was impressed, however, by students studying acting
at universities.

During his acceptance of the Spencer Tracy Award, Lemmon said
that he believed much of the new talent comes out of acting courses
like the ones available at UCLA.

Though much of his success stemmed from his mainstream film and
TV roles, Lemmon also emphasized the importance of stage training
for young actors, which, he said, provides the experience of doing
sustained and complete scenes and acts. This kind of training may
seem difficult or unnecessary, but, according to Lemmon, it goes
along with the job.

“In acting, I don’t care who you are …
there’s gonna be ups and downs and you’ve got to be
able to handle the dry periods and the down periods, which is not
easy but it’s something you have to do if you just
don’t want to do baloney,” Lemmon said.

He believed that not only do today’s films lack
experienced actors, they also lack good scripts and plot
development. He said that recent comedies are missing the character
growth necessary for the comedy to come from the behavior of the
people within the situation ““ something characteristic of
much of his own work.

His repertoire included both comedic and dramatic performances
in film and television and on the stage.

Lemmon’s passion for acting remained strong throughout his
50-year career. When asked if he would ever considering retiring,
Lemmon’s reply exemplified his devotion to the art:

“No way. If I get run over by a truck or a producer or a
critic. Unless that happens, I’ll just keep on going,”
he said.