Jack Lemmon was born in Newton, Massachusetts, to Mildred Burgess LaRue (Noel) and John Uhler Lemmon, Jr., the president of a doughnut company. His ancestry included Irish (from his paternal grandmother) and English. Jack attended Ward Elementary near his Newton, MA home. At age 9 he was sent to Rivers Country Day School, then located in nearby Brookline. After RCDS, he went to high school at Phillips Andover Academy. Jack was a member of the Harvard class of 1947, where he was in Navy ROTC and the Dramatic Club. After service as a Navy ensign, he worked in a beer hall (playing piano), on radio, off Broadway, TV and Broadway. His movie debut was with Judy Holliday in Une femme qui s'affiche (1954). He won Best Supporting Actor as Ensign Pulver in Permission jusqu'à l'aube (1955). He received nominations in comedy (Certains l'aiment chaud (1959), La garçonnière (1960)) and drama (Le jour du vin et des roses (1962), Le syndrome chinois (1979), Un fils pour l'été (1980) and Missing - Porté disparu (1982)). He won the Best Actor Oscar for Sauvez le tigre (1973) and the Cannes Best Actor award for "Syndrome" and "Missing". He made his debut as a director with Kotch (1971) and in 1985 on Broadway in "Long Day's Journey into Night". In 1988 he received the Life Achievement Award of the American Film Institute.
