Jack Lemmon and his contributions to comedy in the 1970's

Jack Lemmon is an actor who has influenced film comedy and drama. In my research of the actor I found many sources offering biographical information on the actor as well as academic discussions on the impact of his work.

At http://www.seeing-stars.com/starindexes/JackLemmon.shtml the content of the page is focused around popular Jack Lemmon hang outs in Hollywood. I find this is a unique and interesting site. Not only does it mark important award ceremonies he attended but it outlines memorials, restaurants, and hotels he visited, stayed in, or was spotted at. Although this is nothing more than a glorified star map for one actor, it is easy to see how the site could be used to track his career by looking at how and where Lemmon spent his life in Hollywood.

In this article found on Academic Search Premier, "The art and insight of Jack Lemmon" by Roderick Nordell, an editorial look at the contributions of Lemmon's work after his death illustrates the emotional impact on American audiences. Nordell portrays Lemmon as a comedian that was also capable of strong dramatic roles, "Lemmon was applauded for the conviction he brought to a character's bitter confession of destroying a career by sacrificing artistic attainment for popular acclaim" (1). This information is essential to understanding the complexity and skill of Lemmon's acting ability that is often over looked when viewing his comedic roles only.

The New York Times reports Lemmon's success as he accepts the Film Institute Life Achievement Award. This is a very significant resource in understanding exactly how important Lemmon was to cinema. He received the award at 63 long before he was was finished acting and was the youngest recipient of the award besides Orson Wells. The Institute was successful in acknowledging Lemmon's comedic work as innovative and relatable for all audiences while also capturing Lemmon in his dramatic roles.

Aside from these three sites there is a lot of information on the web about Lemmon. I have selected these resources as they are alternative to the standard filmography and biography found at wikipedia, imdb, and so on. Hopefully these resources will provide lesser know information about this popular actor.