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Article: Actor Jack Lemmon dies at 76.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- June 28, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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PHILADELPHIA _ First, Jack Lemmon honed insecurity and babbling anxiety into a comic art form. Then _ in a transition he made appear effortless _ he broadened his scope with portrayals that revealed the serious side of contemporary desperation.
If there was an air of authenticity to the unique blend of kinetic energy and uncertainty embodied by some of his most memorable characters, it could be traced to the self-doubt Lemmon felt in his early career.
The beloved star, who died from complications related to cancer Wednesday at age 76, nearly turned down the role of Joe Clay, the alcoholic executive in "Days of Wine and Roses (1962) and Jerry, a ...