Modern Screen (Dec 1954 - Dec 1955)

IF YOU SUFFER OJiiAM of HEADACHE iMMV NEURALGIA |pMp^p^| NEURITIS jack lemmon (Continued from, page 57) from radio, television and Broadway, to Hollywood he was an unknown quantity. He seemed to be an unassuming lad, medium height, medium build, medium coloring (brown eyes, brown hair) with a boyish voice. When It Should Happen To You was previewed, reviewers across the nation mentioned Jack with adjectives ranging from pleasant to laudatory, and hailed the medium young man as a rare find for the screen. They said he had a warm and appealing personality, that he was deft as all get out at comedy, that he was an actor of conviction and that the screen should see more of him. The recognition of his talent naturally pleased Columbia Pictures, who had put him under contract after his debut performance on Broadway in Room Service. Noting the acclaim for Jack's comedy, they assigned him to Three For The Show with Betty Grable (comedy role) and ! scheduled him for Phffft! (comedy role). Jack reacted in two ways. He was happy as a clam to have hit Hollywood's big time, but he was worried by the thought that he might be typed as a comedian. He knew, he said, that he could do other things, that he wanted to do all kinds of roles and that he hoped he'd have the chance. There's a valid reason why Lemmon has been thrice cast in comedies, besides the fact that he is adept at this most difficult of arts. Personally, he is a very amusing young man. He speaks with a flair for phrase and a humorous twist. TTe acknowledges Boston as his birth place but adds that the family moved to Newton (seven miles away) when he was a small child. He claims his parents were a rather soft touch for their only child, endeavoring to give him piano lessons and all the things they felt were ad In the village of Neauphie Le Chateau, outside of Versailles, lives a young lady with her husband and two children. She goes shopping each day with the other villagers, who look upon her as one of their own and address her as "Madame David." They know only that "Madame David" is a respected, happy member of the small community and that she once lived in America. They don't know she was a child movie star, nor that her name was Deanna Durbin. Leonard Lyons in The New York Post vantages and he felt were extremely dreary projects. There were his days at Phillips Andover Academy, prepping for either Yale or Harvard. This kind of thing was made possible by his father's success in the bakery business plus the invention of a machine that perpetually produces doughnuts. Jack can tell you all about doughnuts, how they are best made, and even the why of the hole in the middle, an interest which shows him to be a grateful young man who knows whence his blessings came. He has been unusually lucky, he figures, for he not only had all this, but when he took his V-12 tests at Andover he was assigned to a Naval Reserve unit at Harvard — ten minutes from home. Recalling those three years at Harvard he twinkles at the mention of the nearby Wellesley girls, gives a pitch for the pulchritude at Pine Manor, omits the fact that he was president of the Hasty Pudding Club and elaborates on his opinion that at college he iwas a horror. "I must have been a stupid little jerk. I thought I was a big wheel on campus and it's interesting to me now that when I meet guys who were in my class I find them tremendously stimulating and not meatballs at all." After three years of Navy training at Harvard he was assigned to a desk job in Boston's Fargo Building as Ensign Jack Lemmon, traffic officer. He spent his days picking up a phone and announcing meekly: "Lemmon. Jeeps." A few months of this and he was assigned to the aircraft carrier Lake Champlain. During his few weeks aboard Jack had two hours and twenty-two minutes at sea — a trip from Norfolk to Newport News — and it turned into a fiasco worthy of a movie (comedy role). The Navy had the misunderstanding that Jack was a communications man and assigned him as communications officer of the big ship. This job ordinarily would have been held by a full lieutenant at least, but the war was over and the ship was being de-activated as quickly as possible. So Ensign Lemmon set happily to work taking inventories and figuratively chucking overboard everything he could find — including the code books. The Lake Champlain had no sooner put to sea on Ensign Lemmon's sole sea voyage than a huge tanker was sighted, bearing down upon her. The tanker, according to Jack, was signaling by semaphore, by every flag the Navy had ever seen and by lights flashing so frantically that the hulk looked more like a Times Square sign. The captain on the bridge of the Lake Champlain leaned over the side and roared downwind to his communications officer. "Lemmon! What are they saying?" Ensign Lemmon, who didn't know an S.O.S. from a Full Speed Ahead, didn't have a clue. And when he asked a Chief standing at his side the man said, "I've never seen such a signal in my twentytwo years in the Navy. And we can't find out. You've logged all the books over, sir." "It must mean something!" squeaked Ensign Lemmon. "I can guess," said the Chief. "I'd say she's out of control — that her right rear screw's broken, maybe. In which case they've got the right of way, sir." It was something, better than nothing, and so Ensign Lemmon howled the conjecture up to the Captain who shouted, "Great balls of fire!" and began spewing orders. Within minutes the two ships passed each other, missing contact by mere inches. It turned out that the Chief's guess had been correct to the letter, and Ensign Lemmon was given a recommendation and shortly sent back to Boston where he took his leave of the U. S. Navy. XTe borrowed $300 from his father. Lemmon, Sr., wanted his son to join him in business, but Jack had set his sights on show business. The family was pleased, having been sprinkled with entertainers (before the bakeries Jack's father had done a soft shoe routine on the stage and his mother was a singer) but apprehensive about Jack's chances in a world where there are 2000 men for every job. The $300 was soon gone, spent for room and meals while the young genius composed show tunes that didn't sell and scores for Broadway musicals that never opened. Finally he got a job playing piano in an obscure nightclub. For a pittance he played all the tunes he'd ever written, and the customers growled through the smoke, "Hey, bud, play something we know!" Later he got another job in another nightclub, this one owned by another Harvard graduate who fraternally allowed Jack to spread his wings. Mr. Lemmon did seven shows a day, writing, directing, producing and emceeing them and never re RELIEF the way thousands of physicians and dentists recommend. HERE'S WHY . . . Anacin is like a doctor's prescription. That is, Anacin contains not just one but a combination of medically proved active ingredients. No other product gives faster, longer-lasting relief from pain of headache, neuralgia, neuritis than Anacin tablets. Buy Anacin® today I WOMEN ilWEiYDRlSSR Ladies — here's your chance to get beautiful* dresses without paying a single penny! And make up to $100 in a month by wearing and showing them to your friends. Take your choice of 150 glorious models, given you as a bonus. No obligation — no canvassing — no expe rience. It's our way of advertising our unbeat able styles. Everything sent without cost. Rus! name, address and dress size on postcard. But hurry! This new plan is so popular, openings are limited. FASHION FROCKS. Dept. S1 054, Cincinnati 25, Ohio catawlPtS 416 PICTURES FREE! NEW! DIFFERENT! BEAUTIFUL! For the first time — sensational pictures of your favorite movie stars in professional high gloss finish. Special super-duper offer: 20 for 25 < • 50 for 50< • 120 for $1 ED EE CATALOG with 416 PICTURES OF STARS with your order OeLUXE PHOTO SERVICE, Dept. 637 Box 947, Church St. Annex, New York 8, N Y. EARN EXTRA MONEY Work 3-5 hrs. at home daily. Up to $40 weekly possible. Our instructions tell how. A. B. DUNBAR COMPANY 4130 Mark Terrace. Dept. Ol, Cleveland 28, O If you need more money... Up to $5 hour demonstrating Famous Hollywood Cosmetics, your neighborhood. Free Samples and details ^^oo o«\»timT5\ supplied. Write to: ^GuaranTeed by^v ■""!""»• Pres. v Good Housekeeping ) u „studl° j|lrl ~ . r Hollywood Cosmetics "Glendale, Calif., Dept 0-15 kCash In On EVERY Occasion 1 with MIDWEST Greeting Cards |^ — — Make bigger profits all YEAR. Show ^Bt^^^^t\%lP C friendsfast-sellingValentines.Easter, ^7tH\lWtO Mother's, Fathers Day Cards, plus k\.V*2^^BE~~ best Birthday, GetWell assortments. "" ~ etc. 6 new Valentine packs. Secret Pal F Cards, unusual new ideas, exceptional , bargains in Cards^ Notes, Gifts, Gadgets, Personalized Stationery. Profits to 100% on big line. Samples on approval. Write. Midwest Card Co., 1113 Washington Ave., 0ept.P-17, St. Louis 1 , Mo. MAKE $50-$60 A WEEK Practical nurses are needed in every community . . . doctors rely on them . . . patients appreciate their cheerful, expert care. You can learn practical nursing at home in spare time. Course endorsed by physicians. 56th yr. Barn while learning. High School not required. Men, women, 18 to 60. Trial plan. Write now I CHICAGO SCHOOL OF NURSING Dept. 231, 25 East Jackson Blvd., Chicago 4, III. Please send free booklet and 16 sample lesson pages. Na?n e City _8f«fe Age