| First and
foremost, "A Twist of Lemmon" is a thank you
letter and final farewell from Chris Lemmon to
his father Jack Lemmon. And though intentional
or not, "A Twist of Lemmon" at almost two
hundred pages, is also a testament to the power
of the father and son relationship and the
importance of it in shaping a man. Whether a
loving father or an abusive one (Lemmon was the
former, by the way), the men in our lives shape
who we become. It's an often emasculated and
marginalized aspect of the parental foundation
that's constantly deemed irrelevant and easily
dismissed in a world that values women more over
men, but the father and son relationship is one
of the most powerful dichotomies of nature. "A
Twist of Lemmon" is that proof in the pudding,
the word that shows fathers and sons share a
strong bond, while author Chris Lemmon explores
his father Jack Lemmon, the legendary actor who
passed away after a long battle with cancer. "A
Twist of Lemmon" is many things, but mainly, as
Chris confesses, it's his closure, a gift to his
children, and confirmation that yes, Jack Lemmon
was indeed a great man. Sure he was a gifted
actor, hell I was a big fan of his.
But his son
Chris also wants us to remember that he was a
man first. He was a man who meant a lot to
thousands of people. While the novel is intimate
with all of the story revolving around the
touching relationship between Chris and
Jack, there's also a foreword from Lemmon's best
friend Kevin Spacey, as well as mini-essays at
the end of the book by Cliff Robertson, Tony
Curtis, and many more respective legends of
cinema. Lemmon's writing is powerful and often
left me appreciating the relationship with my
own father, because with touches of truly
gripping honesty, Lemmon's recollection of dad
Jack often left me with a slew of emotions just
by the first four pages alone. The story of
Chris at his dad Jack's bedside while he lay in
bed watching golf on his final days was almost
impossible to finish, and it only gets better.
Or worse. Let's just say better. Trite as it may
sound, "A Twist of Lemmon" will help you
understand the sheer importance the relationship
between a father and a son is. It will also make
you rethink the way you look at Jack Lemmon. I
couldn't put this book down frankly, and I
insist fans of film read it.
The review aside,
we were able to grab an interview with "A Twist
of Lemmon" author Chris Lemmon, the son of Jack
who was more than happy to spare some time to
talk about his book. Like his father, Chris is a
pure gentleman and didn't mind discussing what
you'll read in this memoir, and what life has
been like without his father Jack Lemmon.
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Chris Lemmon
Actor, Author
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Hello Mr. Lemmon,
thanks for the interview time. I loved "A Twist of
Lemmon," by the way.
Thanks a lot!
So the Press Release states that this wasn't
supposed to be a typical biography, was this in
hopes of providing more intimacy to Lemmon beyond
his Hollywood status?
Absolutely - Jack Lemmon was a unique individual as
well as celebrity - my goal was to bring that aspect
to this story as vividly as possible. This also was
not a typical "Hollywood" biography, actually more
of a recounting of the journey through life shared
between my father and me. It was our unique yet
universal relationship that I placed at the core of
this story.
How far did you
deviate from your father's career to focus on his
family life?
Having been a child of a "Hollywood"
relationship, family became the priority for me.
Therefore I made the painful, yet enormously
rewarding decision to take a hiatus from my pretty
successful career, in order to raise my children
totally and completely away from the business.
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| The rewards far
outweighed the negative aspects, and now I can
say that I was there totally and completely for
my family when they needed me the most.
Did any of his
Hollywood friends make it in the book? If so,
could you hint at whom for interested readers?
I gave the last chapter of the book to all the
friends I could get in touch with so they could
add their totally unedited tributes to mine. And
of course it was my honor to have Kevin Spacey -
who's like a brother to me, and was like another
son to pop - as the writer of the introduction.
Did the
publisher ever ask that you consider a more
broad Hollywood angle at your dad's biography?
My hat's off to Parade Books, and Algonquin
Books before them, for having the guts to
publish an honestly loving story - not an easy
thing to accomplish in the business environment.
Indeed there were four companies at the bidding
table for the original document, and I knew at
least one of them wanted to turn this story into
something other than I had intended it to be - I
was overjoyed when I heard that Algonquin had
won the rights,l and that Charles F. Adams would
be my editor, And am equally happy at the
terrific job Parade had done with the
international paperback release.
Will fans
surely learn something new about your father
that we've never known before?
That's the whole reason I finally decided to
publish this very personal story - a story I
originally wrote for myself (to heal from his
loss) and for my children (so they could know
their grandfather as their father did.
The Jack Lemmon I
write about is a man only I knew, as only a son
can know his father - and let me tell you, if
you think he was a pistol on-screen, it was
nothing compared to the magic he spread off.
Even prior to his death there was a
very positive word about Jack Lemmon
from many celebrities, what about
your dad struck such a chord with
folks?
His honesty, and enormous emotional
generosity - and of course his
prodigious talent.
Many
Hollywood families discourage their
children from acting, did your dad
try to dissuade you from taking up
acting, too?
Actually I was determined to become
a classical pianist, but I guess the
acing was just in the genes. It's
one of the points of the book, that
the essence of the parents are
passed to the child, so strongly
that they cannot be denied.
You and your parents seemed to share
a humor that only you would have
understood, do you share that same
sort of in joke with your children?
Absolutely, my kids have the
greatest sense of humor, and are a
joy to be with. When we're together
we are constantly laughing and
giggling, telling jokes for the
fortieth time - just like Pop would
have. |
Baby Chris with his parents |
You've
probably been asked this a lot lately, but what
is your favorite film starring your father?
There are many in many different genres - that
was what was so brilliant about Jack Lemmon, he
could do it all. But the one that remains very
important to me is "Missing", because I found
out, only after he was gone, that Pop used me to
bring up the emotion of a father losing his son.
It will always remain special to me for that
reason.
What is one
thing you want people to take away from this
book?
That the most special gift in life is the love
you share with those that are important to you -
so go to those you love and tell them you love
them every chance you get, because tomorrow they
could be gone, and you never know what you had
until it's gone.
So where else
can readers look for you next?
Actually "Twist" continues on, as I will be
co-producing a box set of Pop's films, based on
the concept of the book, with Sony Entertainment
for release Father's Day '09. I and my
wife/partner also have numerous other projects
in the works, the easiest way to catch up on
what we're up to is to visit our website at:
stonemanorproductions.com
Thanks a lot
for the time, Mr. Lemmon.
Thank you!
-
Felix Vasquez Jr.
8/22/08 |
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