Some Like It Cool: The Charmed Life of Jack Lemmon

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining but superficial
Review: In the early eighties, this book was an agreeable addition to the more complete but older Lemmon biographies by Don Widener and Will Holtzman. It was entertaining, informative and filled the gaps between the mid-seventies (where the other biographies ended) and the early eighties when Lemmon had added films like "The China Syndrome" and "Missing" to his name. I could recommand this volume if it weren't for the fact, that Michael Freedland updated it this year ("Some like it cool"). It took this author twenty years to write a small, not very incisive chapter about the chemistry of Lemmon & Matthau and a few sentences about Lemmons alcohol problems, his face lift and his death. Don't expect any more details from his book. I have read very detailed and intimate star biographies lately, like Clark Gables biography by Warren G. Harris, or Burt Lancasters by Cate Buford. Those authors took their time. They interviewed friends and family. They looked over old newspaper articles and other sources. They did thorough research about the stars they wrote about. In short, thy did all the things that Michael Freedland should have done - but didn't.