Pairing Jack Lemmon with Lee Remick at the height of their acting powers proved to be a winning formula for director Blake Edwards. “Days of Wine and Roses” received four Academy Award nominations, including the best actor/actress categories for Lemmon and Remick. It tells the tale of a pair of alcoholics struggling to free themselves of their addiction. Joe Clay (Lemmon) is a successful public relations man who falls in love with a secretary Kirsten Arnesen (Remick). The two are quickly married and have a daughter, but Joe gradually develops a habit of drinking which inevitably leads to alcoholism. Kirsten quickly follows him, and the two see their life slowly crumbling as Joe is first demoted, then fired from his job. One day, upon seeing his reflection in a window, Joe decides to quit drinking and convinces Kirsten to do so as well. All is well for a while, but eventually they both fall off the wagon. Joe gets committed to a sanitarium and gets clean, with the great help of his dedicated AA sponsor Jim Hungerford (Jack Klugman). He tries to help Kirsten get clean as well, but it results in him starting to drink again. Jim tells him that he must stay sober at all costs, even at the price of not seeing Kirsten. Joe is determined to stay sober and manages to do so for close to a year, while keeping a steady job and taking care of his daughter. But Kirsten is desperate to get back into his life.
Joan Rivers still in coma
