This article refers to the actor. For the golfer of a similar name, see Jack Nicklaus.

John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937), better known as Jack Nicholson or The Jack is an iconic, three-time Academy Award and seven time Golden Globe winning American method actor known for his often dark-themed portrayals of neurotic characters.

He has been nominated for an Academy Award 12 times. He is tied with Walter Brennan for most wins by a male actor; he and Brennan are second to Katharine Hepburn for most acting wins overall (Hepburn had four). He is also one of only two actors to be nominated for an Academy Award for acting (either lead or supporting) in every decade since the 1960s. The other is Sir Michael Caine.

He has also won seven Golden Globe Awards and he received a Kennedy Centre Honor in 2001. He is best known for his films Chinatown, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, As Good as it Gets, Tim Burton's Batman, and Martin Scorsese's The Departed.

Biography and personal life:

Nicholson was born at Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune, New Jersey to a showgirl, June Frances Nicholson (stage name June Nilson). June had married showman Donald Furcillo (stage name Donald Rose) 6 months earlier in Elkton, Maryland, on October 16, 1936. Elkton was a town known for its "quickie" marriages. Furcillo however, was already married, and, although he offered to take care of the child, June's mother Ethel insisted that she bring up the baby, partly so that June could pursue her dancing career. Furcillo's parents were Italian Americans, while June Nicholson was of Irish and English descent.

Nick, as he was known to his high school friends, attended high school at nearby Manasquan High School where he was voted "class clown" by the Class of 1954. A theatre and a drama award at the school are named in his honor. In 2004, Nicholson attended his 50 year high school reunion, much to the surprise and delight of his fellow classmates.

Nicholson was brought up believing his grandparents John J. Nicholson (a department store window dresser in Asbury Park, New Jersey) and Ethel May Rhoads (a hairdresser and beautician and amateur artist in Neptune, New Jersey) were his parents. Nicholson only discovered that his parents were actually his grandparents and his sister was in fact his mother in 1974 after being informed by a Time Magazine journalist who was doing a feature on him. By this time both his mother and grandmother had died (in 1963 and 1970, respectively). Nicholson has stated he does not know who his father is, saying "Only Ethel and June knew and they never told anybody".

Although Donald Furcillo claimed to be Nicholson's father and to have committed bigamy by marrying June, biographer Patrick McGilligan, who wrote Jack's Life (published in December 1995) asserted that Eddie King, June's manager, may be the father and other sources have suggested that June Nicholson was unsure of who the father was. Jack Nicholson has chosen not to have a DNA test or to pursue the matter.

In his adult personal life, Nicholson has been notorious for his inability to "settle down", with a place on Maxim's "Top 10 Living Legends of Sex" with an alleged 2,000 women that he has slept with. He has five children by four different women despite only being married once.

Jennifer Nicholson with former wife Sandra Knight
Caleb Goddard with Susan Anspach, his Five Easy Pieces co-star
Honey Hollman with Danish model Winnie Hollman
Lorraine Nicholson and Raymond Nicholson with Rebecca Broussard.
He has been romantically linked to numerous actresses and models for decades. Nicholson's longest relationship was for 17 years to actress Anjelica Huston, the daughter of film director John Huston. However, the relationship ended when the news reported that Rebecca Broussard had become pregnant with his child.

He is also a close friend of film director Roman Polanski, whom he has supported through many personal crises including the death of his wife, Sharon Tate, at the hands of the Manson Family. He also supported Polanski through his conviction for statutory rape, a crime which took place on the Nicholson estate on Mulholland Drive.

Nicholson lived next door to Marlon Brando for a number of years on Mulholland Drive in Beverly Hills. Warren Beatty also lived nearby, earning the road the nickname "Bad Boy Drive". After Brando's death in 2004, Nicholson purchased his neighbor's bungalow for $6.1 million, with the purpose of having it demolished. Nicholson stated that it was done out of respect to Brando's legacy, as the house had become derelict.

Although he was brought up as a Roman Catholic, Nicholson told Vanity Fair in 1992 that he did not believe in God. Although Nicholson is personally against abortion, he is pro-choice.He is a supporter of the Democratic Party and has donated to many of its campaigns.

He is a fan of the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Lakers. His attendance at Lakers games is almost legendary, as he has been spotted sitting courtside for the past 25 years at both The Forum and the Staples Center. In a few instances, Nicholson has engaged in arguments with game officials and opposing players, and has even walked onto the court. Nicholson argued with officials so much during a 2001 Lakers playoff game that he was assessed a technical foul. His ardent refusal to miss a Lakers home game means that studios must schedule filming around the Lakers home schedule.

Unlike actors who turn down roles because they fear they'll flop, he turns down roles in films because he thinks they'll be too much of a success.


Early acting career:

When Nicholson first came to Hollywood, he worked as a go-fer for animation legends, Hanna-Barbera. During this time he met Sean Mallard, a singer/songwriter from Bozeman, Montana. Seeing his talent as an artist, they offered Nicholson a starting level position as an animation artist. However, citing his desire to become an actor, he declined.

Nicholson started his career as an actor, writer, and producer, working for and with Roger Corman, among others. This included his screen debut in The Cry Baby Killer (1958), where he played a juvenile delinquent who panics after shooting two other teenagers, The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), in which he had a small role as a masochistic dental patient, and roles in two other Roger Corman films The Raven (1963) and The Terror (his first directing role for one day)(1963), co-starring then-wife Sandra Knight.

As the 60s progressed, and with acting jobs still not easy to find, Nicholson began writing more often. The result of this included Thunder Island (1963), Flight to Fury (1964), Ride in the Whirlwind (1965), and The Monkees' vehicle Head (1968, co-written with director Bob Rafelson). These films enjoyed little if any success, but the young Nicholson was finally working more steadily. In the TV sitcom world, he also made appearances in two episodes of The Andy Griffith Show as Marvin Jenkins in 1966-1967.


Rise to fame:

Jack Nicholson in Easy Rider.With his acting career heading nowhere, Nicholson seemed resigned to a career behind the camera as a writer/director. His first real taste of writing success was the LSD-fueled screenplay for 1967's The Trip, which starred Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper. However, after a spot opened up in Fonda and Hopper's Easy Rider, it led to his first big acting break. Nicholson played hard-drinking lawyer George Hanson, for which he received his first Oscar nomination.


Director Roman Polanski cameos as a gangster who slits Nicholson's nose in ChinatownA Best Actor nomination came the following year for his persona-defining role in Five Easy Pieces (1970), which includes his famous chicken salad dialogue about getting what you want. Also that year, he appeared in the movie adaptation of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.

More of his earlier and notable film roles: Hal Ashby's The Last Detail (1973) and the classic Roman Polanski noir thriller, Chinatown (1974) (he was Oscar-nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role for both films). He also starred in The Who's Tommy (1975), directed by Ken Russell, and Michelangelo Antonioni's The Passenger (1975).


An American icon:

Nicholson earned his first Best Actor Oscar for portraying Randle P. McMurphy in the movie adaptation of Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, directed by Miloš Forman in 1975. His Oscar was matched by Louise Fletcher receiving Best Actress Award for her portrayal of Nurse Ratched. Nicholson was also offered the part of Michael Corleone in The Godfather but turned it down.

After this, he began to take more unusual roles. He took a small role in The Last Tycoon, opposite Robert De Niro. He took a less sympathetic role in Arthur Penn's western The Missouri Breaks, specifically to work with Marlon Brando. He followed this by making his directorial debut with the western comedy Goin' South.

Although he didn't garner any Oscar attention for Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining (1980), it remains one of Nicholson's most significant roles. His next Oscar, the Best Actor Oscar, came for his role of retired astronaut Garrett Breedlove in Terms of Endearment (1983), directed by James L. Brooks.

Nicholson continued to work prolifically in the 80s, starring in such films as The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), Reds (1981), Prizzi's Honor (1985), The Witches of Eastwick (1987), and Ironweed (1987). Three Oscar nominations also followed (Reds, Prizzi's Honor, and Ironweed).

The 1989 Batman movie, where Nicholson played The Joker, was an international smash hit, and a lucrative percentage deal earned Nicholson about $60 million. Nicholson was to reprise his role as The Joker in the fifth installment in the franchise Batman Triumphant in 1999, but Warner Bros. Pictures canceled the project.

Not all of Nicholson's performances have been well-received. He was nominated for Razzie Awards as worst actor for Man Trouble (1992) and Hoffa (1992). However, the latter is a bit odd, as Nicholson's performance in Hoffa also earned a Golden Globe nomination.

Nicholson would go on to win his next Best Actor Oscar for his role as Melvin Udall, a neurotic author with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), in the romance As Good as It Gets (1997), again directed by James L. Brooks. Nicholson's Oscar was matched with the Best Actress Oscar for Helen Hunt as a Manhattan waitress drawn into a love/hate friendship with Udall, a frequent diner in the restaurant in which she worked.


Recent years:

In About Schmidt (2002), Nicholson portrayed a retired Omaha, Nebraska actuary who questions his own life and the death of his wife shortly afterward. His quiet, restrained performance stood in sharp contrast to many of his previous roles, and earned him an Academy Award Nomination for Best Actor.

In the comedy Anger Management, he plays an aggressive therapist assigned to help overly pacifist Adam Sandler.

In 2003, with few other acting offers, Nicholson starred in Something's Gotta Give as an aging playboy who falls for the mother (Diane Keaton) of his young girlfriend.

In late 2006, Nicholson marked his return to the "dark side" as Frank Costello, a sadistic Boston Irish Mob boss presiding over Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning The Departed, a remake of Andrew Lau's Infernal Affairs. Few may know that more recently Nicholson has been featured as the voice in the Nokia N95 'there's a thing in my pocket' advert.

In early 2007 Jack has been found courting Esther Lepard in Australia.


Current and future projects:

In November 2006, Nicholson began filming his next project, Rob Reiner's The Bucket List, a role for which he shaved his head. The film will star him and Morgan Freeman as dying men who must fulfill their list of goals. The film is tentatively scheduled to be released in late 2007. In researching the role, Nicholson visited a Los Angeles hospital to see how cancer patients coped with their illnesses.

Nicholson once said in an interview if he can get Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr., Johnny Depp and Jim Carrey to be a part of it, he will start his own professional wrestling promotion.

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards:

Nicholson has been nominated for an acting (lead or supporting) Academy Award in five different decades: 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. The only other actor who can say the same is Michael Caine. With 12 nominations thus far (8 for Best Actor and 4 for Best Supporting Actor), Jack Nicholson is the most nominated male actor in Academy Awards history. With three Oscar wins, he also ties with Walter Brennan for the highest number of Oscar wins in acting categories (all of Brennan's wins were for Best Supporting Actor):

Nominated: Best Supporting Actor, Easy Rider (1969)
Nominated: Best Actor, Five Easy Pieces (1970)
Nominated: Best Actor, The Last Detail (1973)
Nominated: Best Actor , Chinatown (1974)
Won: Best Actor, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Nominated: Best Supporting Actor, Reds (1981)
Won: Best Supporting Actor, Terms of Endearment (1983)
Nominated: Best Actor, Prizzi's Honor (1985)
Nominated: Best Actor, Ironweed (1987)
Nominated: Best Supporting Actor, A Few Good Men (1992)
Won: Best Actor, As Good as It Gets (1997)
Nominated: Best Actor, About Schmidt (2002)
At the 79th Academy Awards, Nicholson had fully shaved his hair for his role in The Bucket List. Those ceremonies represented the seventh time he has presented the Academy Award for Best Picture (1972, 1977, 1978, 1990, 1993, 2006, and 2007).[19]

Every time he has won an Oscar, the lead actress of that same film has also won an Oscar.

BAFTA Award:

Nominated: Best Supporting Actor, Easy Rider (1970)
Won: Best Actor, The Last Detail (1975)
Won: Best Actor, Chinatown (1975)
Won: Best Actor, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1977)
Won: Best Supporting Actor, Reds (1983)
Nominated: Best Supporting Actor, Batman (1990)
Nominated: Best Actor, About Schmidt (2003)
Nominated: Best Supporting Actor, The Departed (2007)

Golden Globe Award:

Nominated: Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture, Easy Rider (1970)
Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, Five Easy Pieces (1971)
Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, Carnal Knowledge (1972)
Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, The Last Detail (1974)
Won: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, Chinatown (1975)
Won: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1976)
Nominated: Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture, Reds (1982)
Won: Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture, Terms of Endearment (1984)
Won: Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical/Comedy, Prizzi's Honor (1986)
Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, Ironweed (1988)
Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical/Comedy, Batman (1990)
Nominated: Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture, A Few Good Men (1993)
Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, Hoffa (1993)
Won: Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical/Comedy, As Good as It Gets (1998)
Won: Cecil B. DeMille Award (1999)
Won: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, About Schmidt (2003)
Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical/Comedy, Something's Gotta Give (2004)
Nominated: Best Supporting Actor, The Departed (2007)

\Films starring Jack Nicholson:

The Wild Ride (1960) • Back Door to Hell (1964) • The Shooting (1966) • Ride in the Whirlwind (1966) • Hells Angels on Wheels (1967) • Psych-Out (1968) • Easy Rider (1969) • Five Easy Pieces (1970) • Carnal Knowledge (1971) • The King of Marvin Gardens (1972) • The Last Detail (1973) • Chinatown (1974) • The Fortune (1975) • One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) • The Passenger (1975) • The Missouri Breaks (1975) • Tommy (1975) • The Last Tycoon (1976) • Goin' South (1978) • The Shining (1980) • The Postman Always Ring Twice (1981) • Reds (1981) • The Border (1982) • Terms of Endearment (1983) • Prizzi's Honor (1985) • Heartburn (1986) • The Witches of Eastwick (1987) • Ironweed (1987) • Batman (1989) • A Few Good Men (1992) • Hoffa (1992) • Wolf (1994) • The Crossing Guard (1995) • Blood and Wine (1996) • Mars Attacks! (1996) • As Good as it Gets (1997) • The Pledge (2001) • About Schmidt (2002) • Anger Management (2003) • Something's Gotta Give (2003) • The Departed (2006) •