Ranked #6 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
American Film Institute Life Achievement Award [1994]
Used to be a messenger boy for MGM's cartoon department.
Children: Jennifer Nicholson (b. 1963) with Sandra Knight; Honey Hollman (b. 1981) with Danish supermodel, Winnie Hollman; Lorraine (b. 1990) and Raymond (b. 1992) with Rebecca Broussard.
He was the 2001 John F. Kennedy Center Honors recipient.
Dedicated his Oscar for As Good as It Gets (1997) to J.T. Walsh, his co-star in A Few Good Men (1992) who had died shortly before the Academy Awards in 1998.
In 1994, in an apparent bout of rage, Nicholson smashed a man's car window in with a golf club. Nicholson expressed remorse for the incident in an interview with Us Magazine.
Loves jokes at his expense so much that he showed up at every Academy Awards hosted by Billy Crystal, who in turn would incorporate Nicholson somehow in the telecast.
Lives on famed "Bad Boy Drive" a.k.a. Mulholland Drive in Beverly Hills, California. It's nicknamed so because its residents are famed Hollywood bad boys Warren Beatty, Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson.
Avid Los Angeles Lakers fan. He never misses a Lakers home game. Because of this, producers on his films must work the shooting schedule around the Lakers' schedule.
Was asked, along with Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty, to play the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972).
Dated Lara Flynn Boyle [1999-2001]
The Best Lady at his wedding to Sandra Knight was Millie Perkins. The Best Man was Harry Dean Stanton. After their divorce, Nicholson lived, for a time, at Harry Dean Stanton's place.
Never does televised interviews except for press conferences. But in 2004, while attending a fashion show for his daughter, designer Jennifer Nicholson, he agreed to be interviewed briefly by Robert Verdi for E! Entertainment.
Flew to Cuba and met with Fidel Castro in June 1998. While there, Nicholson also met with leaders of the Cuban film industry, enjoyed local restaurants, jazz clubs and visited a famous cigar factory. He left greatly impressed with the country and its Communist dictator, though the luxuries he was treated to on the island are off-limits to most Cuban citizens.
Is the most Acadamy Award nominated actor in film history.
Each one of the films for which he has won an Oscar has also won Best Actress in a Leading Role (Louise Fletcher, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975); Shirley MacLaine, Terms of Endearment (1983); Helen Hunt, As Good as It Gets (1997)).
Has a second home in Aspen, Colorado.
Graduate of Manasquan High School, Manasquan, New Jersey, where he was voted "Class Clown" by the Class of 1954.
Boyhood friend of Danny DeVito. Nicholson's relatives and DeVito's relatives ran a hair salon together.
Presented the Best Picture Oscar five times (in 1971, 1976, 1977, 1989, and 1992), more than any other actor or actress.
Owns a large art collection including works by Pablo Picasso and Tamara de Lempicka
He was voted the 17th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
Batman creator Bob Kane personally recommended him for the role of the Joker in Batman (1989).
The illegitimate son of Donald Furcillo, the son of Italian immigrants, and June Nicholson, whose father, Jack Sr., was Irish and mother, Ethel May, was of Dutch descent. He never knew his father and was raised by his grandmother. He was led to believe that June was his older sister.
Turned down the role of Johnny Hooker in The Sting (1973) to play Billy "Bad Ass" Buddusky in The Last Detail (1973), which was written by his close friend Robert Towne, as he did not want to appear in a purely commercial picture just then. Robert Redford eventually played the part. Both Nicholson and Redford were nominated for Best Actor of 1973 at the Academy Awards, losing to Jack Lemmon for Save the Tiger (1973).
Turned down the lead role of Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), even though he knew the movie would be a hit as he felt that the special effects would overwhelm any actor in the movie.
Appeared in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and Tommy (1975). Ironically, both of those films were nominated for Best Actress Oscars. "Cuckoo" star Louise Fletcher won.
Has been nominated for an acting Oscar in five different decades (1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s).
He was voted the 16th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
In 2004, he attended his 50th high school reunion at Manasquan High School in Manasquan, New Jersey. Needless to say, his classmates were surprised and delighted that he attended.
Academy Award three-time-winner Jack Nicholson, the most Academy Award nominated actor in film history, achieved over-generation acclaim for his acting works in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), Terms of Endearment (1984) and As Good As It Gets (1997). Jack Nicholson, famous for his shark's grin and sunglasses, has drifting in the movie scene since the 1950s and continues to thrive in later films such as About Schmidt (2002), Anger Management (2003) and Something's Gotta Give (2003).
"A star on a movie set is like a time bomb. That bomb has got to be defused so people can approach it without fear", says Jack Nicholson. Jack Nicholson, nicknamed classic bad boy, has been involved with several actresses, notably his 17-year-relationship with actress Anjelica Huston (born on July 8, 1951) and Susan Anspach (born on November 23, 1942). Also noticed for his on-off relationship with model Rebecca Broussard, Nicholson surprised the public by dating The Practice fame, Lara Flynn Boyle (born on March 24, 1970) and arguably with his Something's Gotta Give fellow actress Diane Keaton. Raised in an ill-fated family by his alcoholic grandfather John and beautician grandmother Ethel May Nicholson, Jack Nicholson was raised believing that his mother June was his older sister. Given the name John Joseph Nicholson, Jack Nicholson was born on April 22, 1937 in Neptune, New Jersey, where he attended Manasquan High School and became the 1954's Class Clown. On June 17, 1962, he married actress Sandra Knight but they divorced four years later, on August 8, 1968. Nicholson has one daughter from Sandra, Jennifer (born in 1964), who gave him his first grandson Sean (born on February 20, 1996). Jack Nicholson has two children from his relationship with Rebecca Broussard, daughter Lorraine Broussard (born on April 16, 1990) and son Raymond (born on February 20, 1992). He also has one alleged son, Caleb (born September 26, 1970), from Susan Anspach.
An office boy for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) film studio at age 17, Jack Nicholson learned to act with the Players Ring Theater and appeared in both television and on stage. Spotted by Roger Corman, he then debuted his film work playing a small role in The Cry Baby Killer (1958). Jack Nicholson continued to play characters for follow-up B-movies including Little Shop of Horrors (1960), The Raven (1963), The Terror (1963, alongside Francis Ford Coppola), Ensign Pulver (1964) and The Shooting (1967). Meanwhile, Nicholson tried his hand in screenwriting, which produced the thriller Thunder Island (1963), Flight to Fury (1964) and Ride The Whirlwind (1966). He also helped Bob Rafelson in writing and producing the comedy Head (1968), penned the drama film The Trip (1967) as well as helping write, produce and direct Mike Nichols' hit Carnal Knowledge. Jack Nicholson achieved his first break costarring with Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda in the film Easy Rider (1969), for which he was nominated for his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Another nomination followed in Rafelson's Five Easy Pieces (1970). Throughout the 1970s, Nicholson was included in Hollywood's A-list actors and gained many roles including films like Carnal Knowledge (1972, opposite Candice Bergen), Henry Jaglom's A Safe Place (1972), The King of Marvin Gardens (1972) and Hal Ashby's critically acclaimed The Last Detail (1973). Jack Nicholson earned another breakthrough when starring in Roman Polanski's classic film, Chinatown (1974, worked with Faye Dunaway and John Huston).
After being nominated several times, Jack Nicholson eventually received his first Academy Award for best Actor for portraying Randle McMurphy in Milos Forman's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). His renowned acting skills scored him roles in Michelangelo Antonioni's The Passenger (1975), Ken Russell's Tommy (1975) and in several low-received films like Western The Missouri Breaks (1976, co-starring Marlon Brando) and F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel adaptation film The Last Tycoon (1976, Robert De Niro). Nicholson went back to the limelight by playing in Stanley Kubrick's The Shinning (1980) and in the remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981). Following his appearances in Warren Beatty's Reds (1981, teamed with Diane Keaton) and The Border (1982), Jack Nicholson garnered an Oscar for his supporting role in James L. Brooks' comedy-drama Terms of Endearment (1983, joined with Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger) and was nominated for Best Actor in John Huston's comedy Prizzi's Honor (1985, with then-girlfriend Anjelica Huston). He also achieved rave reviews for playing characters in Hector Babenco's Ironweed (1987, opposite Meryl Streep) and in 1987's The Witches of Eastwick, shared the screen with Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer.
Jack Nicholson's limelight seems to never dim. With his role like the Joker in Tom Burton's blockbuster Batman (1989, costarred with Michael Keaton and Kim Basinger), from which he earned multimillion dollars for both the film and the merchandise, he stays on top. In the following year, he both directed and starred with Harvey Keitel and Meg Tilly in The Two Jakes (1990), a sequel to Chinatown. Cast as Col. Nathan R. Jessep in A Few Good Men (1992, Tom Cruise and Demi Moore) he received another Oscar nomination. Subsequently, he played the title role in Danny DeVito's Hoffa and joined Michelle Pfeiffer in Mike Nichols' Wolf (1994) as well as costarring with Anjelica Huston in Sean Penn's The Crossing Guard (1995). Following in 1996, he acted in Tim Burton's Mars Attacks and took home an Oscar for portraying Melvin Udall in the acclaimed James L. Brooks' As Good As It Gets (1997, opposite Helen Hunt). After four years of hiatus, Jack Nicholson reunited with Sean Penn in The Pledge (2001) and set a record by being nominated for a 12th Oscar for playing Warren R. Schmidt in Alexander Payne's About Schmidt (2002, costarring Kathy Bates). In the following year, he was cast as Dr. Buddy Rydell (costarring Adam Sandler) in the popular comedy Anger Management. In 2006, Jack Nicholson is scheduled to star in the remake of gangster clash Internal Affairs (a.k.a. Wu Jian Dao), The Departed. He will portray an Irish gang boss and star with actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon.
"The average celebrity meets, in one year, ten times the amount of people that the average person meets in his entire life." Jack Nicholson.
