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This article refers to the actor. For the golfer of a similar name, see Jack Nicklaus
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson (born April 22, 1937 in New York, New York) is a highly successful, iconic American method actor known for his often dark-themed portrayals of neurotic characters.
He has been nominated for an Academy Award 12 times (winning 3 of them), more than any other male actor, and second only to Meryl Streep (who has 13 nominations and 2 wins) in total nominations. He is tied with Walter Brennan for most wins by a male actor, and second to Katharine Hepburn for most acting wins overall (Hepburn had 4).
He has also won seven Golden Globe Awards and he received a Kennedy Center Honors in 2001.
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Biography and personal life
Nicholson was born at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York City to a showgirl, June Frances Nicholson (alias June Nilson). June had married Donald Furcillo 6 months earlier in Elkton, Maryland, on October 16, 1936. Elkton was a town known for its "quickie" marriages.
June was a showgirl, and Furcillo (stage name Donald Rose) was a showman when they met. However, Furcillo 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 immigrants, while June Nicholson was of Irish descent on her father's side and English descent on her mother's.
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. He attended high school at nearby Manasquan High School, where a drama award was later named in his honor. 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". He has four children by three different women despite only being married once.
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 the legendary director John Huston. However, the relationship ended when the news reported that Rebecca Broussard had become pregnant with his child.
Although he was brought up as a Catholic, Nicholson told Vanity Fair in 1992 that he did not believe in God. Although Nicholson is personally against abortion, he is pro-choice.
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Early acting career
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 (1963), co-starring then-wife Sandra Knight.
As the 60's 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). 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.
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Rise to fame
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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.
A 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 as Daisy Gamble (Barbra Streisand)'s stepbrother.
More of his earlier and notable film roles include Hal Ashby's The Last Detail (1973) and the classic Roman Polanski noir thriller, Chinatown (1974). Nicholson was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role for both films. Nicholson also starred in Michelangelo Antonioni's The Passenger (1975), considered by many to be one of Jack's most memorable and lesser known roles.
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An American icon
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Nicholson earned his first Academy Award for Best Actor for portraying Randall P. McMurphy in Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, directed by Miloš Forman in 1975. His Academy Award for Best Actor was matched with the Academy Award for Best Actress given to Louise Fletcher for her portrayal of Nurse Ratched.
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 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, came for his role of Garrett Breedlove, retired astronaut, in Terms of Endearment (1983).
Nicholson continued to work prolifically in the 80's, 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 Academy Award 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.
For his role as hotheaded Col. Nathan R. Jessep in A Few Good Men (1992), a movie about a murder in a US Marine Corps unit, he received yet another nomination by the Academy. This film contains Nicholson's "You can't handle the truth!" scene, which has since become widely known and imitated.
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).
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). Nicholson's Oscar was matched with the Academy Award for Best Actress honor for Helen Hunt as a Manhattan waitress drawn into a love/hate friendship with Udall, a frequent diner.
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Recent years
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Current & future projects
In November 2006, Nicholson is scheduled to start filming his next project, Rob Reiner's The Bucket List. 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 2007.
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Filmography
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Academy Awards and nominations
1981 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Reds
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Trivia
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He was known to his high school friends as "Nick," and was voted "class clown" by the Class of 1954 at Manasquan High School. In 2004, Nicholson attended his 50 year high school reunion, much to the surprise of his fellow classmates. A theatre at the school is named in his honor .
When he first came to Hollywood, Jack worked as a go-fer for animation legends, Hanna-Barbera. Seeing his talent as an artist, they offered Jack a starting level position as an animation artist. However, citing his desire to become an actor, Jack declined.
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 . Those working on his films must sometimes work around his affection for the Lakers .
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 passing 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 .
Actor Harry Dean Stanton served as the best man at Nicholson's wedding, and the two have appeared in six films together. He is also a close friend of French 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 allegedly took place on the Nicholson estate on Mulholland Drive.
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Awards
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