Jack Nicholson Bio
John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is a retired American actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the great actors of the 20th century, often playing charismatic rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-decade-long career, he received numerous accolades, including three Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award. Nicholson won Academy Awards for Best Actor for playing Randle McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) and an author with obsessive-compulsive disorder in As Good as It Gets (1997), as well as for Best Supporting Actor for playing an aging playboy in Terms of Endearment (1983). He received further Oscar nominations for Easy Rider (1969), Five Easy Pieces (1970), The Last Detail (1973), Chinatown (1974), Reds (1981), Prizzi’s Honor (1985), Ironweed (1987), A Few Good Men (1992), and About Schmidt (2002). Nicholson made his film debut in Roger Corman’s The Cry Baby Killer (1958). His other notable roles were in Psych-Out (1968), Carnal Knowledge (1971), The King of Marvin Gardens (1972), The Passenger (1975), The Missouri Breaks (1976), The Shining (1980), Broadcast News (1987), Batman (1989), Hoffa (1992), Mars Attacks! (1996), Anger Management, Something’s Gotta Give (both 2003), The Departed (2006), and The Bucket List (2007). He also had a cameo in Corman’s cult classic The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), which has been heavily promoted on home video releases. As a director, Nicholson has helmed three films: Drive, He Said (1971), Goin’ South (1978), and The Two Jakes (1990). He has also written several other films, including The Monkees’ vehicle Head (1968). He retired from acting after starring in How Do You Know (2010).
Early Life and Background
John Joseph Nicholson was born on April 22, 1937, in Neptune City, New Jersey, the son of a showgirl, June Frances Nicholson (stage name June Nilson; 1918–1963). Nicholson’s mother was of Irish, English, German, and Welsh descent. Nicholson has identified as Irish, comparing himself to the playwright Eugene O’Neill, whom he played in the film Reds (1981). His mother married Italian-American showman Donald Furcillo in 1936, before realizing that he was already married. Biographer Patrick McGilligan stated in his book Jack’s Life that Latvian-born Eddie King, June’s manager, may have been Nicholson’s biological father, rather than Furcillo. Other sources suggest June Nicholson was unsure of the father’s identity. As June was only 17 and unmarried, her parents agreed to raise Nicholson as their own child without revealing his true parentage, with June acting as his sister. In 1974, Time magazine researchers learned, and informed Nicholson, that his “sister”, June, was actually his mother, and his other “sister”, Lorraine, was really his aunt. By this time, both his mother and grandmother had died. On finding out, Nicholson said it was “a pretty dramatic event, but it wasn’t what I’d call traumatizing … I was pretty well psychologically formed”. Nicholson grew up in Neptune City, New Jersey. Before starting high school, his family moved to an apartment in Spring Lake, New Jersey. “Nick”, as he was known to his high school friends, attended nearby Manasquan High School, where he was voted “Class Clown” by the Class of 1954. He was in detention every day for a whole school year. A theatre and a drama award at the school are named in his honor.
Path to Hollywood
Nicholson first came to California in 1950, when he was 13, to visit his sister. He took a job as an office worker for animation directors William Hanna and Joseph Barbera at the MGM cartoon studio. They offered him an entry-level job as an animator, but he declined, citing his desire to become an actor. While accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 56th Golden Globe Awards, he recalled that his first day as a working actor (on Tales of Wells Fargo) was May 5, 1955, which he considered lucky, as 5 was the jersey number of his boyhood idol, Joe DiMaggio. He trained to be an actor with a group called the Players Ring Theater, after which he found small parts performing on the stage and in TV soap operas. He made his film debut in a low-budget teen drama The Cry Baby Killer (1958), playing the title role. For the next decade, Nicholson frequently collaborated with the film’s producer, Roger Corman. Corman directed Nicholson on several occasions, such as in The Little Shop of Horrors as undertaker Wilbur Force; in The Raven; The Terror, where he plays a French officer seduced by an evil ghost; and The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Nicholson frequently worked with director Monte Hellman on low-budget westerns; two of them—Ride in the Whirlwind and The Shooting—initially failed to interest U.S. film distributors but gained cult success on the French art-house circuit and were later sold to television. Nicholson also appeared in two episodes of The Andy Griffith Show and starred as a rebellious dirt-track race driver in the 1960 film The Wild Ride. With his acting career foundering, Nicholson seemed resigned to a career behind the camera as a writer/director. His first real taste of writing success was the screenplay for the 1967 counterculture film The Trip (directed by Corman), starring Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper. Nicholson’s first big acting break came when a role opened up in Fonda and Hopper’s Easy Rider (1969). He played alcoholic lawyer George Hanson, for which he received his first Oscar nomination. The film cost only $400,000 to make and became a blockbuster, grossing $60 million. Biographer John Parker writes that Nicholson’s interpretation of his role placed him in the company of earlier antihero actors, such as James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart, while promoting him into an “overnight number-one hero of the counter-culture movement”. The part was a lucky break for Nicholson. The role had been written for Rip Torn, who withdrew from the project after an argument with Hopper. Nicholson later acknowledged the importance of being cast in Easy Rider: “All I could see in the early films, before Easy Rider, was this desperate young actor trying to vault out of the screen and create a movie career.”
Jack Nicholson Career
Early Career (1955–1969)
Nicholson’s career began with small roles in television and film, but he quickly gained recognition for his talent. His breakout role in Easy Rider marked the beginning of his rise to stardom. Following this, he starred in several critically acclaimed films, including Five Easy Pieces (1970) and Chinatown (1974), which solidified his status as a leading actor in Hollywood. In 1975, he achieved critical acclaim for his role in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, winning his first Academy Award for Best Actor. This film was a significant milestone in his career, showcasing his ability to portray complex characters.
Breakthrough (1970–1989)
In 1970, Nicholson starred in Five Easy Pieces alongside Karen Black in what became his persona-defining role. Nicholson and Black were nominated for Academy Awards for their performances. Nicholson played Bobby Dupea, an oil rig worker, and Black played his waitress girlfriend. Within a month after its release that September, Five Easy Pieces became a blockbuster, making Nicholson a leading man and the “new American anti-hero”. Critics began speculating as to whether he might become another Marlon Brando or James Dean. His career and income skyrocketed. In 1974, Nicholson starred in Roman Polanski’s noir thriller Chinatown, and was again nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Jake Gittes, a private detective. The film co-starred Faye Dunaway and John Huston. In 1975, Nicholson starred in Michelangelo Antonioni’s The Passenger, which co-starred Maria Schneider. Nicholson plays a journalist, David Locke, who during an assignment in North Africa decides to quit journalism and disappear by taking on a new hidden identity. Nicholson continued 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 (1976), specifically to work with Marlon Brando. Nicholson was especially inspired by Brando’s acting ability, recalling that in his youth, as an assistant manager at a theater, he watched On the Waterfront about 40 times. In 1989, Nicholson played the psychotic villain, the Joker, in the Batman movie, which was an international smash hit.
Notable Works and Milestones
Nicholson’s signature work includes his role as Randle P. McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which won him his first Academy Award. He is known for his dynamic performances in films such as The Shining, A Few Good Men, and As Good as It Gets, for which he won his third Academy Award. His ability to portray complex characters has made him a beloved figure in Hollywood.
Jack Nicholson Award Nominations
Throughout his illustrious career, Jack Nicholson has received numerous nominations for prestigious awards, including 12 Academy Award nominations, making him the most nominated male actor in Academy Awards history.
Jack Nicholson Awards Won
Jack Nicholson has won three Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award, solidifying his status as one of the greatest actors in film history.
Jack Nicholson Family
Jack Nicholson has fathered six children by five women but married only once. His marriage was to Sandra Knight from 1962 to 1968, with whom he had one daughter, Jennifer. Nicholson’s longest relationship was with actress Anjelica Huston, from 1973 until 1990. He has two children, Lorraine and Raymond, with actress Rebecca Broussard. He also has a daughter, Tessa, with waitress Jeannine Gourin.
Personal Life
Jack Nicholson is known for his high-profile relationships and has been linked to several actresses over the years. He has expressed that children give life a resonance that it cannot have without them. Nicholson has also mentioned that he did not see enough of his eldest daughter due to his career commitments.
