Jack Nicholson
John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker.[1] Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century.[2][3] Throughout his five-decade career he received numerous accolades, including three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Film Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award. He also received the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award in 1994 and the Kennedy Center Honor in 2001. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure.[4]
This article is about the American actor. For the footballer, see Jack Nicholson (footballer).
Jack Nicholson
- Actor
- filmmaker
1955–2010
- Anjelica Huston (1973–1990)
- Rebecca Broussard (1989–1994)
- Lara Flynn Boyle (1999–2004)
Nicholson has won three Academy Awards, for Best Actor for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and As Good as It Gets (1997) and for Best Supporting Actor for Terms of Endearment (1983). He was Oscar-nominated for Easy Rider (1969), Five Easy Pieces (1970), The Last Detail (1974), Chinatown (1974), Reds (1981), Prizzi's Honor (1986), Ironweed (1987), A Few Good Men (1992) and About Schmidt (2002). Nicholson is also known for his notable roles in Carnal Knowledge (1971), The Shining (1980), Heartburn (1986), Broadcast News (1987), Batman (1989), Hoffa (1992), Mars Attacks! (1996), Something's Gotta Give (2003), The Departed (2006) and The Bucket List (2007).
Nicholson has directed three films, Drive, He Said (1971), Goin' South (1978), and The Two Jakes (1990). He is one of only three male actors to win three Academy Awards and one of only two actors to be nominated for an Academy Award for acting in films made in every decade from the 1960s to the 2000s (alongside Michael Caine). His 12 Academy Award nominations make him the most nominated male actor in the Academy's history.
Early life and education
John Joseph Nicholson was born on April 22, 1937, in Neptune City, New Jersey,[5][6] the son of a showgirl, June Frances Nicholson (stage name June Nilson; 1918–1963).[7][8] 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: "I'm not saying I'm as dark as he was ... but I am a writer, I am Irish, I have had problems with my family."[9] His mother married Italian-American showman Donald Furcillo (stage name Donald Rose; 1909–1997) in 1936, before realizing that he was already married.[10]: 8 [11] Biographer Patrick McGilligan stated in his book Jack's Life that Latvian-born Eddie King (originally Edgar A. Kirschfeld),[12] 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.[7]
As June was only 17 and unmarried, her parents[note 1] agreed to raise Nicholson as their own child without revealing his true parentage, with June acting as his sister.[13] 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.[14] By this time, both his mother and grandmother had died (in 1963 and 1970, respectively). 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".[13]
Nicholson grew up in Neptune City, New Jersey.[10]: 7 Before starting high school, his family moved to an apartment in Spring Lake, New Jersey.[10]: 16 [15] "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.[6] A theatre and a drama award at the school are named in his honor. In 2004, Nicholson attended his 50-year high school reunion accompanied by his aunt Lorraine.[10]
Military service
In 1957, Nicholson joined the California Air National Guard,[16] a move he sometimes characterized as an effort to "dodge the draft";[17] the Korean War era's Military Selective Service Act was still in force, and draftees were required to perform up to two years of active duty. After completing the Air Force's basic training at Lackland Air Force Base,[17] Nicholson performed weekend drills and two-week annual training as a firefighter assigned to the unit based at the Van Nuys Airport.[17] During the Berlin Crisis of 1961, Nicholson was called up for several months of extended active duty,[17] and he was discharged at the end of his enlistment in 1962.[18]
Influence
Nicholson has described Marlon Brando as a major influence on his career. He stated, "Actors don't normally discuss who the best actor in the world is, because it's obvious—Brando is the best.” He also named John Ford, Akira Kurosawa, and Orson Welles as his favorite directors.[79]
Actors who have cited Nicholson as an influence include Leonardo DiCaprio,[80] Alden Ehrenreich,[81] and Morgan Freeman.[82]
During his career Nicholson has appeared in 80 films. [71] Among some of Nicholson's films are:
With 12 Academy Award nominations (eight for Best Actor and four for Best Supporting Actor), Nicholson is the most nominated male actor in Academy Awards history. Only Nicholson (1960s–2000s), Michael Caine (1960s–2000s), Meryl Streep (1970s–2010s), Paul Newman (1950s–1960s, 1980s–2000s), Katharine Hepburn (1930s–1960s, 1980s), Frances McDormand (1980s–2020s), Denzel Washington (1980s–2020s), and Laurence Olivier (1930s–1970s) have been nominated for an acting (lead or supporting) Academy Award in five different decades. With three Oscar wins, he also ties with Walter Brennan, Daniel Day-Lewis, Ingrid Bergman, Frances McDormand and Meryl Streep for the second-most Oscar wins in acting categories.
Only Katharine Hepburn, with four Oscars, won more. Nicholson is an active and voting member of the Academy. In May 2008, then-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver announced that Nicholson would be inducted into the California Hall of Fame, located at The California Museum in Sacramento. The induction ceremony took place on December 15, 2008, where he was inducted alongside 11 other Californians.[124][125] In 2010, Nicholson was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.[126] In 2011, Nicholson received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Brown University at its 243rd commencement. At the ceremony, Ruth Simmons, Brown University's president, called him "the most skilled actor of our lifetime".[127]