Jack Nicholson

(October 1997) Ranked #6 in Empire magazines "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list.

Recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute.

Used to be a messenger boy for MGMs cartoon department.

He was the 2001 John F. Kennedy Center Honors recipient.

Dedicated his Oscar for As Good as It Gets to J.T. Walsh , his co-star in A Few Good Men who had died shortly before the Academy Awards in 1998.

In 1994, in an apparent bout of rage, he smashed a mans car window in with a golf club. He 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. Its nicknamed so because its residents have included former Hollywood bad boys Warren Beatty , and the late Marlon Brando.

Is an avid fan of the Los Angeles Lakers and is often seated next to his good friend Lou Adler. He rarely misses a Lakers home game. Contrary to popular belief, Nicholson never had production companies schedule the filming of a movie he was in to accommodate his attendance at sporting events. Nicholson is also a life-long fan of the New York Yankees.

Along with Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty , he was asked to play the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather .

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.

Long refused to do any televised interviews except for press conferences. But in recent years, he has occasionally agreed to speak briefly when approached by reporters. He has not appeared on a talk show since 1971.

Flew to Cuba and met with Fidel Castro in June 1998. While there, he 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, who he described as "a genius", though the luxuries he was treated to on the island are off-limits to most Cuban citizens.

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 Cuckoos Nest ; Shirley MacLaine , Terms of Endearment ; Helen Hunt , As Good as It Gets ).

Has a second home in Aspen, Colorado.

Graduated from Manasquan High School in Manasquan, New Jersey, where he was voted "Class Clown" by the Class of 1954.

Boyhood friends with Danny DeVito. Nicholsons relatives and DeVitos relatives managed a hair salon together.

Presented the Best Picture Oscar eight times (1972, 1977, 1978, 1990, 1993, 2006, 2007 and 2013), more than any other actor or actress. Though he was a relative newcomer and lacked the status typically associated with Best Picture presenters, the then-two-time nominee took on the assignment in 1972 when many better-known celebrities balked at the job, worried that they would be tainted if Stanley Kubrick s A Clockwork Orange won the top gong and they were seen by the public as linked to the controversial picture. Nicholson, who early on declared publicly that he loved the Oscar (when the sentiment was not chic), happily obliged. In addition to presenting the Best Actress trophy in 1999, he also presented the Thalberg Award to Warren Beatty in 2000 and an honorary award to Michelangelo Antonioni in 1995.

Batman creator Bob Kane personally recommended him for the role of the Joker in Batman .

His mother, June Frances (Nicholson), had Irish, and smaller amounts of English, Scottish, Welsh, and Pennsylvania Dutch (German), ancestry. Jack never knew his biological father, and was raised by his maternal grandparents. He was led to believe that June was his older sister and his grandparents were his parents. It was not until 1974, when a Time magazine reporter researched his life, that he learned the truth. An Italian immigrant named Donald Furcillo, who was married briefly to June, may have been Jacks biological father. It is also possible that Jacks biological father was Edgar A. Kirschfeld, a Latvian-born entertainer (known as "Eddie King"). Nicholson has chosen not to investigate further.

Turned down the role of Johnny Hooker in The Sting to play Billy "Bad Ass" Buddusky in The Last Detail , 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 role. Both Nicholson and Redford were nominated for Best Actor of 1973 at the Academy Awards, losing to Jack Lemmon for Save the Tiger .

Turned down the lead role of Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind , even though he knew the movie would be a success as he felt that the special effects would overwhelm any actor in the movie.

Has appeared in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Tommy . 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).

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.

Is one of only two actors to receive a Best Supporting Actor Oscar after winning a Best Actor Oscar (The other is Gene Hackman ).

The character Shipwreck from the animated G.I. Joe series of the 1980s was partly based on him (and partly based on Popeye the Sailor Man).

Claims his personal favorite performances are his works in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest , Batman , Hoffa and As Good as It Gets .

With his seventh Best Actor nomination for As Good as It Gets , he surpassed Laurence Olivier as the most nominated actor ever with 11 total nominations (Nicholson had four Best Supporting Actor nominations in 1970, 1982, 1984 and 1991; Olivier had nine Best Actor (tied for the most in that category with Spencer Tracy ) and one Best Supporting Actor nominations. Nicholson extended the lead with his eight Best Actor nod for About Schmidt , which tied him with Paul Newman for second place in Best Actor nominations. (Newman also has one Supporting Actor nomination).

A 12-time acting nominee (eight times as Best Actor, four times as Best Supporting Actor), he ties Katharine Hepburn s 12 nominations (all in the Best Actress category) and only Meryl Streep with 14 (10 in the Best Actress category) has more acting nominations. (Bette Davis was nominated 10 times for an Academy Award, all of them Best Actress nominations).

After presenting the Best Picture Oscar at The 78th Annual Academy Awards to Crash , he told the press he was surprised as he thought Brokeback Mountain would win. Nicholson then told the press that he himself had voted for Brokeback Mountain .

His performance as Billy "Bad Ass" Buddusky in The Last Detail is ranked #12 on Premiere magazines 100 Greatest Performances of All Time.

His performance as Randle Patrick McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest is ranked #47 on Premiere magazines 100 Greatest Performances of All Time.

The song "Santa Baby" in the film, Party Monster was recorded as a gift for the actor by the actress and recording artist, Cynthia Basinet , as were many other songs, including "Haunted Heart" and "Someone to Watch Over Me". She was later nominated for a shared Nobel in 2005.

Was in attendance at Chris Penn s funeral at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Along with Marlon Brando , Nicholson eagerly sought the role of Dr. Martin Dysart in Sidney Lumet s film adaptation of Sir Peter Shaffer s play Equus . The role went instead to Richard Burton , who received his seventh and final Oscar nomination for his performance.

His performance as Jack Torrance in The Shining is ranked #82 on Premiere magazines 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

His performance as Jake "J.J." Gittes in Chinatown is ranked #37 on Premiere magazines 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

His performance as Randle Patrick McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest is ranked #14 on Premiere magazines 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

He turned down the title role of Bob Guccione s infamous epic Caligola , which eventually went to Malcolm McDowell.

One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest is ranked #17 on the American Film Institutes 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time.

He turned down the role of Richard Nixon in Nixon , which went to Sir Anthony Hopkins.

He turned down the role of Willie T. Soke in the black comedy Bad Santa in order to star in About Schmidt . The role went to Billy Bob Thornton.

His performance as Jack Torrance in The Shining is ranked #25 on the American Film Institutes 100 Heroes & Villains.

His performance as The Joker in Batman is ranked #45 on the American Film Institutes 100 Heroes & Villains.

Premiere magazine ranked him #16 on a list of The Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in their Stars in Our Constellation feature.

He was considered for the role of Allie Fox in The Mosquito Coast , which went to Harrison Ford instead.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on December 4, 1996.

Demolished his neighbor Marlon Brando s bungalow, which he bought for 3.4 million following the actors death in 2004.

On September 11, 2006, he checked himself into Cedars Sinai Hospital with a salivary gland infection.

He was offered the role of Seymour "Sy" Parrish in One Hour Photo , which he turned down. The role was given to Robin Williams instead.

With his win for As Good as It Gets in 1998, he became the first actor in 20 years to win both a Best Actor Golden Globe - Comedy and an Oscar for the same role.

He had to stop promoting The Departed due to neck injury.

His mother June Frances Nicholson passed away from cancer on July 31, 1963.

As he is a huge fan of professional wrestling, his all time favorites are Harley Race , Ric Flair and John Cena.

Between 1970 (when he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Easy Rider ) and 2003 (when he copped a Best Actor no for About Schmidt , the longest he has ever gone between Oscar nominations was six years, between One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Reds .

He was considered for Jon Voight s role in Coming Home .

He was considered for Jason Miller s role in The Exorcist . He was also offered Richard Burton s role in Exorcist II: The Heretic .

Most of Nicholsons performance in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever ended up on the cutting room floor, including a musical number sung by him.

He was considered for Harrison Ford s role in The Mosquito Coast .

He was considered for Sir Anthony Hopkins s role in The Silence of the Lambs .

He was considered for Dustin Hoffman s role in Sam Peckinpah s controversial film Straw Dogs .

Along with Clint Eastwood , Nicholson turned down George Clooney s role in Three Kings .

He turned down Gene Hackman s role in Hoosiers .

He was considered for John Malkovich s role in In the Line of Fire .

He turned down James Caan s role in Misery , as he was weary about doing another Stephen King adaptation after The Shining .

He was considered for Mickey Rourke s role in Angel Heart .

He is tied with Walter Brennan and Daniel Day-Lewis for the most Oscar wins by any male actor.

Has appeared in Batman opposite Pat Hingle. Hingle appeared in "The Shining" , a remake of The Shining , in which Nicholson appeared.

He was the first choice to play Tank Sullivan in Space Cowboys , which went to James Garner.

Wants to one day induct Ric Flair into the WWE Hall of Fame.

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

Was originally signed to play Daddy Warbucks in John Huston s musical comedy Annie , but dropped out after the original producer departed the project. The role ultimately went to Albert Finney.

Shaved his head for The Bucket List .

William Friedkin tried to get Nicholson star in Sorcerer , but Nicholson didnt want travel anywhere in that time.

Good friends with Serbian NBA superstar Vlade Divac.

Once described The Joker as a psychotic version of Bugs Bunny.

Rolling Stone magazine nicknamed him "The Great Seducer".

(June 1954) He graduated from Manasquan High School in New Jersey and headed for California, where he went onto work in the MGM cartoon department and mail room.

Good friends with WWE Hall of Famer George The Animal Steele.

Has owned a Mercedes-Benz 600 for 30 years which he considers the best touring car of all time.

Is a lifelong devotee of Bob Dylan and Louis Armstrong.

Publicly endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton as his choice for Democratic candidate in the 2008 presidential election, joking that she is "the best man for the job".

His Mulholland Drive home once shared a driveway with his The Missouri Breaks co-star Marlon Brando s home.

The last two Oscar-winning films in which Nicholson appeared have both featured songs by Van Morrison ("Day Like This" in As Good as It Gets and a cover of Pink Floyd s "Comfortably Numb" in The Departed ).

His famous trademark sunglasses have prescription lenses, since he is very short-sighted.

With the release of Suicide Squad , Nicholson and Jared Leto will be the only two actors still living to have played "The Joker" in a (non fan-made) live action Batman production (Cesar Romero died in 1994; Heath Ledger died in 2008).

He was nominated for the 2008 New Jersey Hall of Fame for his services to Arts and Entertainment.

While accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1999 Golden Globes, he noted that his first day of work as a film actor was May 5, 1955, which he took as a good omen as "5" was the jersey number of his boyhood idol, Joe DiMaggio. He attended DiMaggios memorial service four months later.

Actor with the most awards from the New York Film Critics: Easy Rider , Chinatown and The Last Detail , One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest , Terms of Endearment , Prizzis Honor and The Witches of Eastwick / Ironweed / Broadcast News .

At about 5 9", he is the shortest actor to have played the Joker in a (non fan-made) live-action Batman production. Cesar Romero stood 6 3" and the most recent "Joker", Heath Ledger , was 6 1".

As of 2009, he has an estimated fortune of nearly $240 million.

On August 29, 2009, he attended the Catholic funeral mass of Senator Ted Kennedy at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in Boston.

Is the only actor to receive two Best Lead Actor Oscars for films that also won Best Lead Actress: One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest with Louise Fletcher and As Good as It Gets with Helen Hunt.

He was inducted into the 2010 New Jersey Hall of Fame for his services and contributions to Arts and Entetainment.

Lives in Beverly Hills, Malibu, Los Angeles, California, Aspen, Colorado and Kailua, Hawaii.

On May 30, 2010, he waved the green flag that officially started the Indianapolis 500 automobile race.

Has appeared on the cover of GQ magazine three times: March 1981, January 1990 and January 1996.

His art collection includes Matisse, Warhol, Tamara de Lempicka and Picasso; the collection is estimated to be worth over $100 million.

Is one of only four actors to receive two Oscars for films that also won Best Picture (the others are Marlon Brando , Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman ).

As of 2013, hes one of the six actors to receive three acting Oscars, the others being: Walter Brennan , Ingrid Bergman , Katharine Hepburn (who has four), Meryl Streep and Daniel Day-Lewis.

After his first screen test, Louis B. Mayer said to him: "I dont know what we can use you for but if we ever do need you, well need you real bad.".

Became a father for the first time at age 26 when his [now ex] wife Sandra Knight gave birth to their daughter Jennifer Nicholson on September 13, 1963.

Became a father for the second time at age 33 when his [now ex] girlfriend Susan Anspach gave birth to their son Caleb James Goddard in 1970. Nicholson has never had contact with Goddard.

Became a father for the third time at age 44 when his [now ex] lover Winnie Hollman gave birth to their daughter Honey Hollman in 1981. Nicholson was in a relationship with Anjelica Huston when he conceived Hollman.

Became a father for the fourth time at 52 when his [now ex] girlfriend Rebecca Broussard gave birth to their daughter Lorraine Nicholson on April 16, 1990. Nicholson was in a relationship with Anjelica Huston when Lorraine was conceived.

Became a father for the fifth time at age 54 when his [now ex] girlfriend Rebecca Broussard gave birth to their son Ray Nicholson on February 20, 1992.

Has two grandsons; Sean (born 1996) and Duke Norfleet , via daughter Jennifer Nicholson.

Is the only actor to ever play the Devil, the Joker, and a werewolf.

As of 2014, has appeared in ten films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Five Easy Pieces , Chinatown , One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest , Reds , Terms of Endearment , Prizzis Honor , Broadcast News , A Few Good Men , As Good as It Gets and The Departed . Of those, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest , Terms of Endearment and The Departed are winners in the category.

In the movie The Last Detail , Nicholsons character says "Marines are really assholes, you know that? It takes a certain kind of a sadistic temperament to be a Marine." Later in his career in the movie A Few Good Men , he played Marine Colonel Nathan Jessup.

Two of his three Oscar-winning performances were directed by James L. Brooks. This makes him one of four actors to win two Oscars under the same persons direction. The other three are: Walter Brennan for Come and Get It and The Westerner (both directed by William Wyler ), Dianne Wiest for Hannah and Her Sisters and Bullets Over Broadway (both directed by Woody Allen ) and Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained (both directed by Quentin Tarantino ).

Was interested in playing The Father in A Christmas Story but the budget could not meet his high salary demands.

He was considered for Dustin Hoffman s role in The Graduate . He recalled, "They considered every actor I was eating lunch with".

Prior to playing The Joker, he was considered for the role of Lex Luthor in Superman . The role ultimately went to Gene Hackman.

In 1977, he attended the murder trial of Claudine Longet in Aspen, Colorado. The courthouse he sat in (the Pitkin County Courthouse) is the very same courtroom where infamous serial killer Ted Bundy was brought into to stand trial for murder several months later.

Has twice been interviewed in Playboy magazine. His second interview is printed in the 50th anniversary issue.

He was considered for the role of Thomas Hagen in The Godfather before Robert Duvall was cast.

He was considered for the role of Eddie Valiant in Who Framed Roger Rabbit , which went to Bob Hoskins.

He was offered the role of Gunnery Sgt. Emil Foley in An Officer and a Gentleman , which he turned down. The role was instead given to Louis Gossett Jr. who went onto receive an Oscar for his performance.

He was considered for the role of villain Howard Payne in Speed , which went to his good friend Dennis Hopper instead.

Is an accomplished and well payed "ghost writer" for the movie industry.

Has worked with 10 directors who have won a Best Director Oscar: Vincente Minnelli , Mike Nichols , Roman Polanski , Milos Forman , Elia Kazan , Warren Beatty , Tony Richardson , James L. Brooks , John Huston and Martin Scorsese.

Biographer Patrick McGilligan stated in his book "Jacks Life" that Latvian-born Eddie King (originally Edgar A. Kirschfeld) may have been Jacks biological father.

He was considered for the role of Hades in Disneys Hercules , and even recorded the dialogue for the film. The role was played by James Woods instead.

Rumors among fans of his supposed memory loss was the cause of his long absence from projects but the rumors ended when he gave an interview with The Sun.

The average celebrity meets, in one year, ten times the amount of people,that the average person meets in his entire life.

[on the $5 million he earned for A Few Good Men (1992) ] It was,one of the few times when it was money well spent.

You only lie to two people in your life: your girlfriend and the police.

[on the birth of his son after having had two daughters] I finally got,it right.

I only take viagra when I am with more than one woman.

I was particularly proud of my performance as the Joker. I considered it,a piece of pop art.

My motto is: more good times.

As an actor, I have no desire for anybody to understand my past work.

Period.

The thing I like about The Joker is that his sense of humor is,completely tasteless.

We were moving to a freer society before AIDS. Most people who,investigated this knew that if you were not shooting up or getting,fed in the heinie, you were as likely to get AIDS as you were to,have a safe fall on your head while walking down Wilshire Boulevard.

But you could not proselytize this view. The facts were almost useless.

[on On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970) ] All I am in the,movie is bad.

I always hesitate to say things like this in interviews because they,tend to come back to haunt you, but if I were an Arab-American, I would,insist on being profiled. This is not the time for civil rights. There,are larger issues for Americans.

The less people know about me, the easier my job is.

If men are honest, everything they do and everywhere they go is for a chance to see women.

My motto is: more good times.

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.