Jack Nicholson Trivia | 60 facts about the famous actor

John Nicholson is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time.

Let’s find out more about him!

1. His full name is John Joseph Nicholson.
2. He was born on April 22nd 1937.
3. He is an American retired actor and filmmaker.
4. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time.
5. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure.
6. He received numerous accolades throughout his career which spanned over five decades, including three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, a Grammy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
7. He also received the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award in 1994 and the Kennedy Center Honor in 2001.
8. Nicholson has directed three films, Drive, He Said (1971), Goin’ South (1978), and The Two Jakes (1990).
9. He is one of only three male actors to win three Academy Awards.
10. He is 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.
11. His 12 Academy Award nominations make Nicholson the most nominated male actor in the Academy’s history.
12. Boyhood friends with Danny DeVito. Nicholson’s relatives and DeVito’s relatives managed a hair salon together.
13. Once described The Joker as a psychotic version of Bugs Bunny.
14. 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.
15. Batman creator Bob Kane personally recommended him for the role of the Joker in Batman (1989).
16. Claims his personal favorite performances are his works in Kuckusnest (1975), Batman (1989), Hoffa (1992) and As Good as It Gets(1997).
17. His art collection includes Matisse, Warhol, Tamara de Lempicka and Picasso; the collection is estimated to be worth over $100 million. (2011)
18. His famous trademark sunglasses have prescription lenses, since he is very short-sighted.
19. After his first screen test, Louis B. Mayer said to him: “I don’t know what we can use you for but if we ever do need you, we’ll need you real bad.”.
20. 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.
21. 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. (2004)
22. Demolished his neighbor Marlon Brando’s bungalow, which he bought for £3.4 million following the actor’s death in 2004.
23. Is an accomplished and well paid “ghost writer” for the movie industry.
24. 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.
25. 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.
26. His first job was as mail clerk in the Hanna – Barbera cartoon division of M.G.M.
27. Used to be an office worker for William Hanna and Joseph Barbera at MGM’s cartoon department. They actually offered him a job as an animator at the studio but he declined in order to focus on his acting career.
28. 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.
29. 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 Jack’s biological father. It is also possible that Jack’s biological father was Edgar A. Kirschfeld, a Latvian-born entertainer (known as “Eddie King”). Nicholson has chosen not to investigate further.
30. Is a lifelong devotee of Bob Dylan and Louis Armstrong.
31. Was interested in playing The Father in A Christmas Story (1983) but the budget could not meet his high salary demands.
32. After presenting the Best Picture Oscar at The 78th Annual Academy Awards (2006) to Crash (2004), he told the press he was surprised as he thought Brokeback Mountain (2005) would win. Nicholson then told the press that he himself had voted for Brokeback Mountain (2005).
33. He was asked to play the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972).
34. He turned it down, suggesting that an actual Italian should play the part. He was also considered for Tom Hagen.
35. As of 2009, he has an estimated fortune of nearly $240 million.
36. Lives on famed “Bad Boy Drive” a.k.a. Mulholland Drive in Beverly Hills, California. It’s nicknamed so because its residents have included former Hollywood bad boys Warren Beatty, and the late Marlon Brando.
37. With his win for As Good As it Gets (1997) 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.
38. The National Wrestling Alliance made him a custom NWA world title belt as a birthday present due to his love and support for wrestling and the NWA itself.
39. Has owned a Mercedes-Benz 600 for 30 years which he considers the best touring car of all time. (2008)
40. Became a father for the second time at age 33 when his [now ex] girlfriend Susan Anspach gave birth to their son Caleb Goddard in 1970. following a liaison while filming Five Easy Pieces . Nicholson has never had contact with Goddard or accepted paternity.
41. 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 Clockwork Orange (1971) won the top gong and they were seen by the public as linked to the controversial picture.
42. Jack 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.
43. 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. (June 1954)
44. 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.
45. He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on December 4, 1996.
46. In 1994, in an apparent bout of rage, he smashed a man’s car window in with a golf club. He expressed remorse for the incident in an interview with US magazine.
47. Became a father for the third time at age 44 when his [now ex] lover Winnie Hollman gave birth to their daughter Honey Hollman on January 26, 1982. Nicholson was in a relationship with Anjelica Huston when he conceived Hollman.
48. As he is a huge fan of professional wrestling, his all time favorites are Harley Race, Ric Flair and John Cena.
49. His Mulholland Drive home once shared a driveway with his The Missouri Breaks (1976) co-star Marlon Brando’s home.
50. 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 person’s direction.
51. 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.
52. Wants to one day induct Ric Flair into the WWE Hall of Fame.
53. Most of Nicholson’s performance in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970) ended up on the cutting room floor, including a musical number sung by him.
54. His grandparents, who he thought were his parents, were Ethel May and John J. Nicholson.
55. Is one of only five actors to receive two Oscars for films that also won Best Picture (the others are Marlon Brando, Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman and Mahershala Ali).
56. While these are Brando, Hoffman, Hackman and Ali’s only acting Oscars, Nicholson has also won an acting Oscar in a film that did not win Best Picture.
57. 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.
58. Even before Stanley Kubrick cast him in The Shining (1980), Nicholson was Kubrick’s ultimate choice for the lead role in his unrealized epic on the life of Napoléon Bonaparte.
59. His performance as The Joker in Batman (1989) is ranked #45 on the American Film Institute’s 100 Heroes & Villains.
60. 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.