Happy Birthday, Jack Nicholson
Friday, April 22, 2016 at 10:00AM 
We've been celebrating actors all month, and today one of our most legendary deserves a double dose of celebration: Jack Nicholson turns 79!
Nicholson is currently enjoying a low-key retirement. He hasn't been seen on the silver screen since James L. Brooks misfire How Do You Know, but his monolithic legacy of landmark work still feels fresh and the films rewatchable. We're lucky to still have an actor with us who can continue to inspire awe with performances like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest's McMurphy or The Joker. It's saying something that he's Oscar's most recognized actor, but has plenty of worthy unnominated worthy performances to add to the heap - Batman, Carnal Knowledge, and even The Shining.
Yes, he remains Oscar's golden son. His winning performances - Cuckoo's Nest, Terms of Endearment, and As Good As It Gets - are a great example of the range of his talents: ferocity, graceful humor, and rascally sexuality. He very nearly missed a fourth win with About Schmidt, his most recent nomination and a performance that showed him to be an actor still ready to stretch and take risks.
If Nicholson wants to enjoy this retirment from acting, who can blame him with the long list of his films we still have to enjoy? Hopefully, even without a new film on the horizon, we'll see Jack back on an Oscar telecast in his usual from row seat, sunglasses and smiles. Admit it, you've missed him every time he's not there.
Happy Birthday, Jack - but come back soon, we miss you! What's your favorite Nicholson performance, nominated and not nominated?
Reader Comments (30)
With the caveat that I haven't seen some of his older work like The Last Detail or even Witches of Eastwick in ages, my favorites are: nominated (and won) - As Good As It Gets, not-nominated - The Shining.
Favorite nominated performances: Chinatown, Reds, Prizzi's Honor.
Favorite not nominated performances: Something's Gotta Give, The Passenger.
Most bizarre thing that never happened? Nicholson and Christian Slater as father and son in something. I know Nicholson's pretty much retired at this point and Slater was bargain basement at the point Nicholson retired, but Slater's in a moment of critical resurgence right now (thank you, Mr Robot) and it'd be a great fitting moment of torch passing and whatever results of that concept will, probably, be better than How Do You Know.
I prefer the young Nicholson. My favorite of his work is Chinatown. Of his later work I like Terms of Endearment but after that he sort of became "Just Jack" and that didn't work for me.
I don't think he'll ever come back, from what I've read-though it hasn't been flat out confirmed is that he is suffering from the early to mid stages of Alzheimer's.
What a hard question! I think The Shining is my favorite period, but nominated would be Chinatown, with As Good as it Gets a close second.
The Shining! Jack carrying an axe, shuffling through the snowy hedge maze, will always haunt me. Other faves: As Good As It Gets, Somethings Gotta Give, Chinatown, and Batman.
I love all Jack. But if I were asked to watch one movie of his today...
It would be Five Easy Pieces.
Happy Birthday, Jack!
I do hope he's in good health...
Definitely one of my favorite actors. I've seen not all of his Oscar nominated films, but the majority.
Favorite win: One flew over the Chuckoo's Nest and As Good as it gets (I only take away his win for Terms-simply not my movie)
Favorite nom: Chinatown and About Schmidt
Favorite non-nominated performance: Batman (I prefer his take on the Joker over Heath Ledger still quite easily-he played him more as an old fashioned gangster sociopath with even... charm and great morbid humor) and I still don't know why he wasn't nominated for The Departed in 2006. He was lovely in Somethings Gotta Give, too.
He (and Walter Brennan?) are the only 3 time winners without a biopic win.
I forgot to mention Shining.... Creepy as hell.
And Heartburn! I just love Heartburn!
Nicholson is missed here in the uk.
Chinatown, As Good As It Gets, Something's Gotta Give, The Departed
He (and Walter Brennan?) are the only 3 time winners without a biopic win.
Streep and Day-Lewis haven't gotten the biopic treatment either.
Great actor. My favorites are Chinatown, Heartburn, and The Shining, but he has so many good movies.
/3rtful -- incorrect. Streep won for THE IRON LADY and DDL for both CHRISTY BROWN & ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Chris -- my favorite are REDS, THE SHINING, and TERMS OF ENDEARMENT i think for Jack performances.
Of the nominated I loved Chinatown and Prizzi's Honour the most, but he was so good in so many films. Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, Terms of Endearment, Heartburn, Ironweed, Witches of Eastwick,etc.
Of his more recent work I would rate About Schmidt very highly.
Joel6 - It makes me terribly sad to think that has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's,
Misread the quote. Because both Bergman and Herpbun were depicted in either a movie or TV movie.
Cuckoo's Nest is my fave. It swept the Oscars!
I'll show some love to The Last Detail and The King of Marvin Gardens.
Nominated:
1. Chinatown
2. As Good As It Gets
3. Ironweed
Not Nominated:
1. The Shining
2. The Departed
3. Batman
You guys need to see/rewatch The Last Detail. Amazing movie!*
*Carol Kane has a killer scene
Walter Brennan won his third Oscar for playing Judge Roy Bean (1825-1903), so that should actually count in the biopic column, because as heavily fictionalized as The Westerner is, it's no less "true" than any of the Oscar-winning biopics over the years.
Fave nominated performance: Prizzi's Honor
Fave not nominated performance: The Shining
I have never gotten the love for As Good As It Gets; the lovable bigot trope is so tired, Jack himself is annoying and his "romance" with Helen Hunt is absurd and creepy.
Nominated: About Shmidt or Terms of Endearment
Unnominated: The Shining, Carnal Knowledge, or his cameo in Broadcast News.
I really really hope we get one last great performance out of him.
Love The Last Detail, but more as an ensemble. I'd go with About Schmidt, Batman and Chinatown as my favorites of his.
By the way, rewatched The Departed the other day...he is AWFUL in it. Totally mails it in.
Let's see: Easy Rider, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Passenger, Reds, Batman, Chinatown, Wolf, A Few Good Men, The King of Marvin Gardens, Blood & Wine, The Departed, and my personal favorite is About Schmidt which I think is Jack at his most restrained and the ending in that film kills me.
@/3rtful
Yeah, I mean winning for playing a real person.
What's the TV movie of I.Bergman?
@Paul Outlaw
Ah, I didn't know that. So Brennan has played a real person, too. That leaves out Jack as the only 3 times winner without a win for a real person.
.... Has he ever portraited one? I can't think of any example...
Sentimentally, I go with "Batman" because I watched it 1,000 times as a kid, or "Chinatown" because I was named after his character in that movie.
Sonja: He only played real guys twice. Eugene O'Neill in Reds and Jimmy Hoffa in, well, Hoffa.
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