Quiz

Boyhood friends with Danny DeVito. Nicholson's relatives and DeVito's relatives managed a hair salon together.

Has been nominated for an acting Oscar in five different decades (1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s) and in two different centuries (20th and 21st).

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

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.".

Batman creator Bob Kane personally recommended him for the role of the Joker in Batman (1989).

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

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.

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)

Claims his personal favorite performances are his works in Qualcuno volò sul nido del cuculo (1975), Batman (1989), Hoffa - Santo o mafioso? (1992) and Qualcosa è cambiato (1997).

Turned down the lead role of Roy Neary in Incontri ravvicinati del terzo tipo (1977), even though he knew the movie would be a success as he felt that the special effects would overwhelm any actor in the movie.

His art collection includes Matisse, Warhol, Tamara de Lempicka and Picasso; the collection is estimated to be worth over $100 million. (2011)

Dedicated his Oscar for Qualcosa è cambiato (1997) to J.T. Walsh, his co-star in Codice d'onore (1992) who had died shortly before the Academy Awards in 1998.

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

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

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.

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.

His first job was as mail clerk in the Hanna - Barbera cartoon division of M.G.M.

He was asked to play the role of Michael Corleone in Il padrino (1972). He turned it down, suggesting that an actual Italian should play the part. He was also considered for Tom Hagen.

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.

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 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.

Has owned a Mercedes-Benz 600 for 30 years which he considers the best touring car of all time. He owned the car that was driven by Tommy Chong's character in Up in Smoke (1978).

After presenting the Best Picture Oscar at The 78th Annual Academy Awards (2006) to Crash: Contatto fisico (2004), he told the press he was surprised as he thought I segreti di Brokeback Mountain (2005) would win. Nicholson then told the press that he himself had voted for I segreti di Brokeback Mountain (2005).

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.

Is a lifelong devotee of Bob Dylan and Louis Armstrong.

Was interested in playing The Father in Una storia di Natale (1983) but the budget could not meet his high salary demands.

With his win for Qualcosa è cambiato (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.

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

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

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 Arancia meccanica (1971) 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.

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.

Each one of the films for which he has won an Oscar has also won Best Actress in a Leading Role (Louise Fletcher, Qualcuno volò sul nido del cuculo (1975); Shirley MacLaine, Voglia di tenerezza (1983); Helen Hunt, Qualcosa è cambiato (1997)).

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. The other three are: Walter Brennan for Ambizione (1936) and L'uomo del West (1940) (both directed by William Wyler), Dianne Wiest for Hannah e le sue sorelle (1986) and Pallottole su Broadway (1994) (both directed by Woody Allen) and Christoph Waltz for Bastardi senza gloria (2009) and Django Unchained (2012) (both directed by Quentin Tarantino).

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

As of 2013, he's 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.

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.

Has six children by five women: Jennifer Nicholson (b. September 13, 1963) with Sandra Knight; Caleb Goddard (b. September 26, 1970) with Susan Anspach; Honey Hollman (b. January 26, 1982) with Winnie Hollman; Lorraine Nicholson (b. April 16, 1990) and Ray Nicholson (b. February 20, 1992) with Rebecca Broussard; and Tessa Gourin (b. August 15, 1994) with Jennine Marie Gourin.

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.

A lifelong friend of Harry Dean Stanton (both having first co-starred in Le colline blu (1966)) Jack has reportedly inserted Harry's name/initials "HDS" somewhere in a number of his films from the 1970s.

He was considered for Sir Anthony Hopkins's roles in Il silenzio degli innocenti (1991) and Morti di salute (1994).

His Mulholland Drive home once shared a driveway with his Missouri (1976) co-star Marlon Brando's home.

He was considered for the role of Hades in Disney's Hercules (1997), and even recorded the dialogue for the film. The role was played by James Woods instead.

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. (giugno 1954)

Orson Welles wrote the screenplay for Sporco segreto (1999) and wanted Jack to star. Although they admired one another Jack wouldn't lower his asking price and Orson, in his usual impecunious state, couldn't afford him.

His grandparents, who he thought were his parents, were Ethel May and John J. Nicholson.

Even before Stanley Kubrick cast him in Shining (1980), Nicholson was Kubrick's ultimate choice for the lead role in his unrealized epic on the life of Napoléon Bonaparte.

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). 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.

Most of Nicholson's performance in L'amica delle 5½ (1970) ended up on the cutting room floor, including a musical number sung by him.

His early ambition was to be a screenwriter, but acting success overshadowed his writing. He and director Monte Hellman wrote the script "Epitaph" reputedly partly based on Jack's relationship with his then-wife, Sandra Knight and dealt with abortion, which at the time was a no-no. Roger Corman turned it down.

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

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 DiMaggio's memorial service four months later.