It’s been a while since he graced the big screen, but Jack Nicholson proved he still had the ability to enchant a captive audience while celebrating his 89th birthday on Wednesday.
The increasingly reclusive actor was joined by pioneering singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell in a rare photo, shared across social media on April 22 by his daughter Lorraine, 36, Nicholson’s eldest child with ex-partner Rebecca Broussard.
And fans were quick to comment on Nicholson’s well preserved looks, all the more remarkable given his hard earned reputation for wild partying and serial womanising, developed over decades of unrivalled Hollywood success.
‘Good old Jack Nicholson!’ wrote one. ‘Living his best life at 89 and looking healthy and happy and much loved.’
A second added: ‘The man’s doing well. Happy birthday Jack, one of my favourite actors.’
Elsewhere, a third marvelled: ‘He doesn’t seem to have aged!’
It’s been a while since he graced the big screen, but Jack Nicholson proved he still had the ability to enchant a captive audience while celebrating his 89th birthday on Wednesday
While a fourth posted: ‘Amazing actor. Such charisma, still looks like himself, if that makes sense. Happy birthday!’
A fifth commented: ‘Hasn’t changed a bit. His performance in The Shining to this day makes my jaw drop. That’s an A-Lister right there.’
Referencing the recent loss of Hollywood greats Robert Redford and Gene Hackman, another wrote: ‘Jack better live forever! We’ve lost Redford and Hackman this last year. We can’t lose Jack too. They sure don’t make ‘em like they used to.’
Others drew comparisons with Leonardo DiCaprio, whose own notorious eye for the ladies appears to parallel Nicholson at the height of his career.
‘He looks better than his twin, DiCaprio,’ wrote one.
A second quipped: ‘It’s a Leonardo shape shift. Keep up.’
Nicholson was once a beacon of Hollywood success – starring in more than 70 movies and TV shows and earning 12 Oscar nominations throughout his vast, decades-long career, making him the most-nominated male actor in history.
All the while, the on-screen heartthrob became known as a wild partier and an infamous womaniser, embarking on a series of high-profile romances and fathering six children by five different women over the years.
But in the late 2000s, after spending more than 50 years in the spotlight, the Hollywood legend shocked the world when he said goodbye to his life of whirlwind romances with models and boozy nights out with his actor pals.
Instead, Nicholson traded in his highly publicised and glamorous life for a much quieter lifestyle in recent years.
While the Hollywood legend never publicly announced his retirement from acting, he hasn’t appeared in anything since 2010.
Numerous reports have suggested that he is suffering from ‘dementia’ or ‘memory loss,’ but when asked about his sudden disappearance in 2013, he insisted his brain was as sharp as ever and that he was simply being more picky about his roles.
Sources say he now spends his days inside his Beverly Hills mansion and that he almost never leaves – with friends recently voicing their fears that he will ‘die a recluse’ after ‘leading such a colorful life.’
The actor’s daughter Lorraine, his eldest child with ex-partner Rebecca Broussard, shared photos of her father across social media as he celebrated his birthday on April 22
Fans were quick to comment on Nicholson’s well preserved looks, all the more remarkable given his hard earned reputation for wild partying and serial womanising
Jack (seen in high school) had a somewhat controversial upbringing – for the first 40 years of his life, he believed that his mom, June, was his sister, while being raised by his grandparents
Nicholson had a somewhat controversial upbringing from the start – after his mother, an unmarried showgirl named June Frances Nicholson, gave birth to the actor at age 18, her parents decided to raise him as their own child, pretending that June was his sister.
For nearly four decades, he believed that his mom was his sibling, until 1974, when Time magazine uncovered the truth and told him about its findings.
While speaking to Patrick McGilligan for his biography, entitled Jack’s Life, the Shining star called it ‘the most f**ked thing he had ever heard.’
He also said the discovery was ‘dramatic’ to Time magazine, but added that it ‘wasn’t’ something he’d ‘call traumatizing.’
The actor later told Rolling Stone, when asked about the shock revelation, ‘I was very impressed by their ability to keep the secret, if nothing else. It’s done great things for me.’
June moved away from Nicholson – who grew up in Neptune City, New Jersey – when he was four to pursue her career as a showgirl.
But when he was 17, he decided to move out to California to be with her, where he landed a secretary job for animation directors William Hanna and Joseph Barbera at the MGM cartoon studio.
At the same time, he was also studying to be an actor, and he eventually landed his debut role in the 1958 teen drama The Cry Baby Killer.
After that, his career soon took off – and Nicholson went on become one of the most well-known actors of all time, landing more than 70 roles in a slew of big movies and TV shows and winning an impressive amount of awards over his 50-year career.
When Nicholson (seen in 1958) was 17, he moved from New Jersey to California, where he landed a secretary job for animation directors William Hanna and Joseph Barbera at the MGM studios
A youthful Nicholson is seen in a 1963 promotional shot for The Raven
The actor cut his teeth in B movies before becoming one of the greatest Hollywood stars of all time (Pictured left, 1956, and right, 1976)
Nicholson with actress Sandra Knight, his only wife, in a still from their 1963 film, The Terror
The actor is pictured in Hollywood with daughter Jennifer, his child with Knight, in 1975
His breakout role came in 1969 indie hit Easy Rider (pictured, centre, with Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda)
The following year he starred alongside Karren Black in reactionary drama Five Easy Pieces (pictured)
The actor won accolades for his starring role as hard bitten private eye J. J. “Jake” Gittes in Roman Polanski’s 1974 masterpiece, Chinatown (pictured)
Nicholson as crazed caretaker Jack Torrance in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining – the film that coined his greatest line: ‘Here’s Johnny!’
As Nicholson’s career flourished, so did his love life – and by the 1980s, he had earned quite the reputation as a player.
Nicholson’s lovers have included actresses, singers, and models such as Michelle Phillips, Jill St. John, Winnie Hollman, Bebe Buell, Lara Flynn Boyle, Kate Moss, Paz de la Huerta, and Rebecca Broussard.
Playboy model Karen Mayo-Chandler once said of the star, ‘He’s a nonstop sex machine,’ while actress Kim Basinger referred to him as ‘the most highly sexed individual she had ever met.’
Nicholson was only married once – to his The Terror co-star Sandra Knight from 1962 to 1966, and their divorce was finalised two years after that.
He also had a highly controversial affair with Addams Family actress Anjelica Huston – with her later accusing him of repeatedly cheating on her during their 16-year romance.
‘I was annihilated emotionally. That was probably the toughest period of my life. I’m childish, and I did make a mistake,’ he later said of his infidelities to Anjelica.
In 2012, when asked about his many romances, Nicholson said he ‘doesn’t deny’ being a ‘womaniser,’ explaining, ‘I am an extreme person. But the life of a gigolo always ends badly.’
A shirtless Nicholson poses in a promotion still for his 1972 film, The Last Detail
Nicholson and co-star Maria Schneider in director Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1975 drama, The Passenger
Taking centre stage in Mike Nichols’ 1994 blockbuster Wolf (left) and playing iconic nemesis The Joker in Tim Burton’s 1990 smash Batman (right)
As Randle McMurphy in 1974 smash One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest – arguably one of his greatest films (left) and playing Colonel Nathan R. Jessep in 1992 drama A Few Good Men (right)
Nicholson had a highly controversial affair with Addams Family actress Anjelica Huston – with her later accusing him of repeatedly cheating on her during their 16-year romance (pictured in 1974)
Nicholson and Huston are pictured attending a royal event in the United States in 1988
He was also involved in a long term relationship with actress Rebecca Broussard, during which they welcomed two children (pictured in 1998)
With actress Lara Flynn Boyle at the Los Angeles premiere of About Schmidt in 2002
With the Best Actor Academy Award for One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest in 1975 (left) and claiming the same award for As Good As It Gets in 1984 (right)
(L-R): Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jack Nicholson in 1987 blockbuster The Witches Of Eastwick
Playing Jimmy Hoffa alongside co-star Danny DeVito as Bobby Ciaro in 1992 biopic Hoffa
Nicholson’s later years would serve up another hit, with the actor winning plaudits for his role as ruthless gangster Frank Costello in Martin Scorsese’s 2006 blockbuster The Departed
At the time, he said he was done ‘fooling around’ with women because he ‘no longer had the energy.’
He also once admitted to People that he believed the ‘realization that his mother didn’t want him’ contributed to his relationship with women.
‘Along with that came desperate feelings of need,’ he explained. ‘Basically, I still relate to women by trying to please them as if my survival depended on them. In my long-term relationships, I’m always the one that gets left.’
In 2015, he said he was still determined to find the one, telling Closer Weekly, ‘I would love that one last romance, but I’m not very realistic about it happening. What I can’t deny is my yearning.
‘I’m definitely still wild at heart, but I’ve struck biogravity. I can’t hit on women in public anymore. I didn’t decide this – it just doesn’t feel right at my age.’
To date, his best known acting credits include The King of Marvin Gardens, The Witches of Eastwick, Hoffa, Easy Rider, Chinatown, Five Easy Pieces, A Few Good Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and of course, The Shining.
In 2012, when asked about his many romances, Nicholson said he ‘doesn’t deny’ being a ‘womaniser,’ explaining, ‘I am an extreme person. But the life of a gigolo always ends badly’
(L-R) Nicholson with Peggy Lipton and Lou Adler in 1970, shortly after his career took off
(L-R) Nicolson with fellow acting greats Kirk Douglas and Michael Douglas outside Hollywood’s Chinese Theatre in 1997
(L-R) Will Smith, Nicholson, Sylvester Stallone, Al Pacino and Chris Rock attend the America: A Tribute To Heroes event in 2001
Lifelong Los Angeles Lakers fan Nicholson with former player Shaquille O’Neal in 2013
‘I’m definitely still wild at heart, but I’ve struck biogravity. I can’t hit on women in public anymore. I didn’t decide this – it just doesn’t feel right at my age’ (Nicholson in 2002)
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