Everybody loves Jack Nicholson.
Leonardo DiCaprio loves him.
Jennifer Lawrence loves him.
Shaquille O’Neal loves him.
Everyone loves him. So, when rumours started circulating last night that he had retired from acting at the age of 74, people were upset.
Fortunately, his spokesperson has said they aren’t true, but still, we feel it’s important to take a moment to remember all the reasons he is great.
Here is why everyone loves Jack Nicholson.
He and Danny Devito were friends as kids, with family in business together
Jack grew up thinking his mother was his older sister and that his grandmother was his mother, after his father abandoned them
He didn’t find this out until he was 37, after both his mother and grandmother were dead, and a journalist dug up the information.
Later, he said:
I’ve often said about them: Show me any women today who could keep a secret, confidence, or an intimacy to that degree, you got my kind of gal.
He likes a pint, saying
Beer, it’s the best damn drink in the world.
He and Anjelica Huston showed the world what it was to be cool in the 70s and 80s
Source: AP/Press Association Images
They were together off and on from 1973 to 1989, and despite the fact that she was married to someone else from 1992 to 2008, they remain close.
Jack is someone I've adored in my life and will continue to love forever. I don't take him lightly...Real relationships have continuity, and Jack and I have a deep abiding love and affection for each other. I'm proud that we've gotten through some very tough times together.
He's mad about art
He has a collection worth more that $100 million, including Warhol, Matisse and Picasso.
Apparently he has a Picasso hanging in his loo at home.
He is a lifelong sports fan
He insisted on filming for his projects to be scheduled around the LA Lakers basketball season, and in 2001 his shouting at the referee was deemed a technical foul against the team.
He's cool
His road is nicknamed Bad Boy Drive.
Mulholland Drive once housed Nicholson, Marlon Brando and Warren Beaty, a trio of ladies men.
He's rarely seen without his shades
When asked to remove them by a photographer, he replied:
You're new here, aren't you?
His acting is second to none
He and Michael Caine are the only two actors to receive Oscar nominations in every decade since the 60s, and he has only been beaten in terms of nominations by Meryl Streep.
Because of films like these
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Jack played Randal McMurphy in this 1975 film, which won several Oscars.
The Shining
His work as Jack Torrance in The Shining impressed and terrified movie audiences.
As Good As It Gets
He won best actor for playing the role of Melvin Udall, a novellist suffering from OCD and a general hatred of everyone and everything.
He's smart
When he played the Joker he negotiated a deal which meant he would not only earn based on the profits from that film, but from every consequent sequel.
As he was only in one film, he earned from two more without lifting a finger.
Ladies love him
He's had relationships with Faye Dunaway, Lara Flynn Boyle and Bette Midler, as well as a rumoured fling with Kate Moss.
He's a good guy
He regularly visits cancer patients at an LA hospital.
His motto is 'more good times'
There's no arguing with that.
Viva Jack!
