Trivia

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.

Claims his personal favorite performances are his works in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), Batman (1989), Hoffa (1992) and As Good as It Gets (1997).

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).

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.

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

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

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)

Turned down the lead role of Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (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 famous trademark sunglasses have prescription lenses, since he is very short-sighted.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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).

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.

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

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.

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.

Was interested in playing The Father in A Christmas Story (1983) but the budget could not meet his high salary demands.

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).

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 A Clockwork Orange (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.

Is a lifelong devotee of Bob Dylan and Louis Armstrong.

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

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.

Each one of the films for which he has won an Oscar has also won Best Actress in a Leading Role (Louise Fletcher, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975); Shirley MacLaine, Terms of Endearment (1983); Helen Hunt, As Good as It Gets (1997)).

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.

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

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 Come and Get It (1936) and The Westerner (1940) (both directed by William Wyler), Dianne Wiest for Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Bullets Over Broadway (1994) (both directed by Woody Allen) and Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (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.

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 was considered for Sir Anthony Hopkins's roles in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and The Road to Wellville (1994).

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.

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)

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.

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.

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

Orson Welles wrote the screenplay for The Big Brass Ring (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.

He is tied with Walter Brennan and Daniel Day-Lewis for the most Oscar wins by any male actor.

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.

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

His performance as The Joker in Batman (1989) is ranked #45 on the American Film Institute's 100 Heroes & Villains.

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

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.