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Jack Nicholson Timeline

Born John Joseph Nicholson in St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City, New York to  June Frances Nicholson (stage name: June Nilson), a 17-year-old dancer with the Earl Caroll Dancers.   His father is Donald Furcillo (Stage name: Donald Rose).   The couple’s marriage is a bigamous one as Furcillo is already married.   Although he offers to support the child, June’s mother Ethel and father John bring Nicholson up as their own son. (some sources claim June Nicholson’s manager Eddie King was the father, while others claim she was unsure who the father was.) [MORE] [ADD]

– Is voted ‘Class Clown’ by fellow pupils at the Manasquan High School. [MORE] [ADD]

– Nicholson’s grandfather John Joseph Nicholson dies after a lifetime of heavy drinking. [MORE] [ADD]

– Trains as an actor with the Players Ring Theatre while working as a messenger boy at MGM’s cartoon department. [MORE] [ADD]

Marries Sandra Knight.   Millie Perkins and Harry Dean Stanton are Best Lady and Best Man. [MORE] [ADD]

– His mother, June Nicholson dies of cancer. [MORE] [ADD]

– Nicholson’s first child, Jennifer, is born. [MORE] [ADD]

– Writes the screenplay for Roger Corman’s The Trip. [MORE] [ADD]

– Begins sleeping with a hammer under his pillow following the murder of his friend Roman Polanski’s wife Sharon Tate by Charles Manson and his followers. [MORE] [ADD]

Divorces Sandra Knight. [MORE] [ADD]

– His grandmother Ethel dies. [MORE] [ADD]

– Receives a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance in Five Easy Pieces. [MORE] [ADD]

– Caleb Goddard is born.   Caleb’s mother, the actress Susan Anspach, claims Nicholson is the father, but he makes no public comment. [MORE] [ADD]

– Becomes a season ticket holder of the Los Angeles Lakers. [MORE] [ADD]

– Begins a relationship with Angelica Huston, the actress daughter of director John Huston. [MORE] [ADD]

– A journalist for Time magazine who is writing a feature on Nicholson informs the actor that Ethel Nicholson is actually his grandmother (not his mother as he had been raised to believe), and that June – whom Nicholson had believed to be his sister – is actually his mother. [MORE] [ADD]

– Appears in One flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest as Randall P. McMurphy, a role for which he wins his first Academy Award for Best Actor. [MORE] [ADD]

– Roman Polanski rapes 13-year-old Samantha Geimer at Nicholson’s home. [MORE] [ADD]

– Appears as The Joker in Tim Burton’s Batman. [MORE] [ADD]

Nicholson’s 16-year relationship with Angelica Huston comes to an end when Rebecca Broussard becomes pregnant with his child. [MORE] [ADD]

– Nicholson’s performances in Man Trouble and Hoffa are both nominated for a Razzie Award.   His performance in Hoffa also receives a Golden Globes nomination for Best Actor. [MORE] [ADD]    

– Rebecca Broussard gives birth to son Raymond. [MORE] [ADD]

Becomes the youngest ever recipient of the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award. [MORE] [ADD]

Meets Fidel Castro while on a trip to Cuba. [MORE] [ADD]

– Begins dating actress Lara Flynn Boyle. [MORE] [ADD]

– Becomes the first actor to receive the Stanislavsky Award at the Moscow International Film Festival for ‘conquering the heights of acting and faithfulness.’ [MORE] [ADD]

– His relationship with Lara Flynn Boyle comes to an end. [MORE] [ADD]

– Attends his 50-year school reunion at Manasquan High School with his Aunt Lorraine. [MORE] [ADD]

– Purchases his neighbour Marlon Brando’s bungalow for $6.1 million following Brando’s death.   He has the building demolished as a mark of respect. [MORE] [ADD]

Is inducted into the California Hall of Fame. [MORE] [ADD]