Jack Nicholson : The Joker, The Casanova & The Living Legend !

Tinseltown  always offers great living proof of the rags-to-riches cliches. Jack Nicholson, one the most iconic actor is one of whose stories would keep bedazzling us. I’ve always find him a very good actor despite his flamboyant casanova reputation and a chance to watch his biography in  E! True Hollywood Stories in channel 712 is an additional flavor to it. It’s so amazing to know how the stars of Hollywood who now possess larger-than-life persona were first crawling out from secluded places – which were definitely a far cry from the glitzy L.A. boulevard of celebrities, eh?

Jack Nicholson dilahirkan di New Jersey, which actually somewhere dekat selatan Amerika Utara (for those who tak tau – well, I wonder whether the Yankees are abundant there as much as in Alabama or Missisipi? Well, i’m sure there will be someone who wanna show off their American-I-Know-it-All knowledge later yg akan komen pasal ni!). Beliau dibesarkan di dalam keluarga yang mostly girls, di mana ibunya Edith dan kakaknya June merupakan orang yg paling rapat dengannya. Jack memang terkenal dengan di kalangan penghuni sekitar kerana sifatnya yg kelakar, good-looking dan juga his killer stretching-to-the-ears smile. Dalam keluarganya, Jack was the only lelaki; ayahnya meninggalkan keluarga way before Jack was born. But soon , in the next 30 or 40 years later, baru Jack discovered that his mother was actually HIS GRANDMOTHER while his sister, June was HIS MOTHER! Jack was an illegitimate child- out of wedlock and to avoid shame, the family put a face as if Jack was one of the siblings. Edith dan June tidak pernah menceritakan kisah sebenar sehingga meninggal dunia akibat kanser !

Pada usia 19, Jack nekad untuk ke Los Angeles, and also to joined his sister/biological mother, June who was to become showgirls. Jack was always fascinated dengan dunia glamour Hollywood dan sebagai seorang budak kampung dari New Jersey yg tak punya sesiapa di L.A, Jack memulakan kerjaya di MGM (Metro-Golden-Meyer = a very reputable filming company; bagi sapa2x yg tak tau- movie company ni selalu ada gamba singa mengaum mula2x filem ditayangkan!) sebagai seorang attendan ( i think so). After a while, dia berkerja pula sebagai attendan yg bertanggungjawab membalas surat fan-mail siri kartun “Tom & Jerry” di bawah ciptaan Hanna Barbarra. Sambil berkerja, Jack memasuki kelas drama dan one of his friend that time who happened to be an aspiring director was making a movie – “The Cry Baby Killer.” This B-rated film was definitely not a hit but it catapults Jack for a more adventurous endevaour in the acting department. Pada masa ni, Jack mula menyedari bakatnya dalam lakonan and he began acting in few strings of FORGETTABLE films around Los Angeles.

Came on the late 60s, a movie called “Easy Rider” was made with Jack as one of the antagonists; along with Dennis Hopper & Peter Fonda. The scene in where Jack was cracking pot was a TREMENDOUS performance and a believable one! Sehingga ada teori yg mengatakan the scene was so believable that Jack memang betul2x mengambil dadah untuk make the scene menjadi! Tahun 1970an, Michael Douglas, anak kepada legendary icon Kurt Douglas pertama kali menerbitkan filem berjudul “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.” Filem ni was destined to be a HIT later on in the box-office; mengisahkan tentang kehidupan penghuni rumah sakit mental. Performance Jack sangat mengkagumkan dan even his acting coach; the seasoned actor- Martin Landau mengatakan bahawa lakonan Jack betul2x meyakinkan; and later he was awarded with his FIRST ACADEMY AWARD @ Oscar as BEST ACTOR!

Pemilihan filem-filem Jack semakin bervariasi selepas kemenangannya dan beliau sentiasa memberikan elemen ’surprises’ to his fans. He never reprises same roles and he was/is a risk taker! Saya sangat kagum dengan cara beliau memilih watak dalam filem beliau kerana setiap watak yg dilakonkan adalah sangat kuat dan he injects color in those characters. Salah satu karakter Jack yg paling diingati adalah watak Jack Torrance dalam filem seram “The Shining” yg merupakan adaptasi dari novel penulis seram pujaan saya Stephen King. Watak itu menuntut mainan psikologi yg mendalam di mana watak Jack diancam roh jahat dalam hotel terpencil di atas pergunungan dan halusinasi yg mendesak Torrance membunuh ahli keluarganya – according to Stephen King, watak Torrance diinspirasikan oleh keadaanya sendiri semasa mengalami masalah ketagihan arak; beliau terdengar suara2x halusinasi @ voices in mind. Lakonan Jack begitu menyeramkan sehingga filem itu dinobatkan sebagai antara filem popular di kalangan cult.

Banyak lagi filem-filem Jack yang familiar dan bila saya tahu beliau merupakan salah satu pelakon di dalamnya, saya berasa kagum dengan beliau. Filem2x popular seperti “Terms of Endearment” (he got an Oscar for this!), “The Witches of Eastwick” - dengan Michelle Pfeiffer, “Batman” - as Joker : untuk mendapatkan Jack, eksekutif Warner Bros. terpaksa memenuhi perjanjian dengan Jack di mana Jack is entitled untuk mendapatkan some portion daripada franchise filem-filem Batman yg BAKAL diterbitkan WALAUPUN dia tidak berlakon di dalam filem2x Batman tersebut! Yes, maksudnya sebahagian keuntungan filem2x Batman yg terbaru dan akan datang ni diberikan kepada Jack!!! Wow..! Lakonan dalam “A Few Good Men” sebagai a no-nonsence hard ass COLONEL bersama Tom Cruise juga sangat popular; “As Good As It Gets” – sebagai perfect freaks author bersama2x Helen Hunter (another Oscar), “About Schmidt” – seorang warga emas yg pencen & kematian isteri mencari erti hidup, “Anger Management” - dengan Adam Sandler, “The Departed” - as top notch gangster honcho – directed by Martin Scorsese (menang Oscar!).

Jack also notoriously known for his casanova behaviour and was reportedly bedded almost 2,000 women!! (hurm..). Tapi romance dengan Oscar winning actress Anjelica Huston remained the longest time in his life; spunned to 17 years. Nonetheless, he is well known as someone who is funny and fun to be with and is likeable among his friends. As an iconic Hollywood royalties, I think he deserved every penny he has- seeing him moving from the low to the highest hierarchy of Hollywood, he is a damn fabulous actor and I just adore him! Keep goin on Uncle Jackie (erkk?? LOL!) !!. – Maybe it is true like wine - the longer its preserved, it become EVEN better. *smirk*

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