Jack's Life: A Biography of Jack Nicholson [Paperback]

Patrick McGilligan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 17, 1996

"Volatile Jack Nicholson has found the perfect biographer in Patrick McGilligan, who gives us a rich, absorbing portrait of one of the greatest movie stars ever." —Patricia Bosworth

No male American film star of the post-Brando era has demonstrated the talent, the charisma, the larger-than-life audacity, and the string of screen triumphs of Jack Nicholson. In Jack's Life, Patrick McGilligan, one of our finest film historians, has produced the definitive biography of this most private and public of stars, from his tangled Dickensian upbringing in New Jersey, his formative years as an actor and screenwriter, his near-accidental breakthrough to stardom in Easy Rider, and his string of great roles in Chinatown, Five Easy Pieces, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Last Detail, The Shining, and other films that mark him as a searching, complex artist. Here as well is the often Rabelaisian life behind the smiling mask, the legendary romances and appetites for sex and drugs, the obsessions with money and control, and the perpetual restlessness.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Born in New York City in 1937, Nicholson grew up in New Jersey under the "elaborate charade" that his grandmother was his mother and his mother was his sister--a fact that was not revealed to him until 1974. After moving to California he studied acting and found work in forgettable Roger Corman films and television. His big break came in 1969 when Bruce Dern turned down the role of George Hanson, a Southern lawyer in Easy Rider. Nicholson was cast in the part and the film became the counterculture hit of the year. There soon followed such films as Five Easy Pieces , Carnal Knowledge , Chinatown and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , for which he won an Academy Award. The author goes into seemingly every facet of Nicholson's life: the drugs (you name it, he's used it); his preoccupation with sex, which has kept him bedding the likes of Michelle Phillips, Anjelica Huston and Margaret Trudeau. There is plenty of behind-the-scenes material on the making of each Nicholson movie and insights into his characterizations. McGilligan ( George Cukor ) has captured Nicholson's intensity in this fact-filled biography , which will be especially appreciated by Nicholson's fans. Photos. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

McGilligan, who already has a well-regarded biography of George Cukor to his credit ( George Cukor: A Double Life , LJ 10/15/91), turns his eye to Nicholson in this first-rate biography of a complex character. Heavily researched and well written, this is an insightful and perceptive examination of Nicholson's life and art. Thankfully, McGilligan spares the reader any attempt at titilation, though he does raise some questions over the actual identity of Nicholson's biological father. The author concentrates on studying the circumstances and character of Nicholson. The volume includes an excellent filmography, and publication is timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the film Easy Rider and the actor's 40th year in show business. This will probably rank among the best film biographies of the year. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries.
- Marianne Cawley, Kingwood Branch Lib., Tex.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (February 17, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393313786
• ISBN-13: 978-0393313789
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #753,076 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars There must be more to life then this April 19, 2000

By seamus enright

Format:Paperback

Unlike some of McGilligan's other subject's, this book is titled somewhat innapropriately as there's some life in the old dog yet. There's evidence that he researched the first 57 year's of the actor's lfe pretty well, but the resulting portrait leaves Jack as enigmatic as the famous grin McGilligan seems so fascinated by. The tone is often sensationalistic, particularly when he argues that Jack my be reading of his possible illigitamacy "for the first time here" Nonetheless, it's an enjoyable read, though I didn't feel I knew Jack any better when I turned the last page, and was more enlightened about 70's Hollywood by Jack's friend Robert Evans, Robert Siskind, and others.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Good insight into early career, but fades badly. January 22, 2005

By J. Carroll VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Patrick McGilligan does a good job of examining Nicholson's early career, his work from the late fifties to the early 70's is discussed with insight and detail. The early chapters show a young man searching for his role in an industry he desperately wanted to be part of; and McGilligan focusses on Nicholson's attempt to create a role for himself in Hollywood. You definitely get the feeling that McGilligan had much more access to the people in Jack's life from this time period.

But as Nicholson becomes more famous, McGilligan's work seems to lose focus,and as Nicholson became more circumspect when dealing with the media, McGilligan's sources of info seem to dry up. Writing a biography of a living person without access to them in some way will always cause a bio to have a distance that only the best writers can overcome. McGilligan is not able to overcome this deficit and the book becomes tedious as it progresses to repeated mentions of Nicholson's less than ordinary formative years as the child of a woman he grew up believing to be his sister and their presumed affect on his work and relationships. This is a focus for McGilligan as he tries in some way to gain some kind of psychoanalytic understanding of Nicholson and the book bogs down under the weight of these constant asides. By the time the book reaches its end in 1992, I was thoroughly bored with McGilligan's take on what really should have proven to be an interesting life.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars AND, THERE'S A GREAT DEAL MORE TO COME..... August 4, 2006

By Gail Cooke HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

While many of us think Jack Nicholson burst into cinematic celebrity with his role in "Easy Rider," the truth is he had already put in ten long years of trying to make it in Hollywood, In fact, 1969 found Nicholson throwing himself into writing and producing until Rip Torn, who was slated for the role in "Easy Rider," left after a contractual dispute and Nicholson stepped in.

We could say the rest is history, but it is not for despite the countless interviews Nicholson has given there is still much to be learned about this baffling and brilliant actor. The author of biographies of George Cukor, James Cagney and Robert Altman, Patrick McGilligan knows how to document a life.

Renowned for playing estranged loners ("Five Easy Pieces," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), Nicholson was born in 1937 and raised to believe that his mother was his sister. He was never certain who his father was. Despite the question of his parents, he seems to have had a rather conventional upbringing in New Jersey.

Much found in Nicholson's past can be sighted in his present: He was succored by the women who raised him as he has been by his many romantic relationships; he followed professional sports as a youth and attended games with a cadre of his buddies; he was careful with money - today he is one of Hollywood's richest actors.

Nicholson and his close friends declined conversation with the author. Thus, McGilligan has relied on already published material, albeit written with a fresh slant. "Jack's Life" is entertaining, yet the career of one of our most gifted actors is still ongoing. I'm waiting - after all, everyone who saw "Batman" knows that the Joker will return.

- Gail Cooke