Update: We’ve got encouraging news from NBC’s Maria Shriver, who reports that Nicholson is “not suffering from any memory-related illness or dementia and has no current plans to retire.” The source adds that the star “is actively reading scripts and is looking forward to his next project.” Check out the original story below.
We certainly saw this day coming, but it’s sad news nonetheless. Hollywood icon Jack Nicholson, with more than 70 acting credits to his name, is hanging up his hat. According to report from Radar Online, their source says that “Jack has — without fanfare — retired. There is a simple reason behind his decision — it’s memory loss. Quite frankly, at 76, Jack has memory issues and can no longer remember the lines being asked of him.” They add, “His memory isn’t what it used to be.”
The report also says, “He’s not retiring from public life, at all. He just doesn’t want a tribute,” so we can expect him to have front-row seats at both the Oscars and Lakers games. With his last major performance being in James L. Brooks‘ How Do You Know back in 2010, he’s only starred in four other features in the last decade and declined a starring role in Alexander Payne‘s Nebraska — the part eventually went to Bruce Dern — so the writing was sadly on the wall.
As we’re bound to revisit some of his greatest roles in films such as The Shining, Chinatown and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Next in the coming weeks, The Dissolve also dug up what is actually his last on-screen appearance, a touching, brief interview in 2011’s Corman’s World, which can be seen below.
What’s your favorite Nicholson performance?