Happy 75th Birthday, Jack!

Cheers to Jack Nicholson, the iconic actor whose career has spanned fifty years, 12 Academy Award Nominations and three Academy Award Wins.

Nicholson’s resume includes knockout performances in: Easy Rider, Chinatown, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Terms of Endearment, A Few Good Men, As Good as It Gets, About Schmidt, Something’s Gotta Give, and The Departed.  John Farr  lists the best Jack Nicholson movies of all time today in the Huffington Post.

For me, Jack Nicholson’s characters are synonymous with one-liners.  Throughout his career he has delivered some of the best.  Here are my favorites, including some that are not so well known!

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

As R.P. McMurphy: “But I tried, didn’t I? Goddamnit, at least I did that…”

The Shining (1980)

As Jack Torrance: “l never laid a hand on him, goddamn it. l didn’t. l wouldn’t touch one hair on his goddamn little head!”

Terms of Endearment (1983)

As Garrett Breedlove: “I understand you’re a swimmer…”

As Good as It Gets (1997)

As Melvin Udall: “Why aren’t you at work? You’re not sick.  You don’t look sick…” and “You make me want to be a better man.”

About Schmidt (2002)

As Warren Schmidt: “What difference has my life made to anyone. None that I can think of. None at all.” and “I tried to do the right thing, tried to convince Jeannie she was making a big mistake, but I failed. Now, she’s married to that nincompoop and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Something’s Gotta Give (2003)

As Harry Sanborn: “I’m sorry! I didn’t see anything… Just your tits…”

The Departed (2006)

As Frank Costello: “I don’t want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.”

Categories: Entertainment

Tags: About Schmidt, As Good as it Gets, Jack Nicholson, Movies, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Departed, The Shining