A documentary recreates the story of the actor, who only at the age of 37 knew his true identity
The documentary Dr. Jack and Mr. Nicholson, which shows the life of 82-year-old actor Jack Nicholson, recreated the moment in when the artist found out, at 37, thanks to a call from a journalist, that he was not really a son from his mother from his sister.
In 1974, the actor from The Shining and As Good As It Gets, among other films, had just released Chinatown, directed by Roman Polanski. For this reason, a journalist from Time Magazine began to investigate the actor and his inner circle to write an article and found a truth that not even Jack himself knew: his real mother was June, whom he knew as her "older sister".
The source, a family acquaintance, found out that June was just 17 years old when she got pregnant and since she didn't know who the father of her child was, her parents John and Ethel May (the grandparents of the baby on the way), decided to raise him. as if it were yours.
Jack Nicholson was 37 years old when the journalist called him with the news. At first, he strongly denied it, but later confirmed his origins with his aunt, Lorraine, whom he believed to be his sister. Since by then her mother and her grandparents had died.
Regarding the identity of his real father, doubts still remain. In the biography The Life of Jack, Eddie King, June's actor and dance partner, and Don Furcillo-Rose are mentioned, who even asked the actor for a DNA test, which he refused.
The last one before dying he asked his daughter Donna to continue searching for the truth. In 2001 she published the book You Don't Know Jack: The Story of an Eliminated Father. She died four years later of cancer, not knowing whether or not the actor was her half-brother.
"Stripped of his makeup, Jack Nicholas remains a character out of the norm. A family icon, recognized by all. A mythical actor, crowned with three Oscars and dozens of awards. The only sacred monster that we all simply call Jack. The paradox Jack is that we think we know him and at the same time he constantly maintains the mystery. We admit to knowing him and the rest is mysterious," reads the trailer for the French documentary that tells this episode and more about the artist's life.
A mystery maintained by the actor who voluntarily clouds the clues. Unpredictable. Elusive. He always escapes definitions.
In a 50-year career and more than 60 films, some of which are masterpieces, he turns out to be friendly or disturbing, seductive or terrifying. But all these very different roles have something in common. Through them, Jack Nicholson makes himself heard.
In Argentina, the actor Abel Ayala, the protagonist of El Marginal, has a story very similar to that of Nicholson. "We were many, many uncles, many cousins, many people, and the issue of relationships was not clear. At that time, my biological mother was my sister and my grandmother was my biological mother. It was what they told me, and I believed that. Then when I left, when I got home, that's when I realized that my sister was my mom," he told PH last year, We can talk.
