1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:06,640 Speaker 1: Hollywood Officionados, brothers and sisters, Welcome back. Happy to have 2 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:10,040 Speaker 1: you here with us this week for another archival installment 3 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: of the Hollywood Land Podcast. We are covering a true 4 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:17,600 Speaker 1: Hollywood icon this week, a man whose films in life 5 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:21,320 Speaker 1: will be studying long after he's gone. I'm talking about 6 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:24,880 Speaker 1: mister Jack Nicholson, one of the greatest to ever do it. 7 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:29,000 Speaker 1: Jack has had many iconic roles from Easy Rider to 8 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 1: Chinatown to a few good men that departed in many 9 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,440 Speaker 1: many others. And aside from being the great actor that 10 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 1: we all know, Jack Nicholson was and is a lot 11 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:44,879 Speaker 1: of things. Friend, lover, artist, rebel, and let's not forget 12 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: a Lakers fan. We tried to cover as much of 13 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 1: the Jack Nicholson canvas as possible. Of course, providing a 14 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: complete picture of such a legend like Jack is nearly 15 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:58,160 Speaker 1: impossible in just a thirty minute podcast episode, but we 16 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: hope that we at least got close to the essence 17 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:05,039 Speaker 1: of Jack's character. So, without further ado, myself, along with 18 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:08,200 Speaker 1: the fine folks at Double Elvis, present to you, mister 19 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 1: Jack Nicholson. This episode contains content that may be disturbing 20 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:15,960 Speaker 1: to some listeners. Please check the show notes for more information. 21 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:20,240 Speaker 1: Hollywood Land is a production of double Elvis. 22 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 2: Ordering the Court, watch the portation on the dock of 23 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,840 Speaker 2: the morning Man God with joblippy. All right, officer, bring 24 00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 2: him in. I want to see a man that's strong enough, prolific, 25 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:36,520 Speaker 2: job your honor? Where is he here? I don't hear him? 26 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:39,160 Speaker 2: Why this is the man beside me? What that didn't 27 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:42,680 Speaker 2: been a wishniff day after? He's no joplipper? Sure that 28 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 2: for jump of looking at as I couldn't lift a 29 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 2: baby to be a share. 30 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 1: The stories about Jack Nicholson are insane. He was attacked 31 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:57,040 Speaker 1: in his private studio Bungalow by his girlfriend of seventeen 32 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 1: years after numerous betrayals. His house was a major Hollywood 33 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:05,160 Speaker 1: party scene in the seventies and also the sight of 34 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:09,240 Speaker 1: one of Hollywood's most shocking crimes. He fought the Motion 35 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 1: Picture Association and the Los Angeles Police Department. He didn't 36 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:17,080 Speaker 1: play by the rules because he didn't acknowledge that the 37 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 1: rules existed. Just asked the guy who feared for his 38 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:24,440 Speaker 1: life as Jack smashed his windshield in a bizarre road 39 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:30,359 Speaker 1: rage meltdown. And Jack Nicholson made great films. He played 40 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:32,280 Speaker 1: some of the most iconic roles in some of the 41 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: most influential films of all time. Unlike that clip I 42 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: played for you at the top of the show, that 43 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:41,560 Speaker 1: wasn't from a great film. That was a fair youth 44 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:45,120 Speaker 1: sample from the Library of Congress of Steve Porter performing 45 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:49,240 Speaker 1: a police court scene in nineteen nineteen. I played you 46 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:51,760 Speaker 1: that clip because I can't afford the rights to a 47 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:56,280 Speaker 1: clip from Tom Shadyak's ace Ventura Pet Detective. And why 48 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 1: would I play you that specific slice of alrighty then 49 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 1: and cheese? Could I afford it? Because that was the 50 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 1: number one movie in America on February eighth, nineteen ninety four. 51 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:12,240 Speaker 1: In that it was the day that Jack Nicholson violently 52 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:17,119 Speaker 1: bashed and idling Mercedes Benz with his two iron. On 53 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:21,840 Speaker 1: this episode, an attack in a private bungalow, a road rage, meltdown, 54 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 1: the MPAA, the LAPD and he Johnny Jack Nicholson, I'm 55 00:03:31,000 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: Jake Brennan and this is Hollywood Land. The Boston Garden 56 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:10,000 Speaker 1: was electric, thousands of fans on their feet, screaming at 57 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 1: the top of their lungs. Green and white rally towels 58 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 1: flapping in the humid air, sneakers up and down the 59 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:19,839 Speaker 1: parquet floor. Kareem Abdul Jabbar wiped the sweat from his goggles. 60 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:23,120 Speaker 1: Larry Bird thought about how good the first three Budweisers 61 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:26,440 Speaker 1: were gonna taste. And from a private box high above 62 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 1: the action, Jack Nicholson was yelling, not that anyone could 63 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 1: hear him. The garden was loud as fuck. He yelled 64 00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:37,880 Speaker 1: anyway because he couldn't help himself. He was always yelling 65 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:42,840 Speaker 1: at Lakers games, and Jack Nicholson didn't miss Lakers games. 66 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:47,200 Speaker 1: He caught them courtside with the Forum in LA He'd 67 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: been the team's most vocal season ticket holder since the 68 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:53,279 Speaker 1: early seventies. But he couldn't be courtside because he was 69 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:55,760 Speaker 1: on set. He'd do everything in his power in a 70 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:58,440 Speaker 1: wrap production early so that he could catch the action 71 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:01,960 Speaker 1: on a TV set in his trail. Jack didn't miss 72 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 1: a game, even if that meant flying from Los Angeles 73 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:08,400 Speaker 1: all the way to Boston to catch Game seven, which 74 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: is exactly what he did on June twelfth, nineteen eighty four. 75 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:14,920 Speaker 1: The Lakers climbed to the top of the heap year 76 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:20,240 Speaker 1: after year, division titles, conference titles, championships, just like Jack 77 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:22,680 Speaker 1: was king of his own heap. He stood on top 78 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:25,119 Speaker 1: of that heap with an Academy award in each hand. 79 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:29,560 Speaker 1: And also, like his precious Lakers Jack Nicholson, didn't take 80 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:34,560 Speaker 1: losing very well. So Jack was understandably beside himself as 81 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: he watched his team fall to a fourteen point deficit 82 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:40,600 Speaker 1: in the fourth quarter. Jack wished he was an earshot 83 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:42,880 Speaker 1: of the refs like he was back home, or the 84 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:46,239 Speaker 1: opposing team's coach on the sidelines near his coveted seat. 85 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:48,839 Speaker 1: He'd like to give Casey Jones a piece of his 86 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:52,480 Speaker 1: fucking mind, right von Now, the Lakers suddenly got their 87 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 1: mojo back. They cut the Celtics lead to twelve points, 88 00:05:55,839 --> 00:05:59,279 Speaker 1: then ten eight. With twenty six seconds to go, the 89 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 1: Lakers were down by seven. Jack ran his fingers through 90 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:06,120 Speaker 1: his wild hair, and that devilish grin of his suddenly 91 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:09,960 Speaker 1: sprouted on his face. They were doing him climbing to 92 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:13,160 Speaker 1: the top of the heat, but not before the Celtic's 93 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:16,520 Speaker 1: Tennis Johnson could wipe that grin off Jack's face when 94 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:20,200 Speaker 1: he sank two free throws with only seconds left, the 95 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:23,679 Speaker 1: clock kind of down to zero. When the buzzer sounded, 96 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:29,720 Speaker 1: the Lakers lost the championship game up in his private box. 97 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:32,520 Speaker 1: Jack wasn't able to properly vent his frustration, and the 98 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 1: striped shirt rule keeper or some masshole towny no matter, 99 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:40,200 Speaker 1: Because unlike the Lakers, Jack didn't play by the rules. 100 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:43,120 Speaker 1: He took the l the only way a defiant rule 101 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 1: breaker could. He turned his back on the corn, pulled 102 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:49,599 Speaker 1: his shorts down, bent over, and then he mooned all 103 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:53,719 Speaker 1: fifteen thousand people in attendance with his bare ass. Only 104 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:56,680 Speaker 1: a handful in attendants actually noticed, but those who did 105 00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: catch it never forgot it. Not just anyone could pull 106 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:04,599 Speaker 1: off a stunt like that public nudity, disorderly behavior. But 107 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:07,839 Speaker 1: by nineteen eighty four, Jack Nicholson had earned the right 108 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:12,960 Speaker 1: to be outrageous. He had more Academy Award nominations than 109 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:16,280 Speaker 1: any American actor in history. He commanded the screen and 110 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: stole every scene. He ordered chicken salad on wheat toast, 111 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:22,120 Speaker 1: but told the waitress to hold the toast, and when 112 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:25,040 Speaker 1: she asked where should I hold it, he responded, between 113 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:28,920 Speaker 1: your knees. When his career took off in the nineteen seventies, 114 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:31,679 Speaker 1: he sought out quirky rolls that quickly made him stand 115 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:36,160 Speaker 1: out unlike any other actor Suey Gennaries, he turned down 116 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:39,360 Speaker 1: the role of Michael Corleoni and the Godfather and instead 117 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:43,320 Speaker 1: delivered one of his earliest iconic roles as Billy Badass Padowski. 118 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:47,080 Speaker 1: In the last detail, he passed on sci fi fantasies 119 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:50,480 Speaker 1: like Close Encounters of the Third kind, opting for smaller 120 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:53,920 Speaker 1: human stories with bigger human steaks like One Flew Over 121 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:59,480 Speaker 1: the Cuckoo's Nest. Jack Nicholson was defined by an exhilarating unpredictability. 122 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:04,400 Speaker 1: Audiences couldn't take their eyes off of him. One Flew 123 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:07,480 Speaker 1: Over the Cuckoo's Nest got Jack his first Academy Award 124 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:12,120 Speaker 1: after four previous nominations. His second Golden statuette came in 125 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty four for his comedic turn in terms of endearment, 126 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 1: just months before Jack dropped trou and issued that now 127 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:23,880 Speaker 1: legendary Moon over Boston. The next year, nineteen eighty five, 128 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:27,080 Speaker 1: the Lakers got sweet revenge on the Celtics to win 129 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:30,720 Speaker 1: the NBA Championship. But Jack was looking more and more 130 00:08:30,840 --> 00:08:34,199 Speaker 1: like the nineteen eighty four version of his beloved basketball team, 131 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:37,680 Speaker 1: like the winning streak was coming to an end, and 132 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:42,600 Speaker 1: it was all because of one movie. The movie was 133 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:46,440 Speaker 1: called The Two Jakes. It was a sequel to Chinatown, 134 00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:49,880 Speaker 1: the nineteen seventy four film noir that had solidified Jack's 135 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:54,199 Speaker 1: status as a Hollywood a lister. Chinatown screenwriter Robert Town 136 00:08:54,559 --> 00:08:58,040 Speaker 1: had returned to penn the sequels script than Robert Evans 137 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:02,440 Speaker 1: aka Bob Evans paramounts Mighty Production exect. He was back too. 138 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:06,120 Speaker 1: But Robert Town wasn't just writing The Two Jakes. He 139 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:09,840 Speaker 1: was directing too for the first time, and Bob Evans 140 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 1: wasn't just the producer. Bob Evans was going to act 141 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:17,560 Speaker 1: in one of the film's lead roles, opposite Jack Nicholson. Bob, 142 00:09:17,679 --> 00:09:20,360 Speaker 1: Jack and Robert thought that hiring a non director to 143 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:23,160 Speaker 1: direct a non actor to act was a good idea 144 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:26,600 Speaker 1: at the time an incredible act of hubris said only 145 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:30,719 Speaker 1: these two Bob's and one Jack could have. However, as 146 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:34,720 Speaker 1: principal photography for The Two Jakes neared, it became obvious 147 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 1: to Robert Town that one of those two things was 148 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:41,080 Speaker 1: most definitely not a good idea. So before the cameras 149 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 1: even started to roll, Robert Town, the director fired Bob Evans, 150 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:51,000 Speaker 1: the producer, Jack the star was bullshit. Everyone knew that 151 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:53,680 Speaker 1: Bob Evans couldn't act. The guy hadn't even appeared in 152 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:56,000 Speaker 1: front of a camera in something like forty years. But 153 00:09:56,400 --> 00:09:59,400 Speaker 1: that wasn't the point. The point was that Bob Evans 154 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:01,720 Speaker 1: was a friend and he didn't deserve to be shit 155 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:04,200 Speaker 1: canned before he even had a chance to prove himself. 156 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:08,119 Speaker 1: And that's what Jack thought anyway, So too did Paramount. 157 00:10:08,160 --> 00:10:13,040 Speaker 1: Of course, production stalled. Jack fought with Robert Town, Robert 158 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:18,280 Speaker 1: Town fought with Paramount, and then Robert Town failed. Paramount 159 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:22,120 Speaker 1: pulled funding, lawsuits were filed. The two Jakes was dead 160 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:24,920 Speaker 1: in the water, and the internal squabbling between the two 161 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:28,320 Speaker 1: Bobs and Jack was splayed all over the industry papers. 162 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:31,760 Speaker 1: It was a bad look a Hollywood, a lister betting 163 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:35,440 Speaker 1: on the wrong horse, a stubborn star who let relationships 164 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:38,760 Speaker 1: curdles simply because he only did things one way, his way. 165 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:41,960 Speaker 1: And that's not how Jack Nicholson got to be so 166 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:45,360 Speaker 1: popular and so in demand. Jack Nicholson got to be 167 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:48,480 Speaker 1: so popular and so in demand because people liked him 168 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:53,199 Speaker 1: so damned much. At any given party in the swinging seventies, 169 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:56,720 Speaker 1: with Warren Batty, Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford and Jack Nicholson 170 00:10:56,760 --> 00:11:01,360 Speaker 1: in attendance. All the women gravitated to Jack back that grin, 171 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:04,760 Speaker 1: that smile. Some said it was devilish, others said it 172 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:08,360 Speaker 1: was the devil himself. The best parties, of course, were 173 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:11,520 Speaker 1: the parties at Jack's House up in the Hollywood Hills 174 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:16,200 Speaker 1: on Mulholland Drive. Eight room, a frame stucco path, sliding 175 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:20,640 Speaker 1: glass doors overlooking a ravine pool, Jacuzzi, Matisse, and Picasso 176 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:23,480 Speaker 1: on the walls. Jack bought it for eighty grand in 177 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:26,640 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy. If you were in the know, then you 178 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:31,600 Speaker 1: knew about Jack's place. The door was always open to friends. 179 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:35,480 Speaker 1: Even Roman Polanski was welcoming that little Napoleon, despite the 180 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:38,240 Speaker 1: fact that he cast John Cassavetes instead of Jack and 181 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:41,640 Speaker 1: Rosemary's baby. It once smashed the TV set in Jack's 182 00:11:41,679 --> 00:11:44,679 Speaker 1: trailer when Jack bailed on Chinatown rehearsals to watch the 183 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:48,720 Speaker 1: Lakers game. Some called Jack's house the epicenter of the 184 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:52,959 Speaker 1: era's drug soak scene. Author Bob Woodward claimed that Jack's 185 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:58,560 Speaker 1: house contained downstairs drugs and upstairs drugs. The downstairs drugs 186 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:03,680 Speaker 1: were for whoever happened by Mikasasu Castle but the upstairs drugs. 187 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:07,200 Speaker 1: Those were high quality and were reserved only for very 188 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:11,439 Speaker 1: special company. And when it came to special company, Jack 189 00:12:11,559 --> 00:12:16,360 Speaker 1: had all kinds, for one night stands to long term flinks, 190 00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:19,440 Speaker 1: but no love affair lasted as long as the one 191 00:12:19,559 --> 00:12:23,760 Speaker 1: Jack had with Angelica Houston, the daughter of the cinematic 192 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:28,160 Speaker 1: titan John Houston. Angelica accompanied a friend one night in 193 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:31,439 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy three to attend a party at Jack's house. 194 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:35,000 Speaker 1: Anyone could see that he was a rake, a rogue, eleithario. 195 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:39,680 Speaker 1: He was both charming in capital t trouble, a paradox. 196 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:43,200 Speaker 1: He was just like Angelica's father, actually, who'd made a 197 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:45,800 Speaker 1: name for himself in Hollywood, not only as a director, 198 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:49,720 Speaker 1: but as a great seducer of women. And so, perhaps 199 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:53,880 Speaker 1: against her better judgment, Angelica allowed herself to be seduced 200 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:57,800 Speaker 1: by Jack. She spent the night, and then she moved in. 201 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:02,040 Speaker 1: Angelica's rocky relationship with Jack over the next seventeen years 202 00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:05,480 Speaker 1: would be the longest of Jack's life. Angelica even whether 203 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:10,520 Speaker 1: Jack's infidelities, well most of the infidelities. She was even 204 00:13:10,559 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 1: there at Jack's house on Mulholland hidden in the Hollywood 205 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:16,679 Speaker 1: Hills when The cops showed up for the first time 206 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy seven, but they weren't there to break 207 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:24,360 Speaker 1: up one of Jack's notorious parties. They came because Jack's 208 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:48,440 Speaker 1: house was the scene of a terrible crime. Jack Nicholson 209 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:51,760 Speaker 1: was an aspen when he got the call. Angelica's voice 210 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:57,000 Speaker 1: was frantic. Lapdu was at the house Jack's house. They 211 00:13:57,040 --> 00:13:59,720 Speaker 1: found a container of hash in the bathroom, half a 212 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:04,199 Speaker 1: gram of coke, and Angelica's purse. Jack panicked, what about 213 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:07,760 Speaker 1: the other stuff, the good stuff the upstairs trucks. Luckily, 214 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:10,920 Speaker 1: the cops hadn't found the good shits stashed in fake 215 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:15,360 Speaker 1: shaving cream containers. But wait, just what the hell were 216 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:18,200 Speaker 1: the lapd doing at his house in the first place? 217 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:24,440 Speaker 1: Angelica asked Jack if he was sitting down. Roman Polanski 218 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:27,560 Speaker 1: had used Jack's empty house for a photo shoot while 219 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:30,600 Speaker 1: Jack was out of town. He was guest editing an 220 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:34,120 Speaker 1: upcoming issue of the French edition of Vogue, and Jack's 221 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:37,520 Speaker 1: house had the Hollywood Hills vibe he needed, and since 222 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:40,720 Speaker 1: Jack was out of town, his house also offered Roman 223 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:45,400 Speaker 1: the other thing he needed, privacy. Because the model that 224 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:49,480 Speaker 1: Roman Polanski was photographing was not a jet setting denizen 225 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:53,040 Speaker 1: of the International Hate Couture. She was a thirteen year 226 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:57,480 Speaker 1: old in the photo session. Well, that may have just 227 00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:00,480 Speaker 1: been a ruse, because Roman had more on a mind 228 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:03,760 Speaker 1: than a role of film. What Roman had in mind 229 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:08,680 Speaker 1: involved Champagne, Quelud's and Jack's jacuzzi. When the girl became 230 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:12,440 Speaker 1: drowsy and disoriented, Roman took her to the upstairs bedroom 231 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:16,480 Speaker 1: and sexually assaulted her. Angelica just happened to come home 232 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:20,240 Speaker 1: in the immediate aftermath, and, much to her surprise, found 233 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 1: Roman and the girl there. Jack knew that Roman had 234 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:28,240 Speaker 1: been devastated when members of the Manson family brutally slaughtered 235 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:31,120 Speaker 1: his wife, Sharon Tate, and their unborn child back in 236 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:36,080 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty nine. That fucked with everyone in Hollywood. Jack 237 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:39,440 Speaker 1: himself suck with a hammer under his pillow for weeks afterwards. 238 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:44,240 Speaker 1: But eventually, as time marched on, Jack and everyone else 239 00:15:44,240 --> 00:15:48,000 Speaker 1: in Hollywood started to sleep a little easier. Not Roman. 240 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:51,440 Speaker 1: He almost didn't recover. When did he get back on 241 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:55,960 Speaker 1: his feet and started working again. Roman made Chinatown not 242 00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:58,520 Speaker 1: only one of the defining movies of the decade, but 243 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:03,040 Speaker 1: the best film he would ever make. But now Roman 244 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:08,200 Speaker 1: had done something truly awful. It was disgusting a thirteen 245 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:12,440 Speaker 1: year old girl, and Roman knew she was underage. He'd 246 00:16:12,480 --> 00:16:15,560 Speaker 1: actually gone to her parents' house to ask their permission 247 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:19,080 Speaker 1: to take photos of her. No one thought that Roman Polanski, 248 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:21,760 Speaker 1: of all people, would ever be capable of such a thing. 249 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:27,280 Speaker 1: When Jack got back to La Roman was sitting behind bars. 250 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:31,080 Speaker 1: The cops were waiting for Jack at his house. Not 251 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:35,320 Speaker 1: satisfied with busting a celebrity director, the LAPD wanted the 252 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:38,840 Speaker 1: leading man too. They'd heard all about the shit that 253 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:42,280 Speaker 1: went down at Jack's house. The stories weren't as crazy 254 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:44,440 Speaker 1: as the stories they'd heard about the forty eight hour 255 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:48,800 Speaker 1: orgies over at Harry Dean Stanton's place. Honestly, they were 256 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:51,760 Speaker 1: all set with seeing Harry Dean Stanton in his birthday suit. 257 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:54,480 Speaker 1: But now that they had this container of hash they 258 00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:57,640 Speaker 1: had confiscated from the upstairs bathroom, they wanted to pin 259 00:16:57,720 --> 00:17:01,720 Speaker 1: it on Jack. Two Birds, one stone, and the cops 260 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:04,439 Speaker 1: asked Jack to tell them about the hash. This was 261 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:06,479 Speaker 1: the first Jack was hearing about it, and that's what 262 00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:08,960 Speaker 1: he said. The cops wanted a set of Jack's prince 263 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:10,560 Speaker 1: so they could run it against the prince and the 264 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:14,439 Speaker 1: container and Jack refused. Fuck rules. Hell, he'd fought the 265 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:16,960 Speaker 1: MPAA back in nineteen seventy one where they tried to 266 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:19,960 Speaker 1: slap an X rating on his directorial debut, a little 267 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:23,120 Speaker 1: seen film called Drive. He said they wanted to give 268 00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:25,159 Speaker 1: it an X rating for an audible orgasm and a 269 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:28,320 Speaker 1: shot of a guy's cock, and meanwhile dirty Harry Sides, 270 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:30,840 Speaker 1: and with an R rating for his magnum forest violence. 271 00:17:31,119 --> 00:17:34,679 Speaker 1: Fuck that. Jack fought the MPAA in one at the 272 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:38,240 Speaker 1: LAPD wanted so they could come and get it. If 273 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:42,040 Speaker 1: it was a bluff by Jack, the LAPD called it. 274 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:44,600 Speaker 1: It wasn't the only thing. They called. The cops rang 275 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:47,760 Speaker 1: up their friends at the Aspen, Colorado Police Department and 276 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:50,240 Speaker 1: were able to get a set of Jack's prince. Jack 277 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 1: didn't even know how that was possible. The good news 278 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:55,639 Speaker 1: was that the Aspen prince didn't match the prince on 279 00:17:55,720 --> 00:17:58,879 Speaker 1: the hash container back in his house. The bad news 280 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:02,439 Speaker 1: was at the lap wasn't satisfied and they were going 281 00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:04,919 Speaker 1: to get a fresh set of prints one way or another, 282 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:09,399 Speaker 1: so they issued a warrant for Jack Nicholson's arrest. What 283 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:12,320 Speaker 1: bothered Jack most about the whole dust up was that 284 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:15,000 Speaker 1: a secret was going to get out. Not the secret 285 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:19,400 Speaker 1: about Roman that deserved to get out. Roman absolutely deserved 286 00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:22,320 Speaker 1: whatever was coming to him. But there was something private 287 00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:25,120 Speaker 1: and special about being an a list mover and shaker 288 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:28,000 Speaker 1: in Jack's orbit. There were things that happened at Jack's 289 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,399 Speaker 1: place that stayed at Jack's place. Movie stars enjoyed the 290 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:34,760 Speaker 1: discrete environment. Took on some grass, do a line, talk 291 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:37,359 Speaker 1: shit about that actor, you know the one. Now. It 292 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:39,360 Speaker 1: was not only a crime scene, but a place where 293 00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:43,080 Speaker 1: no one would ever want to go again. Marlon Brando, 294 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:46,080 Speaker 1: who happened to be Jack's neighbor, was one of those 295 00:18:46,119 --> 00:18:50,200 Speaker 1: who sometimes took advantage of Jack's private hospitality. Brando didn't 296 00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:53,240 Speaker 1: come around for the parties. He wandered into Jack's house 297 00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:55,760 Speaker 1: and made a bee line straight to the fridge. He 298 00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:58,720 Speaker 1: had padlocked his own fridge to curb his food cravings, 299 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:01,679 Speaker 1: but Jack's was all open, even if sometimes all it 300 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:04,640 Speaker 1: had and it was milk and beer. Jack didn't mind 301 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:08,760 Speaker 1: if Brando wanted to raid his fridge. He was Marlon Brando. 302 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:12,119 Speaker 1: Jack called him the man on the Hill. Jack also 303 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:16,560 Speaker 1: called him Marlon. That was Jack speak for Marlin. See, 304 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:19,040 Speaker 1: if you were in Jack's intimate orbit, you got a nickname, 305 00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:20,440 Speaker 1: it made you feel like you were part of a 306 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:25,359 Speaker 1: special club. Jack's club. Angelica Houston was Toots, Diane Keaton 307 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:29,399 Speaker 1: was Special k, Bruce Dern was Dernsey, Arc Garfuncle was 308 00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:31,919 Speaker 1: Art the Garf, and Warren Batty was Master b Or 309 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:34,159 Speaker 1: the pro. On account of how goddamn Goodie was a 310 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:37,760 Speaker 1: picking up chicks. Bob Raefelson, the director who worked with 311 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:41,480 Speaker 1: Jack on five films throughout his career, Jack called him Curly. 312 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:46,160 Speaker 1: Screenwriter Robert Town was Beaner. Jack assigned nicknames to people 313 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:47,720 Speaker 1: as far back as when he was a kid. He 314 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:50,440 Speaker 1: called his own mother Mud. He called her Mud until 315 00:19:50,480 --> 00:19:52,920 Speaker 1: the day she died, and continued to call her by 316 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:55,399 Speaker 1: that name even when he found out years later that 317 00:19:55,560 --> 00:20:00,600 Speaker 1: Mud wasn't actually his mother. Shortly before Chinatown began production, 318 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:03,720 Speaker 1: Jack discovered that the woman he knew as his mother 319 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:07,520 Speaker 1: was actually his grandmother, and June, the woman he thought 320 00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:12,040 Speaker 1: was his sister, was actually his mother. June, his actual mother, 321 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:14,960 Speaker 1: had dropped out of school to become a professional dancer 322 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:17,919 Speaker 1: with the band leader Eddie King. She got married to 323 00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:20,520 Speaker 1: a man who was secretly already married, and by the 324 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:23,920 Speaker 1: time she annulled her brand new marriage, June was pregnant 325 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:27,159 Speaker 1: and she was still a teenager. To avoid the shame 326 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:29,439 Speaker 1: of having a baby out of wedlock, and also to 327 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:32,359 Speaker 1: allow June to continue to pursue a career as a showgirl, 328 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:37,080 Speaker 1: Mud became Jack's mutter for all intents and purposes. It's 329 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:40,000 Speaker 1: a plot twist straight out of Chinatown minus the incest, 330 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:43,120 Speaker 1: and considering the timing of when Jack found out, it's 331 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:46,480 Speaker 1: very possible that the long held family secret informed the 332 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:49,119 Speaker 1: shocking twist at the end of the movie. Just like 333 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:52,040 Speaker 1: the scene and the Shining where Jack loses his mind 334 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,480 Speaker 1: at Shelley Duvall was based on a real moment in 335 00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:57,639 Speaker 1: Jack's marriage, and just like the scene in the diner 336 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:00,720 Speaker 1: in Five Easy Pieces when Jack tells a waitress to 337 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:03,359 Speaker 1: stick the chicken salad between her legs was based on 338 00:21:03,400 --> 00:21:06,520 Speaker 1: a real moment in Jack's life as well. They say 339 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:10,800 Speaker 1: that art imitates life and vice versa. In nineteen seventy seven, 340 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:14,320 Speaker 1: that's exactly what the LAPD was hoping for when they 341 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:17,480 Speaker 1: arrested Jack on that warrant and dragged him downtown to 342 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:19,600 Speaker 1: get a clean set of fingerprints that they could run 343 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:23,240 Speaker 1: against the prince found on the hash container. If life 344 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:26,800 Speaker 1: imitates art, well, then Jack Nicholson just had to be 345 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:29,399 Speaker 1: every bit the stone or burnout. He played to a 346 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:34,119 Speaker 1: t and easy rider. Spoiler alert, of course he was. 347 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:37,280 Speaker 1: Jack's hard partying ways meant that on some mornings he 348 00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:38,760 Speaker 1: woke up in a tree or on the edge of 349 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:41,200 Speaker 1: a cliff. One hundred percent true. He can look both up. 350 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:44,200 Speaker 1: But on this day, the cops wouldn't get the satisfaction 351 00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:47,720 Speaker 1: of busting Jack on their suspicions alone. The new prince 352 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:49,840 Speaker 1: they took in la and matched up with the prince 353 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:52,520 Speaker 1: that had been taken enassmen, but they didn't match the 354 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:55,800 Speaker 1: prince on the hash container. So Jack was free to go, 355 00:21:56,560 --> 00:21:59,960 Speaker 1: and perhaps surprisingly, everyone continued to feel free to be 356 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:04,640 Speaker 1: themselves at Jack's house, except for Roman Polanski. That pederist 357 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:06,720 Speaker 1: had skipped the country and was hiding out in Europe. 358 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:09,560 Speaker 1: He could rot there, as far as Jack was concerned. 359 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:14,920 Speaker 1: Roman had disrespected Jack's house and worse, betrayed Jack's trust. 360 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:18,399 Speaker 1: Not that Jack wasn't above betraying the trust of someone 361 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:22,040 Speaker 1: close to him. Rules were meant to be broken, and 362 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:28,399 Speaker 1: so too were hearts. We'll be right back after this. 363 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:30,040 Speaker 2: We're we're we're. 364 00:22:34,280 --> 00:22:38,600 Speaker 1: The assistant behind the desk immediately recognized Angelica Houston when 365 00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:42,000 Speaker 1: she stormed into Jack Nicholson's bungalow on the Paramount lot. 366 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:46,480 Speaker 1: The assistant asked Angelica to hang tight, she'd alert Jack 367 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:50,840 Speaker 1: that Angelica was there, wouldn't be necessary. Angelica didn't stop. 368 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:54,960 Speaker 1: She kept walking right past the front desk and towards 369 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:58,480 Speaker 1: Jack's office. She wanted the element of surprise on her side, 370 00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:01,399 Speaker 1: and she had it. She caught Jack coming out of 371 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:06,159 Speaker 1: the bathroom, still working on a zipper. Angelico wasted no time. 372 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:09,320 Speaker 1: Jack had barely thrown his hands up when she threw 373 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:12,920 Speaker 1: the first punch. She connected direct hit to the head. 374 00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:15,719 Speaker 1: Jack tried to bob and weave like a prize fighter, 375 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,000 Speaker 1: but the over under favored Angelica. A fist to the face, 376 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:22,240 Speaker 1: another to his ear. Jack wrapped his arms around his head, 377 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:25,840 Speaker 1: so Whenjelica aimed lower and he exposed, part of Jack's 378 00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:29,359 Speaker 1: body was fair game. Her fist found his chest, his back, 379 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:34,560 Speaker 1: his shoulders, Her face was beat red, tears ran down it. Jesus. 380 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:39,040 Speaker 1: Jack thought, the suit, Watch the goddamn suit. It was 381 00:23:39,119 --> 00:23:42,399 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty nine, but Jack was trying his best to 382 00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:45,560 Speaker 1: look like it was actually nineteen forty eight, he had 383 00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:49,960 Speaker 1: managed to resurrect The Two Jakes the long gestating sequels Chinatown, 384 00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:52,920 Speaker 1: and was wearing a tan suit to resurrect his role 385 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:56,800 Speaker 1: as Private Dick Jack Gidtis. That was the same year 386 00:23:56,840 --> 00:23:59,480 Speaker 1: that Jack helped breathe new life into the comic book 387 00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:03,240 Speaker 1: movie He played the Joker in Tim Burton's Batman. For 388 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:06,639 Speaker 1: The Two Jakes, they were still using Robert Town's script, 389 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:10,280 Speaker 1: but Bob Evans was paying Jack eleven million to star 390 00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:14,800 Speaker 1: and to direct. It seemed that once again Jack Nicholson 391 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:20,320 Speaker 1: was unbeatable. Angelica Houston thought otherwise, and she proved it 392 00:24:20,359 --> 00:24:22,800 Speaker 1: by beating the shit out of her boyfriend of nearly 393 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:26,600 Speaker 1: seventeen years inside his private bungalow. She didn't get the 394 00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:30,359 Speaker 1: satisfaction of having the entire Paramount Lot witness it, but 395 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:33,200 Speaker 1: she did get the satisfaction of knowing that the beatdown 396 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:37,080 Speaker 1: was more than justified. She had found love notes from 397 00:24:37,119 --> 00:24:39,960 Speaker 1: strange women in the past, not to mention the time 398 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,359 Speaker 1: when he and Angelica went to see Carol kingplay in 399 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:45,280 Speaker 1: Central Park and Joni Mitchell decided to sit on the 400 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:49,200 Speaker 1: ground between Jack's legs. Throughout the whole show. Jack had 401 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:52,200 Speaker 1: brushed both instances off it was meant for someone else 402 00:24:52,359 --> 00:24:56,119 Speaker 1: and we're old friends, but his infidelities had been escalating 403 00:24:56,160 --> 00:25:00,080 Speaker 1: as of late, or at least Angelica's awareness of his infidelity, 404 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:02,879 Speaker 1: as she could only imagine the way Jack looked at 405 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:05,879 Speaker 1: Cher Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer on the set of 406 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:09,040 Speaker 1: The Witches of Eastwick. There were three bombshells, and he 407 00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:12,480 Speaker 1: held the match to light the fuse. The night before 408 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:15,760 Speaker 1: Angelica went ballistic on her, Jack revealed to her that 409 00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:19,040 Speaker 1: he had had an affair with another woman, which honestly 410 00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:23,040 Speaker 1: was not entirely shocking. What was shocking was that Jack 411 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:26,280 Speaker 1: had also revealed that the other woman was pregnant and 412 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:30,920 Speaker 1: Jack was the father. Incredibly, That's not the only thing 413 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:33,760 Speaker 1: that sent Angelica Houston to Jack's bungalow in a full 414 00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:37,800 Speaker 1: blown rage. In addition to Jack's confession was a recent 415 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:42,439 Speaker 1: interview that Playboy model Karen Mayo Chandler had given. Karen 416 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:45,680 Speaker 1: said that Jack was quote a non stop sex machine. 417 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:48,959 Speaker 1: He's into fun of games like spanking, handcuffed whips, and 418 00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:54,880 Speaker 1: polaroid pictures. To Angelica, it was humiliation squared. What did 419 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:58,480 Speaker 1: she expect? Nearly seventeen years later, she called him the 420 00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:01,359 Speaker 1: hot Pole, for Christ's sakes, and that was the nickname 421 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:03,400 Speaker 1: she had given Jack back when Jack was handing out 422 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:06,879 Speaker 1: nicknames to his closest friends. If it's not obvious why 423 00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:09,760 Speaker 1: Angelica called him the hot Pole, it's because Jack Nicholson's 424 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:13,359 Speaker 1: libido ran like a fucking sst engine. He thought about 425 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:16,520 Speaker 1: sex all the time, talked about sex all the time, 426 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:20,560 Speaker 1: had sex all the time. After working with Jack on Batman, 427 00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:24,680 Speaker 1: Kim Basinger famously said he is the most highly sexualized 428 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:28,520 Speaker 1: individual I've ever met. It was rumored that Jack had 429 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:30,760 Speaker 1: an underground tunnel that ran from his house in the 430 00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:34,600 Speaker 1: Hollywood Hills directly to the Playboy Mansion. It was also 431 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:37,440 Speaker 1: rumored that he had had an affair with Margaret Trudeau, 432 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:41,159 Speaker 1: wife of the former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, the 433 00:26:41,359 --> 00:26:45,120 Speaker 1: mother of current Canadian pajama boy Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. 434 00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:49,399 Speaker 1: Now that is a man who moves like Jagger. He 435 00:26:49,560 --> 00:26:52,960 Speaker 1: fathered six children by five different women. His one and 436 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:56,879 Speaker 1: only marriage ended in nineteen sixty eight. His entire angle 437 00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:59,680 Speaker 1: when playing Randall McMurphy and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's 438 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,199 Speaker 1: Nest was that his character was trying to seduce and 439 00:27:02,359 --> 00:27:05,920 Speaker 1: sleek with Nurse Ratchet. That's literally how he approached that role. 440 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:08,560 Speaker 1: He even admitted to getting turned on by the mora 441 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:13,320 Speaker 1: fucking Lisa jack sexually charged reputation may have been the 442 00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:16,840 Speaker 1: reason why in nineteen ninety six, when Jack was sixty three, 443 00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:21,440 Speaker 1: of prostitute suit him for assault. She claimed that Jack 444 00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:23,760 Speaker 1: hired her and another woman to come to his house 445 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:26,679 Speaker 1: in little black dresses, that it refused to pay their 446 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:29,960 Speaker 1: agreed upon raid of one thousand dollars each, that he 447 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:32,520 Speaker 1: dragged her around by the hair and slammed her head 448 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:35,360 Speaker 1: on the floor. She also claimed that one of her 449 00:27:35,359 --> 00:27:39,320 Speaker 1: breast implants ruptured during the altercation and she needed money 450 00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:43,040 Speaker 1: for the medical bills. The cops were called to Jack's 451 00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:45,880 Speaker 1: mallhall and drive house, but like the time when they 452 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:49,959 Speaker 1: investigated the Roman Polanski scandal, they once again left with 453 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:54,440 Speaker 1: no evidence of Jack's guilt. Despite that, Jack settled out 454 00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:57,280 Speaker 1: of court with his accuser for a total of ninety 455 00:27:57,320 --> 00:28:02,080 Speaker 1: two thousand dollars. But back in nineteen eighty nine, there 456 00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:05,400 Speaker 1: were no cops called to interfere with Angelica Houston's assault 457 00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:09,480 Speaker 1: on Jack Nicholson, and that was one hundred percent justified SmackDown, 458 00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:13,120 Speaker 1: and it also gave Jack pause when he licked his wounds. 459 00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:17,119 Speaker 1: Perhaps he wasn't the invincible a lister he saw himself as. 460 00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:20,919 Speaker 1: Perhaps as Jack had feared that one time when he 461 00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:23,919 Speaker 1: watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off in a theater surrounded by 462 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:27,760 Speaker 1: a cackling audience, his version of a movie star was 463 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:31,800 Speaker 1: on the verge of extinction. Perhaps this Chinatown sequel was 464 00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:33,920 Speaker 1: a giant turd of a picture, like they all had 465 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:37,320 Speaker 1: suspected from day one. But one thing was for sure. 466 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:41,040 Speaker 1: Jack's failure to be faithful and follow the simple rules 467 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:46,120 Speaker 1: and a monogamous human relationship led to one thing, emotional annihilation. 468 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:51,200 Speaker 1: And those were Jack's own words. I was annihilated emotionally 469 00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:55,080 Speaker 1: by the separation from Angelica, he said, referring to her split. 470 00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:58,840 Speaker 1: Following Angelica's display of anchor, he gave her a pearl 471 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:01,960 Speaker 1: and diamond bracelet Frank Sinatra had once given to Ava 472 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:06,240 Speaker 1: Gardner for Christmas that year, but the damage was already done, 473 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:09,080 Speaker 1: and since breaking the rules and breaking hearts was no 474 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:11,800 Speaker 1: longer working out for him, it was only a matter 475 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:14,760 Speaker 1: of time before Jack would find something else to break 476 00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:19,200 Speaker 1: and this time, Jack Nicholson would be the one assaulting 477 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:38,280 Speaker 1: somebody else. When The Two Jakes was finally released in 478 00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:42,680 Speaker 1: August of nineteen ninety, it bombed. The movie only did 479 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:46,000 Speaker 1: ten million dollars in domestic gross, which was a third 480 00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:48,600 Speaker 1: of the take that Chinatown had made back in nineteen 481 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:52,560 Speaker 1: seventy four. Ten million wasn't even enough to cover costs. 482 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:56,040 Speaker 1: Reviews were mixed. Plans for a third movie in the 483 00:29:56,120 --> 00:30:00,680 Speaker 1: Chinatown series were permanently canned. Within the space of little 484 00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:03,640 Speaker 1: more than twelve months, Jack Nicholson had gone from a 485 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:07,240 Speaker 1: box office success with his unforgettable performance as The Joker 486 00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:11,280 Speaker 1: and Tim Burton's Batman, to a forgettable box office failure. 487 00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:16,080 Speaker 1: Critical and commercial redemption came in nineteen ninety two with 488 00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:19,360 Speaker 1: the release of A Few Good Men. Jack received his 489 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:23,480 Speaker 1: tenth Academy Award nomination to date for his intense performance 490 00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:27,720 Speaker 1: as Colonel Nathan Jessom. Doubters be damned, they still needed 491 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:31,080 Speaker 1: him on that wall. But redemption at the box office 492 00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:35,120 Speaker 1: wasn't enough. Jack continued to weather emotional follow from his 493 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:39,160 Speaker 1: breakup with Angelica Houston, the woman Jack had left Angelica for, 494 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:42,680 Speaker 1: Rebecca Brossar, had two children with Jack before she too 495 00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:46,200 Speaker 1: left him. In nineteen ninety four, for the first time 496 00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:50,520 Speaker 1: in a long time, Jack found himself unattached. Perhaps his 497 00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:53,600 Speaker 1: days as Hollywood's pre eminent lady killer were behind him. 498 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:56,840 Speaker 1: Jack knew that for there to be good times, there 499 00:30:56,880 --> 00:30:59,240 Speaker 1: also had to be bad times, and for good days 500 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:03,719 Speaker 1: to exist, bad days were necessary. In February eighth, nineteen 501 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:07,360 Speaker 1: ninety four, was going to be a very bad day. 502 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:13,239 Speaker 1: Jack Nicholson sat in traffic on Moore Park in the 503 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:16,600 Speaker 1: San Fernando Valley, just north of la He was on 504 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:19,760 Speaker 1: his way to play golf, a leisure activity he'd taken 505 00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:21,800 Speaker 1: up to try to pass the time and keep the 506 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:27,760 Speaker 1: blood pressure down. Traffic inched along the pace was frustratingly slow. 507 00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:31,520 Speaker 1: Jack began to feel more and more impatient. As he 508 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:34,440 Speaker 1: approached a red light at the intersection of Riverside, a 509 00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:37,440 Speaker 1: big Mercedes Benz came out of nowhere and cut him off. 510 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:42,920 Speaker 1: No blinker, no warning, no nothing. Jack slammed on his horn. 511 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:45,120 Speaker 1: He threw his hands up in the air, and that 512 00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:48,160 Speaker 1: asshole on the Mercedes was just sitting there idling at 513 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:52,200 Speaker 1: the light. Jack put his car in park, stepped outside, 514 00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:54,600 Speaker 1: and walked around to the back. He opened the trunk. 515 00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:57,800 Speaker 1: He saw his golf bag. Inside. He selected the graphite 516 00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:00,560 Speaker 1: two iron. He never used the two iron e the course. 517 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:03,200 Speaker 1: A few people did. For one, it was long as shit, 518 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:05,480 Speaker 1: and it had one of the lowest loss of any club, 519 00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:07,120 Speaker 1: which is to say that the club head had a 520 00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:09,600 Speaker 1: little angle and was flat. It was hard to hit 521 00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:12,360 Speaker 1: a golf ball with a two iron, but Jack wasn't 522 00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:15,360 Speaker 1: going to hit a golf ball. Jack made a determined 523 00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:17,480 Speaker 1: walk to the Mercedes in front of his car, two 524 00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:20,840 Speaker 1: iron in hand. He thought about Angelica leaving him, and 525 00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:23,920 Speaker 1: then how Rebecca had left and they all left. He 526 00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:26,040 Speaker 1: raised the two iron into the air and brought it 527 00:32:26,080 --> 00:32:29,479 Speaker 1: down hard on the Mercedes's front windshield. The thing cracked 528 00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:32,320 Speaker 1: like an egg. Shards of glass shot out like sparks 529 00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:35,800 Speaker 1: from a live wire inside the car. The driver shrieked 530 00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:39,400 Speaker 1: and recoiled. Jack raised the two iron again. He thought 531 00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:41,480 Speaker 1: about the failure of the two Jakes and that other 532 00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:43,800 Speaker 1: failure man Trouble, And then he thought of the movie 533 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:46,280 Speaker 1: he was in the middle of making, a movie called Wolf, 534 00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:48,680 Speaker 1: and how he had quarreled with the screenwriter over the 535 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:51,240 Speaker 1: script so much that the screenwriter stormed off the set 536 00:32:51,320 --> 00:32:53,480 Speaker 1: quit on the spot and vowed never to return to 537 00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:57,120 Speaker 1: Hollywood again. Good riddance, pal, Jack thought, as he slammed 538 00:32:57,120 --> 00:33:00,040 Speaker 1: the golf club against the car one more time. The 539 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:02,760 Speaker 1: driver inside was curled up like a baby and cursing 540 00:33:02,760 --> 00:33:06,720 Speaker 1: a blue streak. And then Jack walked calmly back to 541 00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:09,320 Speaker 1: his car, threw the two iron back in the trunk, 542 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:12,520 Speaker 1: pulled a passive aggress of one to eighty, and sped away. 543 00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:17,520 Speaker 1: It just wasn't a good day to go golfing, after all, 544 00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:23,160 Speaker 1: and later that day the doorbell rang at Jack's house LAPD. 545 00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:26,520 Speaker 1: Jack quietly went with the cops to the Van Nuys 546 00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:28,840 Speaker 1: station in the valley, where he was charged with two 547 00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:32,800 Speaker 1: counts of assault. The driver of the Mercedes managed to 548 00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:36,080 Speaker 1: take down Jack's license plate before we sped off, and 549 00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:39,400 Speaker 1: there were other eyewitnesses too, and the driver followed up 550 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:42,440 Speaker 1: the churches with a civil suit for his injuries and trauma. 551 00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:46,200 Speaker 1: This wasn't the Boston Garden, and Jack hadn't simply shown 552 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:48,840 Speaker 1: his bare ass and a fit of frustration. He had 553 00:33:48,920 --> 00:33:52,040 Speaker 1: violently attacked someone else's vehicle with the intent to inflict 554 00:33:52,040 --> 00:33:56,400 Speaker 1: the maximum damage. Before the case went to court, Jack 555 00:33:56,480 --> 00:34:00,640 Speaker 1: settled with the driver for an undisclosed sum. Allegedly, Jack 556 00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:04,640 Speaker 1: coughed up five hundred grand. He also made a public apology. 557 00:34:05,200 --> 00:34:08,120 Speaker 1: Jack admitted that his road rage was quote a shameful 558 00:34:08,160 --> 00:34:11,319 Speaker 1: incident in my life. He was worked up, he had 559 00:34:11,360 --> 00:34:13,839 Speaker 1: a lot on his mind. It's just one of those 560 00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:17,960 Speaker 1: fucking days. And who knows. Maybe the driver hadn't cut 561 00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:20,840 Speaker 1: him off after all. Maybe Jack was just looking for 562 00:34:20,880 --> 00:34:23,640 Speaker 1: an excuse to unleash some of that pent up energy. 563 00:34:24,400 --> 00:34:27,640 Speaker 1: Months later, near the end of nineteen ninety four, a 564 00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:31,360 Speaker 1: letter arrived at Jack's mallhalland drive house was from the 565 00:34:31,480 --> 00:34:35,880 Speaker 1: driver of that Mercedes. The letter was an apology to Jack. 566 00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:39,719 Speaker 1: The driver admitted that he had cut Jack off, that 567 00:34:39,800 --> 00:34:43,120 Speaker 1: he had flagorably disregarded the rules of the road, that 568 00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:47,480 Speaker 1: he had been in the wrong. Jack couldn't believe what 569 00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:50,000 Speaker 1: he was reading. He didn't care about the money that 570 00:34:50,040 --> 00:34:51,839 Speaker 1: he paid out or what the incident had done to 571 00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:55,160 Speaker 1: his record or reputation. He was Jack Nicholson, after all, 572 00:34:55,600 --> 00:34:58,600 Speaker 1: He'd had an incredible career for over twenty years, and 573 00:34:58,640 --> 00:35:00,720 Speaker 1: he had at least another twenty years of good movies 574 00:35:00,719 --> 00:35:03,720 Speaker 1: and bad movies ahead of him. He'd focus on the good, 575 00:35:04,080 --> 00:35:07,759 Speaker 1: and he'd relish the good days like this day. He 576 00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:11,840 Speaker 1: felt pardoned, he felt acknowledged, He felt that feeling of 577 00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:15,400 Speaker 1: a reversal of fortune on the horizon, the kind of 578 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:21,320 Speaker 1: feeling that ought to be in pictures. I'm Jake Brennan 579 00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:38,480 Speaker 1: and this is hollywood Land. Hollywood Land was created by 580 00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:41,760 Speaker 1: Years Truly and is produced in partnership with Double Elvis. 581 00:35:42,560 --> 00:35:45,239 Speaker 1: Follow like, rate, and review hollywood Land wherever you get 582 00:35:45,239 --> 00:35:47,200 Speaker 1: your podcasts, and get in touch with us on social 583 00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:50,719 Speaker 1: media at double Elvis. If you like hollywood Land, check 584 00:35:50,719 --> 00:35:53,640 Speaker 1: out my other show, the award winning Disgraceland, which looks 585 00:35:53,680 --> 00:35:55,800 Speaker 1: at the world of music through the lens of true crime. 586 00:35:55,880 --> 00:35:58,759 Speaker 1: Just search for Disgraceland or wherever you get your podcasts. 587 00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:05,719 Speaker 1: That's there's a whe