Nicholson: A Biography

Celebrity watchers will not be disappointed by this engrossing biography of Academy Award winner Jack Nicholson. Eliot, who has written more than a dozen books on popular culture, including biographies of Cary Grant, James Stewart, and Clint Eastwood, expertly covers Nicholson's early life, his collaboration with B movie director Roger Corman, and his breakout performance in Easy Rider, followed by stardom in 40-plus films, such as Five Easy Pieces, The Shining, Chinatown, and The Departed. Eliot also captures Nicholson's "bad boy" image, the actor's many love affairs (Michelle Phillips, Anjelica Huston), his obsession with the L.A. Lakers, and escapades in his freewheeling personal life. Nicholson fans may be surprised by some of what is revealed. For instance, he was more famous in his early career for writing screenplays (he cowrote the Monkees movie Head with director Bob Rafelson and wrote the Corman-directed cult classic The Trip), he fathered Susan Anspach's child when she starred with him in Five Easy Pieces, and he didn't discover who his real parents were until he was a famous adult. Now 76, Nicholson hasn't made a movie since 2010, leading to retirement rumors.