The family secret Jack Nicholson discovered as an adult: his sister was actually his mother

Jack Nicholson he knew how to build an impeccable wagon as an actor thanks to his versatility. As he told on some occasion, the love for acting was always running through his veins. Even though I was in school, I dreamed of being Marlon brando. Imagination did not even allow her to suspect that much later they would end up comparing him to him.

In 1954 he finished high school and went on vacation to Los Angeles – he was born and raised in New Jersey – and there the lights dazzled him. A year later, looking for work, he entered the Metro Goldwyn Mayer. It wasn’t what he was looking for, but at least he was in the right place. He knew that at some point the opportunity would come because he trusted his qualities.

They paid him $ 30 a week to receive the letters that came from fans of Tom & jerry, and sort them alphabetically. With that money he began to study dramatic art. There he met the director and producer Roger corman, who later gave him a place in the movie The Cry Baby Killer, in 1958.

In 1963 he made his debut as a film director with the film The horror, although conspicuously it did not appear in the credits. Yes he did on his second try: Drive, i’ve said. As an actor, after several minor projects, his cinematographic takeoff was in 1969 in the film Easy rider. The beginning of his ladder to fame was accompanied by his first nomination for the Oscar.

But Easy rider It was not only his takeoff, his arrival in Hollywood, but the moment in which he discovered the best kept secret that his family had. Everyone knew it except him. What happened to him? Nicholson learned that whoever he believed to be his older sister was actually his mother. A drama that not even the most audacious of screenwriters would think of for a film.

The first doubtful situation about his life history occurred in 1954 when he wanted to get his driving license and there he learned that he did not have a birth certificate. They gave him a provisional certificate proving that he had been born on April 22, 1937. Ethel May -his supposed mother- presented a voucher indicating the place where Jack had been born, and the confusion was resolved. They gave him the card and he did not inquire why his papers were not in order.

Shortly after that situation, the lady died. In 1963 he also passed away June Nicholson, who Jack thought was his older sister. Years later they told him that June was actually his mother, but that he had never been able to say it because of what they will say. They were different times. And the woman he thought was his mother Ethel, and John, his supposed father, were his grandparents.

The story goes that June was 17 when she became pregnant with Jack and was not sure who the father was. In addition, she wanted to be an actress and a dancer, and she understood that raising a child alone would not be able to carry him forward, so she looked for an alternative, without aborting being in her plans. June concealed the pregnancy and once she gave birth, her mother adopted the child as her own.

Jack only learned the truth when he was 37 years old. When the protagonists of the story died, the other relatives who were aware of the situation decided to reveal the secret. Those people hadn’t spoken before because there was a pact that Nicholson’s fame only strengthened.

Once he knew who his mother was, Jack also tried to hide it; in short, there was nothing to do. He had no one to blame, curse or forgive. However, a rigorous investigation by a journalist from the magazine Time made the truth come out. If it hadn’t been for the documentary Dr. Jack and Mr. Nicholson, its origins would never have been known.

“After all, when I found out who my mother was, I was already psychologically mature. In fact, it clarified many things for me. If I felt something, it was, above all, gratitude, ”Nicholson later said. From the magazine it was reported that it had been Lorraine, his younger sister (actually, his aunt), who had told the story, after feeling the need to vent.

In 1984, in an interview with the Rolling stone, Jack took the drama out of his origins. “If June or Ethel had less character, I would never have lived. Those women gave me the gift of life. They trained me well. To this day I have not borrowed a nickel from anyone and I have never believed that I cannot take care of myself. They made my self-sufficiency imperative ”.

The man said that he always looked very similar to June, in his features and a similar personality. But of course, since he thought she was his sister, all that he thought didn’t sound so crazy, that’s why he never asked anything, much less suspected, despite the fact that he identified more with her than with who supposedly his mother was.

The intrigue that continues to haunt is the identity of his father. Nicholson is 84 years old, and his father may no longer be alive. All of this would make the search much more complex. According to different reports, indications were given, possible names, but nothing in particular. In the biography Jack’s life, mention is made of Eddie king, actor and June’s dance partner, already Don Furcillo-Rose. The latter claimed to be sure and even asked for a DNA test, but the actor refused. Jack clarified that he has no interest in knowing.

In short, it is enough for Jack Nicholson to know that he was happy with those two women, beyond the role that each one occupied in his life.

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