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Born in New Jersey, 1937, Nicholson was abandoned by his father and was raised believing that his grandmother was his mother and his mother his older sister. At 17 he worked as an office boy at MGM and after a few TV roles made his film debut in 1958 with Cry Baby Killer. He worked for Roger Corman through the 60s before his big break came when Rip Torn pulled out of Easy Rider. An Oscar nomination and a series of offbeat, intense roles followed, culminating in his Oscar-winning performance as Randale McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1975. More recently he notched up another Oscar for his role in As Good As It Gets (1997).
