Five Easy Decades: How Jack Nicholson Became the Biggest Movie Star in Modern Times

by Dennis McDougal

Praise for Five Easy How Jack Nicholson Became the Biggest Movie Star in Modern Times

"Dennis McDougal is a rare Hollywood honest, fearless, nobody's fool. This is unvarnished Jack for Jack-lovers and Jack-skeptics but, also, for anyone interested in the state of American culture and celebrity. I always read Mr. McDougal for pointers but worry that he will end up in a tin drum off the coast of New Jersey."
-- Patrick McGilligan, author of Jack's Life and Alfred A Life in Darkness and Light

Praise for Privileged Otis Chandler and the Rise and Fall of the L.A. Times Dynasty

"A great freeway pileup--part biography, part dysfunctional family chronicle, and part institutional and urban history, with generous dollops of scandal and gossip."
-- Hendrick Hertzberg, The New Yorker

"McDougal has managed to scale the high walls that have long protected the Chandler clan and returned with wicked tales told by angry ex-wives and jealous siblings."
--The Washington Post

Praise for The Last Lew Wasserman, MCA and the Hidden History of Hollywood

"Real glamour needs a dark side. That is part of the fascination of Dennis McDougal's wonderful book."
--The Economist

"Thoroughly reported and engrossing . . . the most noteworthy trait of MCA was how it hid its power."
--The New York Times Book Review

"Over the years, I've read hundreds of books on Hollywood and the movie business, and this one is right at the top."
-- Michael Blowen, The Boston Globe

Genres: Biography, Film, Nonfiction, Media Tie In, History

512 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2007

About the author

Dennis McDougal was an American author and newspaper journalist, who has been called "L.A.'s No. 1 muckraker". His book Privileged Son was described as "illuminating reading for anyone interested in 20th-century Los Angeles or modern-day newspapering" by The New York Times. A native of Southern California, he lived near Memphis, Tennessee.

Reviews

[Pearce · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second half is a lot less interesting than the first - much like his career.

[deleted d · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t find much info on the book online. So can’t say much about the book.

I did notice how long it took him to be successful as an actor, practically over 13 years until he caught some attention and was noticed. Persistance and mastery it seems :)

[Shanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the book seemed like it just listed his life in chronological order without much colorful story type telling with it. Not the most creativite or enjoyable biography I have read, but there is no denying Jack led a full and interesting life.

[Josh Avery · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is so much more to John Joseph Nicholson Jr. than Ray Bans and front row Lakers tickets. This the closest you will ever get to a Jack autobiography as he refuses to write one and will not do television interviews at all. The woman he was raised to believe was his sister June was actually his mom and his grandma, he believed was his mother, which caused him to have trust issues with women his entire life. Married only once with 6 kids, ages 59 - 24 he has always been in their lives and refuses to have them photographed to protect privacy. He also, however, is also an arrogant womanizer who beds younger women as he gets older. He is notoriously cheap, yet is also extremely generous with people he trusts. He has been nominated for 10 Oscars winning 3 and is extremely loyal to those he trusts. If you put a list together of the greatest American born actors, he is arguably in the top five if not the top 10 of all time. Jack will always be a mystery and he prefers to keep it that way until he takes his last breath. This author harps on Jack's drug use in every chapter and seems to use it as his reasoning for his flaws. It's an interesting book, but not a great one.

B-

[Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent insight on Nicholson. There are some factual inconsistencies and slight errors found throughout. For example: “Hunter S. Thompson put a shotgun to his head and pulled the trigger.” on page 401 is not correct. Aside from a few things like this, the book does a great job covering his life in a nutshell. I would recommended reading this, as well as another book on Nicholson to get a full scope of his life.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Nicholson is a fascinating character - a man who found out the woman he believed to be his sister was really his mother and his "mother" was really his grandmother (not unlike one of his best movies Chinatown) - and one who has stayed at the top of the heap for decades. He's unapologetic in his demand for complete loyalty while at the same time he will simply cut off contact when he is displeased. He is a man who loves women but refuses to make compromises to have them in his life (with the exception of his children). I just found him really interesting as a person, and the book was a well-paced read that kept me engaged from beginning to end.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting biography about one of my favorite movie stars.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Articulate look into the life and work of one of cinema's most endearing and revered actors.

[Christopher]

Always loved him as an actor, found his life story great. If you are a fan it's a must read.