Jack Nicholson, born on April 22, 1937, in Neptune, NJ, began in films as an office boy in MGM's cartoon department and made his movie debut in the title role of The Cry Baby Killer (1958), the first in a long series of low-budget features in which he acted and for which he often contributed stories and screenplays. His breakthrough as an actor came in Five Easy Pieces (1970), in which he played a dropout lawyer and earned the first of his 12 Oscar nominations -- a record for a male performer.

Nicholson won the award itself for his performances in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), Terms of Endearment (1983) and As Good As It Gets (1997). Among his other nominated performances are those in Chinatown (1974), Prizzi's Honor (1985) and, most recently, About Schmidt (2002). His colorful roles include two turns as a horse thief in offbeat Westerns, first opposite Marlon Brando in The Missouri Breaks (1976) and then in Goin' South (1978), which Nicholson also directed. Without peer in projecting sheer hostility and self-righteous outrage, Nicholson recently appeared in Anger Management (2003).

The following films will be shown in TCM's tribute to Jack Nicholson: Chinatown (1974), The Missouri Breaks (1976), Goin' South (1978) and Terms of Endearment (1983).