--- title: Jack Nicholson: Photos of a Movie Star on the Brink of Fame, 1969 description: A series of photographs taken in Los Angeles in 1969 that never ran in LIFE magazine. canonical: https://time.com/3673020/jack-nicholson-early-photos/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2012-04-20T19:28:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:06:09.109Z og:title: Jack Nicholson: Photos of a Movie Star on the Brink of Fame, 1969 og:description: LIFE presents photos of the actor at a critical juncture in his career: in 1969, when he was being lauded for 'Easy Rider' and preparing to star in one of the great films of the '70s, 'Five Easy Pieces'. og:url: https://time.com/3673020/jack-nicholson-early-photos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltac9c4bf37f6809f5/69877a99524fc03530debfaf/150118-jack-nicholson-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Jack Nicholson at home in 1969 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jack Nicholson: Photos of a Movie Star on the Brink of Fame, 1969 twitter:description: LIFE presents photos of the actor at a critical juncture in his career: in 1969, when he was being lauded for 'Easy Rider' and preparing to star in one of the great films of the '70s, 'Five Easy Pieces'. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltac9c4bf37f6809f5/69877a99524fc03530debfaf/150118-jack-nicholson-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # LIFE With Jack Nicholson: Early Photos of an Actor on the Brink > Sponsored content. 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Its journalism is reported and edited by a professional newsroom led by Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, with named correspondents on politics, climate, health, technology and culture. It reaches 1 million US print subscribers and 1.15 million globally, plus more than 1.1 million newsletter readers. #### How do I subscribe to TIME magazine? Subscriptions are at time.com/subscribe-agent. Choose digital only at $20 a year, or print and digital from $29 a year or $49 for two years. TIME also publishes seven free email newsletters at time.com/newsletters, which do not require a subscription. #### Can I cancel a TIME subscription? Yes. TIME states that subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. #### Does TIME have free newsletters? Yes. TIME publishes seven free email newsletters reaching more than 1.1 million readers, covering daily news, Washington politics, health, AI, climate and energy, culture, and the newsroom itself. They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=1b3cd770-d445-490a-99d1-ffc2761df319&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) * TIME Subscriptions: [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=1b3cd770-d445-490a-99d1-ffc2761df319&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Apr 20, 2012 7:28 PM UTC  Jack Nicholson at home in Los Angeles, 1969\. In an issue of LIFE from March 1970, the magazine noted that Nicholson "is a rock fan who enjoys his music with a headset." Jack Nicholson at home in Los Angeles, 1969\. In an issue of LIFE from March 1970, the magazine noted that Nicholson "is a rock fan who enjoys his music with a headset."Arthur Schatz—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Apr 20, 2012 7:28 PM UTC As difficult as it might be to fathom today — when the man known to all the world as “Jack” has journeyed from respected actor to movie star to superstar to pop-culture touchstone — as hard as it might be to grasp, there was a time when John Joseph Nicholson was merely another Hollywood up and comer. More promising and talented than many, perhaps. Certainly more riveting, as both an artist and as an individual, than most. But still, in the late 1960s, Jack Nicholson was just Jack Nicholson: a guy with some interesting, supporting roles under his belt and, one suspected, a slew of starring roles in his future. In September 1969, not long after Nicholson had charmed moviegoers and critics alike with his deceptively easygoing performance as a sweet-natured, booze-sodden, small-town lawyer in Dennis Hopper’s _Easy Rider_, LIFE sent Arthur Schatz to photograph the 32-year-old actor at his new home on Mulholland Drive, overlooking Franklin Canyon in Los Angeles. Here, LIFE.com offers a series of Schatz’s photographs from that shoot that were never published in LIFE. In pictures that feature Nicholson playing with his 5-year-old daughter, Jennifer; taking his very first piano lesson from teacher Josef Pacholczyk in preparation for his next role (as classical pianist-turned-roughneck Robert Dupea in one of the great American films of the 1970s, _Five Easy Pieces_); hanging out with his friend and the director of _Five Easy Pieces_, Bob Rafelson; and generally enjoying the good life in sunny California, Schatz captured the private side of a man on the brink of what would prove to be life-changing stardom. In typed notes by writer Judy Fayard that accompanied Schatz’s film to the LIFE offices New York, meanwhile, one discovers small insights into the man who, one day, would be acknowledged as Hollywood’s uncrowned king. For example, Fayard recalls that at one point during the shoot, Nicholson — who in 1969 drove a yellow convertible VW bug — stated that “anyone out here who doesn’t drive a Volks is either ostentatious or stupid.” (Of course, reading that quote in 2012, it’s hard not to ask the question: _What does Jack drive these days?_) Ultimately, though, perhaps the most fascinating aspect of these pictures, four long decades later, is how recognizable today’s Nicholson is in them — that is to say, how recognizably _Jack_ he is in them. The energy, the charisma, the intelligence, the well-known (and so-often lovingly parodied) grin: these are all utterly familiar traits of a singular figure who, well into his 70s, continues to command not only the big screen, but any public event — the Oscars, a Lakers game, a golf tournament — he happens to attend. More than any other actor alive, Jack happily looms like some trickster colossus over the entire Hollywood landscape . . . and no one anywhere begrudges him his dominion.  Jack Nicholson at home in Los Angeles, 1969\. In an issue of LIFE from March 1970, the magazine noted that Nicholson "is a rock fan who enjoys his music with a headset." Arthur Schatz—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Jack Nicholson at home in Los Angeles, 1969. Arthur Schatz—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Jack Nicholson at home in 1969 Arthur Schatz—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Jack Nicholson plays with his daughter, Jennifer, on the deck of his home overlooking Franklin Canyon, Los Angeles, 1969. Arthur Schatz—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Jack Nicholson and his daughter, Jennifer, on the deck of his home overlooking Franklin Canyon, Los Angeles, 1969. Arthur Schatz—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Jack Nicholson and director Bob Rafelson chat on the deck of Nicholson's home, Los Angeles, 1969. Arthur Schatz—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Jack Nicholson looks at film negatives at his home, Los Angeles, 1969. Arthur Schatz—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Jack Nicholson clowns around at his home with a picture of his friend, the film director Bob Rafelson, Los Angeles, 1969. Arthur Schatz—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Jack Nicholson and his daughter, Jennifer, on the deck of his home overlooking Franklin Canyon, Los Angeles, 1969. Arthur Schatz—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Jack Nicholson at home in 1969, taking his first piano lesson with teacher Josef Pacholczyk, prior to starring as a classical pianist-turned-roughneck in the 1970 classic, Five Easy Pieces. Arthur Schatz—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Jack Nicholson at home in 1969, taking his first piano lesson with teacher Josef Pacholczyk, prior to starring in the 1970 classic, Five Easy Pieces. Arthur Schatz—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Jack Nicholson at home in 1969, taking his first piano lesson with teacher Josef Pacholczyk, prior to starring in the 1970 classic, Five Easy Pieces. Arthur Schatz—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Jack Nicholson in his beloved Volkswagen convertible, Los Angeles, 1969\. According to notes by writer Judy Fayard that accompanied Arthur Schatz's film when it was sent to LIFE's offices in New York, Nicholson said that "anyone out here who doesn't drive a Volks is either ostentatious or stupid." Arthur Schatz—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Jack Nicholson — wearing what typewritten notes by writer Judy Fayard called "his standard driving regalia: peaked cap, Grand Prix medallion and yellow shades — in his yellow Volkswagen convertible, Los Angeles, 1969. Arthur Schatz—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Jack Nicholson drives his yellow Volkswagen convertible, Los Angeles, 1969. 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