Jack Nicholson Missing Baby Teeth Mystery Is As Bizarre As It Sounds
Of all the celebrity items to be sold in an auction, few have attracted the attention of Jack Nicholson’s baby teeth. Some time ago, an auction-style TV channel made world news by putting these unusual items up for bid, enraging the actor and piquing curiosity before the item and news surrounding it altogether disappeared from media attention. Years later, an exclusive from Vulture dug into the history of this insane auction story and revealed it to be a massive con game pulled on viewers by a television channel wrought with fraud.
Auctionworld Claims To Possess Jack Nicholson’s Baby Teeth
The crazy story began more than two decades ago when a British tabloid television station, Auctionworld, claimed to have possession of The Shining actor’s baby teeth. In the fall of 2001, the fledgling channel wanted something that would really attract attention and give it a boost to earn new viewers. What could be more attention-getting than celebrity actor Jack Nicholson’s baby teeth?
Auctionworld was the British equivalent of its American counterpart, QVC. But instead of Bradford Exchange style commemorative plates and tacky jewelry that only a rural grandmother could love, the new station would put up “limited quantity” items like jewel-encrusted globes and Matt Damon’s Saving Private Ryan uniform. It might sound like a legit endeavor, but behind the scenes there was a reported amount of shady antics afoot.
Shady Business
Even before the channel decided to sell off Jack Nicholson’s baby teeth, the owner of Auctionworld was running up bids and “randomly changing the number of items on offer” by calling into the channel from his home. Regulators in the United Kingdom eventually caught on to the crooked practices and fined the network $450,000. That was the final blow for Auctionworld, leading to its owner abandoning the country and leaving orders unfilled and employees unpaid.
A Big Lie
As it turns out, the item being sold as Jack Nicholson’s baby teeth weren’t legitimate either. Vulture tracked down a former employee of a PR firm named Ben Keen, who told the outlet that he was just starting out in the PR world when he was assigned by his employer to drum up business with a new client. The client turned out to be Auctionworld.
Never Even Reacted
Eager to impress his new charges, Keen concocted a press release about Jack Nicholson’s teeth and the media ran with it. He admitted to Vulture that the part about the actor being angry was also made up by Keen, just to make the story more controversial. With the attention on Auctionworld at a fever pitch, the channel rolled with it and went on news channels to talk about their bizarre item up for auction.
Jack Nicholson Plays It Cool
Jack Nicholson has been notoriously avoiding media contact for years, leading some to believe that he and his representatives never thought the baby teeth lie was one even worth going on the record about. When Auctionworld folded quickly after its craziest item was publicized, the story of how a British channel once sold off the actor’s teeth floated around online with numerous speculations about its origin story and trajectory after 2001. Now, thanks to Vulture, the mystery has been solved.
Sources: Vulture
