Jack Nicholson Spotted In Public For First Time in Months At Lakers Game
Jack Nicholson was back courtside at the Lakers playoff game.
When it comes to modern Hollywood, it’s been a weird time for aging celebrities. For example, fans were heartbroken to learn about how Bruce Willis (star of killer movies like Die Hard) getting diagnosed with aphasia and, later, dementia. Previously, GFR reported that Jack Nicholson’s friends thought he had dementia and was in danger of dying a recluse, but Nicholson recently proved everyone wrong by making his first public appearance in months at a Lakers game.
If you didn’t already know, Jack Nicholson is a huge Lakers fan and has frequently attended games in the past. In fact, the fact that he seemingly stopped coming to these games in 2021 was one of the reasons that friends worried he was becoming a recluse. But this former Batman villain thought the recent match between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies important enough to return to the court.
The last time Jack Nicholson attended a Lakers game, the familiar stadium was still known as Staples Center. Since then, the influence of tech bros (including many of the same ones pushing ChatGPT and other forms of AI) has led to this venue getting renamed the Crypto.com arena. Fortunately, what’s on the inside counts, and everyone was happy to see Nicholson taking his familiar courtside seat before the game started.
And with respect to the Lakers, Jack Nicholson dropping in quickly became the highlight of the evening for just about everyone involved. He chatted up some big names like LeBron James and Larry David, and he even took the time to snap a picture with Tee Morant, father to Grizzlies player Ja Morant. But perhaps the biggest sign (quite literally) of the love the arena had for the actor was the special JumboTron tribute they created for him.
In recent years, the NBA created a sweet tradition in which players coming back to their former teams would get special tribute clips to honor their triumphant return. Since Jack Nicholson is the biggest Lakers fan and was making his own triumphant return to the stadium, those operating the JumoTron played a special highlight reel honoring some of his biggest Hollywood roles. Specifically, the reel focused on his masterfully-maddening performance in The Shining as well as his iconic performance as the Joker battling Michael Keaton in the 1989 Batman.
While Jack Nicholson clearly finds friends wherever he goes, the actor would have still had great company even without all this special attention from players and fellow celebs. That’s because he was joined by both his son Ray and his grandson Duke. While these relatives generally lead much quieter lives than Jack, Duke has become a relatively famous face among music fans for appearing with Lana Del Rey on the cover of her killer album Norman F***ing Rockwell.
Ultimately, we think Jack Nicholson dropping by a big game like this is a sign that he is much healthier and less reclusive than earlier reports indicated. He is active and alert, showing no signs of dementia when interacting with countless fans in the arena. Even though Nicholson is now making public appearances again, you probably shouldn’t get your hopes up about seeing his Joker character in The Flash…unless the Lakers are playing while the cameras are rolling.
