Opinion | After Kobe Bryant bid farewell, God forbid Jack Nicholson leaves the Lakers
The glitz is up north now and, while the titles may not be, the title is. As the Golden State Warriors prepared to defend their first NBA championship in 40 years, their southern California neighbours, the Los Angeles Lakers, with 11 championships in the last 44 years, closed the book on one of their most forgettable seasons and one of their most unforgettable stars.
Kobe Bryant had a most Hollywood ending to his 20-year reign in Lakers Land. For many of us it was a moment of unmistakable mortality. Kobe’s retiring? We are old - and even more emotionally daunting may have been the sight of Lakers stalwart Jack Nicholson, back in his courtside seats for Bryant’s farewell game.
He still looks good, Jack, still has the irrepressible Cheshire cat grin and is still the coolest man in the room even at 79 years of age. He is arguably the greatest of the great in Hollywood lore, on par with icons like Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant. A movie stars’ movie star, no TV sitcoms to pad his bank account in his dotage. The only time Jack ever showed up on TV was at a Lakers game.
In the ultimate “see and be seen” town, courtside seats at a Lakers game are the ultimate “see and be seen” accessory and it was Jack, with season tickets for the last 46 years, who was basically the first celeb to put down roots courtside.
Not surprisingly it was Jack in the Kobe video tribute that spoke last. “Goodbye Kobe,” he said, “I think I may retire with you. I’m not sure.”
A movie stars’ movie star, no TV sitcoms to pad his bank account in his dotage. The only time Jack ever showed up on TV was at a Lakers game
And we are not sure either if he was referring to retiring from movies or the Lakers. Considering he has not made a movie since the eminently forgettable How Do You Know in 2010 and has no future projects on the docket, he is basically retired from film.