- Nick Nolte
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Nick Nolte 
Nolte at the Toronto International Film Festival, 2005Born Nicholas King Nolte
February 8, 1941 (age 70)
Omaha, Nebraska, USOccupation Actor Years active 1969–present Spouse Sheila Page (1966–70)
Sharyn Haddad (1978–83)
Rebecca Linger (1984–94)Partner Karen Louise Ecklund (1970–77)
Vicki Lewis (1994–2003)
Clytie Lane (2003–present)Nicholas King "Nick" Nolte (born February 8, 1941) is an American actor whose career has spanned over five decades, peaking in the 1990s when his commercial success made him one of the most popular celebrities of that decade.
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Early life
Nolte was born Nicholas King Nolte in Omaha, Nebraska on February 8, 1941, the son of Helen (née King), a department store buyer, and Franklin A. Nolte, a farmer's son who worked in irrigation pump sales and who was an All-American football player at Iowa State University in 1934.[1][2] Nolte's father was of German descent.[3] Nolte's maternal grandfather, Matthew Leander King, invented the hollow-tile silo and was prominent in early aviation. His maternal grandmother ran the student union at Iowa State University. He has an older sister, Nancy, who was an executive for the Red Cross.
Nolte went to Westside High School in Omaha, where he was the kicker on the football team. Nolte originally attended Benson High, but got kicked out for a fight and hiding beer before practice and then getting caught drinking it during a practice session.[citation needed]
He later attended Pasadena City College in southern California, and Arizona State University in Tempe (on a football scholarship); Eastern Arizona College in Thatcher; and Phoenix College in Phoenix. At Eastern Arizona, Nolte lettered in football as a tight end and defensive end, in basketball as a forward, and as a catcher on the baseball team. Poor grades eventually ended his studies, at which point his career in theatre began in earnest. While in college, Nolte worked for the Falstaff Brewery in Omaha.
After stints at the Pasadena Playhouse and The Stella Adler Academy in Los Angeles, Nolte spent several years traveling the country and working in regional theaters, among them the Old Log Theater in Minnesota, where he worked for three years.
Career
Modeling
Nolte was a model in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In one national magazine advertisement in 1972, he appeared in jeans and an open jean shirt for Clairol's "Summer Blonde" hair lightener sitting on a log next to a blonde Sigourney Weaver.[citation needed] The pair also appeared on the packaging.
Acting career
Nolte first gained national attention and critical acclaim for his performance in Rich Man, Poor Man, a 1976 television miniseries based on Irwin Shaw's 1970 best-selling novel. Since then he's appeared in more than 40 films, playing a wide variety of characters. Diversity of character, and his trademark athleticism and gravelly voice, are signatures of Nolte's career. In 1973 he appeared in Lorne Greene's ABC crime drama Griff in the episode "Who Framed Billy the Kid?", in the role of Billy Randolph, a football player accused of murder. He co-starred alongside Andy Griffith in Winter Kill, a TV movie made as the pilot of a possible television series, and another one, Adams of Eagle Lake, but neither was picked up as a series.[citation needed]
Nolte's first major film role was starring opposite Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Shaw in 1977's The Deep. He followed this with Who'll Stop the Rain in 1978 and North Dallas Forty, based on the Peter Gent novel, in 1979. The 1982 buddy cop/convict film 48 Hrs. strongly bolstered his film career and made his co-star Eddie Murphy a box-office sensation. He continued starring in films throughout the 1980s, including Under Fire (1983) with Gene Hackman, Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986) with Richard Dreyfuss and Bette Midler, Extreme Prejudice (1987) and New York Stories (1989) under the direction of Martin Scorsese. Nick Nolte told Screen Comment’s Sam Weisberg about how he prepared for his role in Down and Out in Beverly Hills, a film he which he plays a homeless man: "I was hanging out around this homeless section, it was like Whorehouse Alley, and I was sleeping there for two days before I was supposed to get a bed in a mission shelter. It doesn’t take more than seven hours or so outside to turn into a space cadet. Your mind just gets nuts. And then I couldn’t get into the shelter. I didn’t have seniority." After that experience, Nolte delved further into the part by refusing to bathe for weeks. "[Co-star] Bette Midler was disgusted," Nolte chuckled.[4]
He began the 1990s working with Murphy again in the sequel Another 48 Hours. Nolte had perhaps his greatest box office success in 1991, starring in The Prince of Tides with Barbra Streisand, for which he received his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Though he lost to Anthony Hopkins for The Silence of the Lambs, he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. That same year he starred in Martin Scorsese's remake of Cape Fear with Robert De Niro and Jessica Lange.
Nolte's solid work continued with Lorenzo's Oil (1992) opposite Susan Sarandon, Mulholland Falls (1996), and After Glow (1997) for which his co-star Julie Christie received her third Academy Award nomination. He received his second Academy Award nomination the same year for his work in Affliction, but lost to Roberto Benigni for Life Is Beautiful. However, Nolte's co-star, James Coburn, won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing the father of Nolte's character. That same year, Nolte starred in Terrence Malick's highly anticipated film The Thin Red Line.
Nolte continued to work through the 2000s, taking smaller parts in Clean and Hotel Rwanda; both performances received positive reviews. He also played supporting roles in the 2006 drama Peaceful Warrior and the 2008 comedy Tropic Thunder.
He will star opposite Dustin Hoffman in the HBO TV series Luck.[5]
Personal life
Nolte has been married and divorced three times. His ex-wives are Sheila Page, Sharyn Haddad and Rebecca Linger, with whom he has a son named Brawley Nolte (born June 20, 1986). His son is also an actor, having been prominently featured as Mel Gibson's kidnapped son in the 1996 film Ransom. Nolte was also involved with actresses Debra Winger and Vicki Lewis. On October 3, 2007, his longtime partner, Clytie Lane, gave birth to their daughter, Sophie Lane Nolte.
Nolte currently resides in Malibu, California. On October 6, 2008, a fire, which started from a computer printer, burned a section of his home. Nolte escaped unharmed, but there was reportedly $1.5 million worth of damage.
Legal troubles
In 1965, Nolte was arrested for selling counterfeit documents and was given a 45-year jail sentence and a $75,000 fine, however the sentence was suspended.[6] This felony conviction prevented him from being eligible to join the military—at the time, he felt obliged to serve in the Vietnam War. As a result, Nolte says he felt incomplete as a young man for not going to Vietnam.[7]
On September 11, 2002, Nolte was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Malibu. Three days later he checked himself into Silver Hill Hospital in Connecticut for counseling.[8] Tests later showed that he was under the influence of GHB. Nolte responded that he has "been taking it for four years and I've never been raped."[9] On December 12, 2002 he pleaded no contest to charges of driving under the influence. He was given three years probation, with orders to undergo alcohol and drug counseling with random testing required. The mug shot from this incident has become infamous in popular culture as being particularly unattractive.
Awards
- 1991 – Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Best Actor, The Prince of Tides
- 1991 – Golden Globe: Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama), The Prince of Tides
- 1992 – Chosen as People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive
- 1998 – New York Film Critics Circle – Best Actor, Affliction
- 1998 – National Society of Film Critics – Best Actor, Affliction
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes 1973 Electra Glide in Blue Hippie Kid 1974 Death Sentence J. Healey 1974 The California Kid Buzz Stafford 1975 Return to Macon County Bo Hollinger 1976 Northville Cemetery Massacre Chris Rich Man, Poor Man Tom Jordache (mini-series) (1976)
Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama1977 The Deep David Sanders 1978 Who'll Stop the Rain Ray Hicks 1979 North Dallas Forty Phillip Elliott 1980 Heart Beat Neal Cassady 1982 Cannery Row Doc 48 Hrs. Jack Cates 1983 Under Fire Russell Price 1984 Teachers Alex Jurel 1985 Grace Quigley Seymour Flint 1986 Down and Out in Beverly Hills Jerry Baskin 1987 Extreme Prejudice Jack Benteen Weeds Lee Umstetter Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama 1988 Grace Quigley 2, Gracie Seymour Flint (unfinished) 1989 Three Fugitives Lucas New York Stories Lionel Dobie Farewell to the King Learoyd 1990 Everybody Wins Tom O'Toole Q&A Captain Michael Brennan Another 48 Hrs. Jack Cates 1991 Cape Fear Sam Bowden The Prince of Tides Tom Wingo Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated – Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorThe Player (cameo) Lorenzo's Oil Augusto Odone 1994 I'll Do Anything Matt Hobbs Blue Chips Pete Bell I Love Trouble Peter Brackett 1995 Jefferson in Paris Thomas Jefferson 1996 Mulholland Falls Max Hoover Mother Night Howard Campbell 1997 Affliction Wade Whitehouse National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Valladolid International Film Festival Award for Best Actor
Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated – Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor
Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated – Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead
Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading RoleNightwatch Inspector Thomas Cray U Turn Jake McKenna 1998 The Thin Red Line Lt. Col. Gordon Tall Nominated – Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Hayes Hours 1999 Breakfast of Champions Harry Le Sabre Simpatico Vincent Webb 2000 The Golden Bowl Adam Verver Trixie Senator Drumond Avery 2002 The Good Thief Bob Montagnet 2003 Hulk David Banner/Father Northfork Father Harlan 2004 Clean Albrecht Hauser Nominated – Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actor Hotel Rwanda Colonel Oliver Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture The Beautiful Country Steve 2005 Neverwas T.L. Pierson 2006 Over the Hedge (voice) Vincent Off the Black Ray Cook Paris, je t'aime Vincent (segment "Parc Monceau") Quelques jours en septembre Elliott Peaceful Warrior Socrates 2007 Intimate Affairs Faldo Bee Movie 2008 The Mysteries of Pittsburgh Joe Bechstein The Spiderwick Chronicles Mulgarath Tropic Thunder John "Four Leaf" Tayback 2009 Arcadia Lost Benerji 2010 My Own Love Song Caldwell Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore Butch Voice only
Replacing Alec Baldwin2011 Arthur Burt Johnson Zookeeper Bernie the Gorilla voice only Warrior Paddy Conlon References
- ^ Nick Nolte Biography (1941?–). Filmreference.com. Retrieved on December 21, 2010.
- ^ Nolte comes clean | Film. Thisislondon.co.uk (June 30, 2005). Retrieved on December 21, 2010.
- ^ To the brink and back | Film | The Guardian. Film.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved on December 21, 2010.
- ^ Weisberg, Sam (Jan. 19. 2010) ,"Wrestling with the Gods: A Conversation with Nick Nolte," Screen Comment.
- ^ Nick Nolte « Southern Gaming. Southerngaming.com. Retrieved on December 21, 2010.
- ^ Nick Nolte, Q&A with Nick Nolte. Futuremovies.co.uk (March 10, 2008). Retrieved on December 21, 2010.
- ^ Weekend Weirdness: An Intimate Doc on Nick Nolte; Who Killed Teddy Bear? in NYC; The House of the Devil on VHS | /Film. Slashfilm.com (January 24, 2010). Retrieved on December 21, 2010.
- ^ Nick Nolte Charged With DUI. CBS News (October 24, 2002). Retrieved on December 21, 2010.
- ^ Nick Nolte: No Exit at the Internet Movie Database
External links
- Nick Nolte at the Internet Movie Database
- a candid interview with Nick Nolte in Stumped? Magazine
- To the brink and back – The Guardian, March 1, 2003.
- Spiderwick Chronicles Interview.
Awards Preceded by
Patrick SwayzePeople's Sexiest Man Alive
1992Succeeded by
Brad PittGolden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (1981–2000) Henry Fonda (1981) · Ben Kingsley (1982) · Robert Duvall (1983) · F. Murray Abraham (1984) · Jon Voight (1985) · Bob Hoskins (1986) · Michael Douglas (1987) · Dustin Hoffman (1988) · Tom Cruise (1989) · Jeremy Irons (1990) · Nick Nolte (1991) · Al Pacino (1992) · Tom Hanks (1993) · Tom Hanks (1994) · Nicolas Cage (1995) · Geoffrey Rush (1996) · Peter Fonda (1997) · Jim Carrey (1998) · Denzel Washington (1999) · Tom Hanks (2000)
Complete List · (1943–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001–2020) Categories:- American stand-up comedians
- American actors
- American film producers
- American voice actors
- American comedians
- American people of German descent
- American film actors
- American television actors
- Arizona State University alumni
- Eastern Arizona College alumni
- Junior college men's basketball players in the United States
- Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (film) winners
- Actors from Omaha, Nebraska
- Pasadena City College alumni
- 1941 births
- Living people
- American models of German descent
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