Jack Nicholson Retiring Due to Memory Loss, Says a Source

It's a week of saddening retirement news. Following Hayao Miyazaki, outlets are now reporting that the one and only Jack Nicholson, 76, is quietly retiring from acting, making the lukewarm rom-com " How Do You Know" (2010) his last film performance.

Star Magazine and Radar Online said today he would be retiring for one simple reason. "It's memory loss," said in inside source. "Quite frankly, at 76, Jack has memory issues and can no longer remember the lines being asked of him."

It's our loss as well; over the course of a half of a century in cinema, Nicholson has become enshrined in the modern pantheon of Hollywood greats, taking on complex and often explosive roles. He's gotten a whopping dozen Oscar nominations, three of which he won: for " One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975), " Terms of Endearment" (1983) and " As Good as It Gets" (1997).

He turned in unforgettable performances in " The Shining" (1980), "Something's Gotta Give" (2003) and "The Departed" (2006), as well as this "Five Easy Pieces" scene where he loses it in a diner over a piece of toast:

link]

According to the Telegraph, Nicholson was offered a role in the forthcoming "Nebraska" about an alcoholic father travelling from Montana to Nebraska with his son to pick up the Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize to the tune of a million dollars. Nicholson reportedly turned down the role, which ultimately went to Bruce Dern.