Report of Jack Nicholson retirement sets off social media frenzy

The possibility of acclaimed actor and three-time Oscar winner Jack Nicholson retiring from acting set of a firestorm on the internet and numerous social media sites Wednesday. According to a RadarOnline source, the veteran actor had “quietly retired from the movie business,” due to “a simple reason…memory loss,” adding the 76-year-old Academy Award winner “can no longer remember the lines being asked of him.”

However, both a NBC source — and separately, my own source, who has long worked with Nicholson — disputed the RadarOnline story.

My reliable BZ Hollywood insider said Wednesday, “Jack is fine. I just saw him the other day. He’s as funny and quick as ever. … I think, at this stage, he just doesn’t have the desire to tackle those challenging roles, and no interest in the ones that are not challenging.”

Along with winning Oscars for “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” “Terms of Endearment” and “As Good As It Gets,” Nicholson has also been nominated nine other times in both the lead and supporting actor categories.

No official word has come from Nicholson’s official camp.