The movie audience respects talent but revels in charisma, and is always ready to elevate a star who is as much as character off the screen as on it. Ever since he came to the attention of the American public in the 1960s, Jack Nicholson has been the whole package. But who among us really knows the man who smiles that wicked grin from behind the darkest of shades? His generation"s Mr. Hollywood, a fixture next to the Los Angeles Lakers bench, is in fact a native New Yorker: the son of a showgirl, born in the city in 1937 and raised largely by his grandmother so that Jack"s mom could continue her career as a hoofer. Starting out, he appeared in B movies directed by Roger Corman, then burst through in the counter-culture classic Easy Rider. Immediately, his abilities were recognized in dramas, comedies, anything-and the awards and nominations began to pile up (he"s been nominated for a dozen Academy Awards and has won three). Meantime, his rascal"s persona and happily loose social life...