Jack @ 70.

"Jack Nicholson is the greatest American movie actor since Cagney, Bogart and Stewart, and he's as much a part of his time as they were of theirs," writes Philip French, introducing the Observer's salute to the rebel-turned-Hollywood ambassador. Wishing Jack a happy 70th: Dennis Hopper, Kathy Bates, Rob Reiner, Susan Sarandon, Robert Towne, James L Brooks, Danny DeVito and Tim Burton.

Xan Brooks blogs: "There are numerous performers who might lay claim to being the ultimate American screen star (I admit to still holding a candle to Brando). But I don't think any of them has enjoyed the sustained run of great performances in significant films that Nicholson boasted in that golden period between 1968 and 1976. This was an astonishing spell, kicking off with Easy Rider and running through Five Easy Pieces, Carnal Knowledge, Marvin Gardens, The Last Detail, The Passenger and Chinatown before wrapping up with his Oscar-winning turn in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

Marc Hairapetian had a birthday chat with Nicholson on Thursday for the Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). More congrats in the German-language papers: Michael Althen (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), Tobias Kniebe (Süddeutsche Zeitung), Gerd Midding (Die Welt), Jan Schulz-Ojala (Der Tagesspiegel) and Michel Bodmer (Neue Zürcher Zeitung).

Posted by dwhudson at April 22, 2007 5:53 AM