Danny DeVito Gives Update On Jack Nicholson After He Sparked Concerns

Danny DeVito has provided an update on Jack Nicholson, months after the Oscar-winning actor made a rare public appearance that sparked concerns about his health.

During that appearance, Nicholson was seen walking with a cane and looking quite frail. He was accompanied by his daughter, Lorraine, who seemingly took on the role of his caretaker.

Now, Danny DeVito has shared that he recently met with Jack Nicholson and that the octogenarian is doing “great.”

Back in February, Nicholson sparked concerns about his health among fans when he made a rare public appearance.

In footage from the time, the typically private actor was seen exiting his hotel to attend Saturday Night Live at 50 and stopped for a few minutes to sign autographs for fans.

Despite being dressed sharply, he appeared frail and walked with a cane. His daughter, Lorraine, was by his side, seemingly assisting him.

Following the appearance, his friend, actor DeVito, has calmed the nerves of fans with an update.

“I just saw Jack a couple weeks ago — it was his birthday a month ago, and he’s great,” DeVito told People Magazine.

DeVito made the revelation while speaking with the magazine about working on the set of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” ahead of the upcoming re-release of the drama.

Back then, Nicholson, who starred in the film, had already begun making a name for himself in Hollywood as a bankable star after starring in the likes of “Easy Rider,” “Carnal Knowledge,” “The Last Detail,” and “Chinatown.”

Recalling meeting Nicholson, DeVito claimed that he and stars like Christopher Lloyd and Brad Dourif were left “in awe.”

“We’re in the presence of this guy who’s really at his moment, where he was breaking out into the big time,” DeVito recalled.

However, Nicholson made sure not to be standoffish, immediately warming up to the guys on the set located at a working state sanitarium in Portland, Oregon.

“There was no need for an icebreaker,” DeVito further recalled. “He was immediately just so embracing…He started out exactly the way everybody else did, where he couldn’t get a job. It was like he came to Hollywood and he was going to just write and direct, and then Easy Rider comes along after the Corman stuff… So he was in our milieu, and he was always just as open and genuine, and we all felt it immediately.”

According to DeVito, Nicholson’s behavior toward them on set was genuine and not a performative act.

“Of course, he was doing it because he’s that way,” DeVito added. “He was also doing it because that had to be, because we had to be all joined at the hip in that movie, and we had such great performances.”

Prior to meeting on set, DeVito and Nicholson shared a surprising connection that was unknown to the Oscar-winning actor.

They were born in the same hospital in Neptune, New Jersey, and DeVito’s sisters had worked in the same local hair salon circuit as Nicholson’s older sister.

And despite DeVito not wanting to share this detail with Nicholson to avoid “ruffling the waters,” his cover was eventually blown by his longtime friend and former roommate, Michael Douglas, who was also working on the film.

“I didn’t want to ruffle the waters; I didn’t want to add anything to the experience at that time,” but after Douglas spilled, “Jack came running around the corner: ‘Ahhhh! You’re from Asbury Park,” DeVito recalled.

Prior to Nicholson’s “SNL” appearance, his last public sighting was in May 2023, when he attended the NBA Playoffs Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets.

In the months leading up to “SNL,” the veteran actor kept a low profile, with a source explaining that he was focused on living a private life.

“He doesn’t like to be seen much in public now,” a source told Page Six at the time. “I saw him at the Carlyle, and he was a little wobbly. Part of his appeal in the past was his extravagant character and lifestyle. But that all catches up with you after a while.

“I think Jack and his inner circle prefer that you remember him as he was,” they added.

Despite what some have claimed to be a “reclusive” lifestyle, the legendary actor still steps out occasionally and has been pictured at multiple public outings in L.A., including basketball games and other special events in the company of his children, Lorraine and Ray.

“We’ve always gotten along,” Nicholson said about his kids in a 2010 interview with AARP The Magazine.

He continued, “I want to be inspirational, or some kind of good influence on them, without overburdening them. It’s their time of life to find out who they are.”