Why Shirley MacLaine Never Had An Affair With Jack Nicholson Explained

Wow, Shirley MacLaine is spilling the beans about some of her famous leading men, and she’s sure as hell not holding anything back. In her latest revelation, the iconic actress tells us all about the good, the bad and the ugly of Hollywood’s leading men at the height of her fame – and guess what? She had an affair with most of them.

Shirley MacLaine Opens Up About Her Long and Successful Acting Career

Shirley MacLaine is one of the last greats still alive that acted all the way from black and white to color television, and through the years, she’s remained as open as an open book.

She’s fashionable, she’s iconic, and she’s, best of all, a nontraditional woman at a time when the word “woke” hasn’t even started stirring from slumber.

While celebrity memoirs are now becoming a trend rather than a cherished once in a year type event – Britney and Jamie Lynn Spears have done them – MacLaine did hers long before it became cool. Like doing a Vegas residency in the old days.

Her first autobiographical effort, ‘Out on a Limb,’ was released 41 years ago to great positive public reception, and now at 90, you can bet that she’s got even more life experiences to share.

And this is why she has chosen to pen and release, ‘The Wall of Life: Pictures and Stories from This Marvelous Lifetime,’ which debuts on Oct. 22.

This time round, the memoir doubles as a photo album sharing glimpses into her fabulous career that’s spanned nine decades, alongside observations and anecdotes that can only come from someone who isn’t afraid to say exactly what they’re thinking.

Shirley MacLaine Says This Actor Was “Like A Sister” To Her In New Memoir

In the book, she writes about her “first love,” George Huvos, whose proposal she turned down to pursue a successful dancing career (you didn’t know Shirley could dance, right?)

She then described her subsequent open marriage to Steve Parker, to whom she was married to for 28 years and shared daughter Sachi, 68.

Sacha Baron Cohen Responds To Rebel Wilson Calling Him A Massive “A–hole”

View Story

In a lighter tone, no doubt, she revealed that the only leading men she didn’t manage to get into bed with off-screen were her costar in 1960’s ‘The Apartment’ and 1963’s ‘Irma la Douce,’ Jack Lemmon, and the actor that played her love interest in the 1983 film, ‘Terms of Endearment,’ Jack Nicholson.

The role was also the one that finally snagged her an Oscar award after 5 nominations. Describing Lemmon to PEOPLE, she said, “Lemmon was like a sister to me. He was a darling guy.”

While Nicholson didn’t take the “sister” badge, she did credit him for having a marvelous sense of humor. “He just made me laugh all the time. He was one of my favorite people.” In fact, he was so funny he drove away any chances of them having an affair. “I don’t think he would’ve been my type to have an affair with anyway. I would laugh too much.”

When it comes to listing her leading men from favorite to hated, she doesn’t balk, recalling how Fred MacMurray, who played her older, married lover in ‘The Apartment,’ was “one of the cheapest guys in Hollywood.” She added: “Every time we went to lunch or dinner, I had to pay.”

While she admitted to having an affair with Robert Mitchum, her costar in 1962’s ‘Two for the Seesaw’ and 1964’s ‘What a Way to Go!,‘ she also recalled how the much-younger Nicolas Cage, though nice, wasn’t attracted to her when they both starred in 1994’s ‘Guarding Tess.’

Be sure to catch up on everything happening in the world of Shirley MacLaine right now. Come back here often for all Shirley MacLaine spoilers, news, and updates.

Editorial credit: Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com