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Thats the middle name on your birth certificate.
February 8, 1941.
Im sure it felt good, that official recognition.
But you never seemed like somebody who got hung up on that kind of thing.
Youve lived a big life, and most of it well never hear about.
Youve struggled with addiction and made it through.
You always seemed like a weird fit for Hollywood.
I enjoyed his company.
Cant say that he confided many secrets.
Nevertheless, its important for people who do valuable work to know they are valued.
But who cares, really?
But you lasted three decades past that, and youre still going strong.
Theres a life force in your best work thats indescribable.
So which Nick Nolte movie should I watch to celebrate your 80th birthday?
Im tempted to watch 1978sWholl Stop the Rain, your first Who the hell is that guy?
movie role, in which you play a veteran and drug dealer whos like a post-Vietnam Hemingway character.
Down and Out in Beverly Hills.
You were 48 when you shot it, and you were ripped.
Speaking of Martin Scorsese: the 1991 remake ofCape Fear.
Few actors are better at dramatizing the gnawing anxiety at the prospect of having hypocrisies and compromises unveiled.
How about 1997sAfterglowwith Julie Christie, a rare love story in which characters pushing 60 get to be sexy?
Thats one more people should see.
I dont know if Im up for Paul SchradersAffliction, also released in 97,right now.
Like rolling around in a bathtub full of thumbtacks.
Or 2003sNorthfork, a parable/fantasy in which you play a priest ministering to a fallen angel.
I first heard your name when you were on the ABC miniseriesRich Man, Poor Manback in1976.
I didnt watch it the first time it aired.
I was just a kid, and decades-spanning family sagas about class struggle werent my thing.
But I remember my mother and stepfather talking about it specifically about you.
My mom had a crush on you.
My stepdad sort of did too.
In other words, the Bad Boy part.
You had the looks.
Rugged, lean, blond hair, blue eyes.
Its probably for the best that you didnt break through to anything like mainstream recognition until your late 30s.
Whatever you do, Ill see it.
Thats always been true.
Im thrilled that youre still challenging yourself in every role, in every scene.
Im grateful for everything youve done.
Happy birthday, King.
