Memories: “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”

Seeing Jack Nicholson appear on the 40th anniversary special for the television show, “Saturday Night Live,” made me think back to Jack and the wonderful movie “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest,” which also made its debut in 1975.

Nicholson won the Best Actor Academy Award for his performance in the film. “Cuckoo’s” Nest was a great book by Ken Kesey. The film was produced by Saul Zaentz and Michael Douglas, before the latter reached actor stardom.

Milos Foreman directed and Louise Fletcher was brilliant as the controlling nurse (Mildred) Ratched.

The movie has several sports tie-ins.

Nicholson in real life is a big basketball fan, and he played basketball in the movie with Will Sampson, who played “The Chief.”

Later, basketball great Robert Parish, who played on 3 title teams with the Boston Celtics, was given the nickname, “The Chief.”

Another sports reference is a telling scene in the movie, involving the 1963 World Series.

The patients at the mental facility want to watch the game. Sadly, they are denied the chance by “Nurse Ratched.”

Helping deal with that denial in a very tough scene, is the fact the real NBC Radio broadcast is heard with the great broadcaster Ernie Harwell setting the scene as part of the pre game show.

Nicholson’s “McMurphy” evokes the names of baseball greats Mickey Mantle and Sandy Koufax, of  the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers (the 1963 World Series opponents) as part of pre game anticipation.

In the 1969 World Series, both Mickey and Sandy worked on the NBC pre game show, with the under rated and fine broadcaster Jim Simpson.