What Ever Happened to Jack Nicholson’s Baby Teeth?

So often successful this business, a communicative goes viral and receives nary follow-up. The archetypal enigma is reported but the solution ne'er comes to light. So it was with the 2001 communicative of Jack Nicholson’s babe teeth. Twenty-three years ago, the British TV presumption Auctionworld claimed to person acquired The Shining star’s toddler chompers. It planned to auction them disconnected connected December 10, conscionable astir a period aft the transmission went live. Nicholson, reportedly, was pissed and wanted his teeth back.

There was a batch of sum of the auction astatine the time. It ripped done the British tabloid property earlier making it to much respectable publications similar the BBC and Time. The auction was reported but not the results? Did Nicholson get what was erstwhile his? How overmuch did immoderate weirdo wage for this grim memorabilia? Answers were intolerable to find. But now, acknowledgment to investigative writer Chris Stanton astatine Vulture, we person answers to these dense questions.

Stanton’s afloat communicative is 1 of media frenzy, tabloid reporting, and aboriginal net virality. It’s a reminder that radical are little apt to double-check the facts connected a salacious communicative they privation to beryllium true. So what happened? Well, it turns retired that Auctionworld ne'er had Nicholson’s teeth. A hopeless PR flack disquieted astir losing their occupation made the full happening up and nary 1 tracked down the information until Stanton started asking astir much than 20 years later.

Back successful 2001, Auctionworld was a caller channel. It was weird. It worked similar different location buying networks with a twist. The hosts would bring retired a jewel-encrusted globe, Matt Damon’s azygous from Saving Private Ryan, oregon an expensive-looking watch and assertion Auctionworld lone had them successful constricted quantities. The transmission would show the starting bid and quantity and merchantability the items to the highest bidder.

According to the Vulture story, which spoke to erstwhile employees of the channel, the full cognition was fishy. Auctionworld’s proprietor would bid connected items himself and telephone the workplace from location to randomly alteration the fig of items connected offer. The before-mentioned jewel-encrusted globe was, erstwhile shattered, afloat of cardboard. The transmission didn’t past long. It kept failing to present goods to customers and UK regulators yet fined it for £450,000. The transmission collapsed and its laminitis fled the country, leaving employees unpaid and orders unshipped.

But what astir Jack Nicholson’s babe teeth?

That was the brainchild of then-junior PR enforcement Ben Keen. Keen told Vulture that helium was moving his precise archetypal PR occupation erstwhile the institution helium worked for assigned him to the Auctionworld account. It didn’t spell well. Keen failed to make buzz and a week earlier the transmission was acceptable to motorboat helium knew his firm’s declaration wouldn’t beryllium renewed. So, retired of desperation, helium made thing up. He enactment unneurotic a property merchandise astir Nicholson’s teeth and sent it into the wild. Keen adjacent invented the spot astir the histrion being huffy and wanting the teeth back. “And that gave commencement to a communicative astir Jack Nicholson’s teeth,” helium told Vulture.

The stunt worked and soon everyone was buzzing astir Auctionworld and the unusual teeth. The channel’s managing manager adjacent went connected Sky Digital successful the U.K. to speech astir it. “It’s weird, yes, but we’ve had offers already exceeding £5,000,” helium said astatine the time. “We’re intrigued to spot what Mr. Nicholson’s cause offers.”

After speechmaking done the portion I’m struck by lone 1 question: Did cipher cheque with Jack Nicholson astatine the clip earlier moving the story? It’s imaginable they did. Nicholson has been press-shy for a agelong clip and successful 2001 helium was astatine the extremity of his storied acting career. It’s imaginable helium oregon his squad didn’t deliberation it was worthy commenting connected specified a silly story.

So the communicative sat online for 23 years, a weird small spot of tabloid gossip that persisted successful the corporate unconscious. The travel to the information is simply a bully reminder successful these troubled times that it’s bully to beryllium skeptical of the accusation we spot online. It’s bully to inquire questions. Especially astir the provenance of personage teeth.