As
he walked toward me, I stared in disbelief, ‘Oh my God, is that Jack Nicholson? What on earth would he be doing on
the Peaks Island Ferry? I would have heard if he had a house on the island. Is
he shooting a movie on Peaks? Why wouldn’t I have read about it in the paper? Is
he visiting friends on the island?’
Then,
without looking up, he sat down on the bench beside me. My mind was spinning. I looked, I didn’t look, I thought it was
him, then not him, then got paranoid that I was looking too much, then looked
down, then looked away. After a few minutes of trying unsuccessfully to act both
cool and disinterested; I blurted out, “Excuse me, but does everyone tell you,
you look just like Jack Nicholson?”
“Yes,”
he replied, in a tone pure Jack. Quietly. Deliberately. His voice hoarse. His smile,
half Joker, half Caretaker of The Overlook Hotel. Then, in a gravelly retort
only Jack could pull off, he added, “I’m an impersonator.”
“Oh,
Cool!” I smiled, wide-eyed.
Turns out his real name is Ed Ezzard (which added freaky to freak, since I’m also a huge fan of British comedian, Eddie Izzard, so now I’m doubly fake-star-struck and only mildly confused). Before
changing careers to Jack impersonator, not-Jack was an IT Project Manager from
New York. Today, he has a thriving business and even has a web site, themainejack.com
(You can’t make this stuff up.) He explained that he does private parties, conventions, fundraisers, sales
meetings, photo doubles, and commercials.
Fifteen minutes after crossing
Casco Bay with Oscar-winning Jack, then IT Ed playing Jack, followed by Ed
playing himself – a guy who just happens to look so much like Jack he started a
business being Jack, we arrived at Peaks Island. He handed me his business
card: Ed Ezzard, Jack Nicholson
Impersonator. Well, ok then. I walked away smiling. I had, in fact,
just met Jack Nicholson on the ferry to Peaks Island. Well, sort of.
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