Kobe Bryant death: Jack Nicholson mourns NBA legend, says his demise has left a 'big hole in the wall’
In a rare TV interview, Hollywood megastar and Los Angeles Lakers superfan Jack Nicholson opened up about the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant.
Speaking to CBS2's Jim Hill, the Academy Award-winning actor revealed his feelings on the untimely loss of Bryant shortly after news of his death broke Sunday. “My reaction is the same as almost all of L.A.,” Nicholson said. “Where everything was solid, there’s a big hole in the wall.”
The 41-year-old basketball star was flying over Calabasas with Gianna -- his 13-year-old daughter -- when the chopper crashed and killed them along with seven others.
The 'Departed' star spoke of Bryant's talent, recalling how he “sat right behind his jump shot on the left-hand side.”
“I was so used to seeing and talking to Kobe that, you know… it kills you,” Nicholson said. “It’s just a terrible event.”
The Hollywood legend also remembered the first time he met Bryant. “I remember him in totality as just how great a player he was. But you know I teased him the first time we met. It was in the [Madison Square] Garden in New York and I offered him a basketball and asked him [if] he wanted me to autograph it for him,” he said. “He looked at me like I was crazy.”
Nicholson also noted how the NBA Hall-of-Famer had a great sense of humor and "got all the jokes."
Bryant's illustrious basketball career saw him become an 18-time All-Star, 15-time All-NBA team, 12-time All-NBA Defensive Team selection, two time NBA Finals MVP and the 2008 NBA MVP. In a press conference on Sunday afternoon, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office revealed there were nine people listed on the chopper's manifest -- all of whom were believed to be dead. Among the victims were Bryant, his daughter Gianna, college baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri, and their daughter Alyssa (who was a friend of Gianna's), Sarah and Payton Chester, and one of the coaches at Kobe's youth academy, Christina Mauser, who was married to Tijuana Dogs singer Matt Mauser.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Art Marrujo, a dispatch supervisor with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, revealed how firefighters worked to douse flames that had spread through about an acre of dry bush at the crash site.
The 2020 Grammys paid a special tribute to the late NBA superstar as it aired on the night of the tragic crash.
