So often in this business, a story goes viral and receives no follow-up.
The initial mystery is reported but the resolution never comes to light.
So it was with the 2001 tale of Jack Nicholsons baby teeth.
American actor Jack Nicholson plays the Joker in the movie Batman, directed by Tim Burton, in England in 1989.© Photo by Murray Close/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images
Twenty-three years ago, the British TV station Auctionworld claimed to have acquired The Shining stars toddler chompers.
It planned to auction them off on December 10, just about a month after the channel went live.
Nicholson, reportedly, was pissed and wanted his teeth back.
There was a lot of coverage of the auction at the time.
It ripped through the British tabloid press before making it to more respectable publications like theBBCandTime.
The auction was reported but not the results?
Did Nicholson acquire what was once his?
How much did some weirdo pay for this grim memorabilia?
Answers were impossible to find.
But now, thanks to investigative journalistChris Stanton at Vulture, we have answers to these heavy questions.
Stantons full story is one of media frenzy, tabloid reporting, and early internet virality.
Well, it turns out that Auctionworld never had Nicholsons teeth.
Back in 2001, Auctionworld was a new channel.
It worked like other home shopping networkswith a twist.
The channel would display the starting bid and quantity and sell the items to the highest bidder.
The before-mentioned jewel-encrusted globe was, once shattered, full of cardboard.
The channel didnt last long.
It kept failing to deliver goods to customers and UK regulators eventually fined it for 450,000.
The channel collapsed and its founder fled the country, leaving employees unpaid and orders unshipped.
But what about Jack Nicholsons baby teeth?
That was the brainchild of then-junior PR executive Ben Keen.
It didnt go well.
So, out of desperation, he made something up.
He put together a press release about Nicholsons teeth and sent it into the wild.
Keen even invented the bit about the actor being mad and wanting the teeth back.
And that gave birth to a story about Jack Nicholsons teeth, he told Vulture.
The stunt worked and soon everyone was buzzing about Auctionworld and the strange teeth.
The channels managing director even went on Sky Digital in the U.K. to talk about it.
Its weird, yes, but weve had offers already exceeding 5,000, he said at the time.
Were intrigued to see what Mr. Nicholsons agent offers.
Its possible they did.
Its possible he or his team didnt think it was worth commenting on such a silly story.
Its good to ask questions.
Especially about the provenance of celebrity teeth.
News from the future, delivered to your present.
