October 1972 (did not appear in print)Photograph By Timothy Galfas

After Burt Reynolds’s nude centerfold in Cosmopolitan, Esquire wanted in on the act and photographed Nicholson au naturel by a pool in Los Angeles. Nicholson, the hottest actor in Hollywood at the time, loved the idea. His publicist, however, did not, and prevailed upon Esquire to kill the cover at the last minute.