He worked behind the camera on low-budget films of the 1950s, hit television series in the 1960s, and comedies, dramas, and made-for-TV movies in the 1970s and 1980s.
Nicholson is credited with achieving amazing results on these films,[citation needed] despite severe budget and time limitations.
After leaving Panavision, Nicholson joined the production crew of the television series My Three Sons.
He also was the cinematographer on the television series The Blue Angels and two films by Edgar Ulmer, Beyond the Time Barrier and The Amazing Transparent Man.
He later worked on the more obscure films Dangerous Charter, The Devil's Hand, and Escape from Hell Island.