Jack Wild


Wild dressed up as his character from Oliver! in 1968

Born: 30 September 1952; Royton, Lancashire, England
Died: 1 March 2006 (aged 53); Tebworth, Bedfordshire, England

Jack Wild (30 September 1952 – 1 March 2006) was an English actor and singer. He is best known for his role as the Artful Dodger in the film Oliver! (1968), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the age of 16, becoming the fourth-youngest nominee in the category. He also received BAFTA Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for the role.

Wild also starred in the television series H.R. Pufnstuf (1969) and its film adaptation Pufnstuf (1970), as well as in the films Melody (1971) and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991).

Early life and education

Wild was born into a working-class family in Royton, Lancashire, on 30 September 1952. In 1960, at the age of eight, with his parents and his elder brother Arthur, he moved to Hounslow, in Middlesex, where he got a job helping the milkman, which paid about five shillings. While playing football with his brother in the park, he was discovered by theatrical agent June Collins, mother of Phil Collins. June Collins enrolled both Jack and Arthur at the Barbara Speake Stage School, an independent school in Acton, west London.

Acting career

Oliver!


Jack Wild (right) with Oliver! co-star Mark Lester at the
41st Annual Academy Awards, 14 April 1969

{snip}

TV work


Wild with the title character in the NBC children's
series H.R. Pufnstuf, 1969

In the spring of 1966, Wild left the stage show of Oliver! to make the film serial Danny the Dragon for the Children's Film Foundation. Wild's first speaking roles on TV were in an episode of Out of the Unknown, and in the third part of the BBC's version of the Wesker trilogy, I'm Talking About Jerusalem. He also appeared in episodes of Z-Cars, The Newcomers, and George and the Dragon.

After Oliver!

At the 1968 premiere of Oliver!, Wild met brothers Sid and Marty Krofft, who thought he would make a good lead for a show they were developing called H.R. Pufnstuf. Wild starred as Jimmy in Pufnstuf's only season (1969), as well as in the film Pufnstuf (1970), which was released shortly after the show was concluded.

{snip}

Personal life

Wild first met Welsh-born actress Gaynor Jones when they were around 12 years old at the Barbara Speake stage school. After he left in 1966, he did not see her again until Christmas 1970. They married on 14 February 1976. She left him in 1985 because of his chronic drinking. He met his second wife, Claire L. Harding, when he was working with her in Jack and the Beanstalk in Worthing. They married in Bedford in September 2005. In 2001, Wild was diagnosed with oral cancer; he blamed the disease on his drinking and smoking habits. He underwent chemotherapy immediately, and had his tongue and voice box removed in July 2004, leaving him unable to speak. Wild had to communicate through his wife Claire for the rest of his life.

Alcoholism

By 21, Wild was an alcoholic. After exhausting his remaining fortune, he lived with his retired father for a few years. His alcoholism caused three cardiac arrests and resulted in numerous hospital stays. He was diagnosed with diabetes on 14 March 1983. His alcoholism ruined both his career and marriage to Gaynor Jones, who left him in 1985 because of his drinking.

During the mid-1980s, he often drank three to four bottles of vodka a week, and typically drank half a bottle of vodka and two bottles of wine every day. He later admitted his alcoholism was so debilitating that he was incapable of performing any kind of work. He once attended a drying-out clinic for drug addicts and alcoholics, run by Pete Townshend, but after being "dry" for six weeks, he bought a bottle of champagne to celebrate the fact he had stopped drinking. Wild eventually became sober on 6 March 1989, after joining a support group, Alcoholics Victorious.

Death and legacy

Wild died on 1 March 2006 of oral cancer. He is buried in Toddington Parish Cemetery, Bedfordshire. He had been unable to speak for the last two years of his life following the operation in which his vocal cords and part of his tongue were removed.

At the time of his death, he and his wife Claire had been working on his autobiography. She said: "All the material was there when Jack died, it just needed rearranging, editing, and in certain sections, writing out from transcripts Jack and I made as we recorded him talking about his life." The book, It's a Dodger's Life, was published in 2016 with a foreword by Pufnstuf co-star Billie Hayes, an afterword by Clive Francis, and an epilogue by Wild's wife.

{snip}

Arthur Wild at IMDb

Overview
Born: September 8, 1951
Died: September 20, 2000 (pancreatic abscess)

Trivia
• Made it to the "final 12" of those considered for a British role in the Sid and Marty Krofft series The Bugaloos (1970), but lost out.
• Juvenile actor and singer who played the title role in a 1967 West End revival of "Oliver!" with singer Phil Collins portraying the Artful Dodger and talented younger brother Jack playing one of the street urchins in the musical show. As a singer, Arthur released several recordings.
• Brother of "Artful Dodger" actor Jack Wild.
• He died suddenly while making tea for his father in the kitchen while they were watching a football match on television. He had drunk ten cans of Carlsberg Special Brew a day for many years.