Jack Wild

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English actor and singer (1952–2006)

title: "Jack Wild" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1952-births", "2006-deaths", "deaths-from-cancer-in-england", "deaths-from-oral-cancer", "english-male-child-actors", "english-male-film-actors", "english-male-television-actors", "people-from-royton", "male-actors-from-lancashire", "20th-century-english-male-actors", "people-educated-at-barbara-speake-stage-school", "actors-from-the-london-borough-of-hounslow", "people-from-hounslow", "actors-from-the-metropolitan-borough-of-oldham"] description: "English actor and singer (1952–2006)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Wild" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary English actor and singer (1952–2006) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

FieldValue
nameJack Wild
imageSerie. Jack Wild (Dodger in film Oliver) tijdens persconferentie in bioscoop D, Bestanddeelnr 921-8847 (cropped).jpg
captionWild as the Artful Dodger in Oliver! (1968)
birth_date
birth_placeRoyton, Lancashire, England
death_date
death_placeTebworth, Bedfordshire, England
resting_placeToddington Parish Cemetery
occupation
years_active1964–2005
spouse
::

| name = Jack Wild | image = Serie. Jack Wild (Dodger in film Oliver) tijdens persconferentie in bioscoop D, Bestanddeelnr 921-8847 (cropped).jpg | caption = Wild as the Artful Dodger in Oliver! (1968) | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = Royton, Lancashire, England | death_date = | death_place = Tebworth, Bedfordshire, England | resting_place = Toddington Parish Cemetery | occupation = | years_active = 1964–2005 | spouse =

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 a 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!''

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/41st_Academy_Awards_Mark_Lester_Jack_Wild.jpg" caption="Oliver!]]'' co-star [[Mark Lester]] at the [[41st Academy Awards]], 14 April 1969"] ::

The Wild brothers sought acting roles to supplement their parents' income. In the autumn of 1964, the pair were cast in the West End theatre production of Lionel Bart's Oliver! – Arthur in the title role and Jack as Charley Bates, a member of Fagin's gang. Wild was chosen to play the Artful Dodger for the 1968 movie version of Oliver! His performance received critical acclaim and several nominations:

TV work

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/H.R._Pufnstuf_Jack_Wild_1969.jpg" caption="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.

Wild then appeared in Melody (1971, with Oliver! co-star Mark Lester) and Flight of the Doves (1971, with another Oliver! co-star, Ron Moody). In 1972, Wild appeared as a stowaway in an episode of BBC TV's The Onedin Line. In 1973, he played Reg in The 14, a film directed by David Hemmings. On television, Wild appeared in a BBC adaptation of Our Mutual Friend in 1976. In 1999, Wild lamented, "When I first entered in the show business, of course I didn't mind playing younger roles. However, it did bug me when I would be 21 being offered the role of a 13-year-old. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy playing these roles; I had barrels of fun, I just wanted more serious and dramatic roles; it's that simple."

He also embarked on a recording career, releasing The Jack Wild Album for Capitol Records, which contained the single "Some Beautiful". In the early 1970s, Wild also released the albums Everything's Coming Up Roses and Beautiful World for Buddah Records.

Later career

Wild returned to the big screen in a few minor roles, such as in the 1991 Kevin Costner film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and as a peddler in Basil (1998). For the most part, he spent the remainder of his career working in theatre. Wild's last major appearance was as the male lead, Mouse, in Tayla Goodman's rock musical Virus. The show ran for two weeks at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, in 1999. For his final film appearance, he had a minor role in Moussaka & Chips (2005), in which he once again worked with Ron Moody.

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. Wild met his second wife, Claire 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 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 first marriage, as his wife 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 that he had stopped drinking. Wild eventually became sober on 6 March 1989, after joining a support group, Alcoholics Victorious.

Death and legacy

Wild was just 53 when he died of oral cancer on 1 March 2006. He is buried in Toddington Parish Cemetery, Bedfordshire. He was 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 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.

Filmography

::data[format=table title="List of acting performances in film and television"]

TitleYearAlternate titlesRoleNotesPoor CowDanny the DragonOliver!H.R. PufnstufPufnstufMelodyFlight of the Doves**The Onedin Line**Sigmund and the Sea MonstersKeep It Up DownstairsEveryday MathsAliceRobin Hood: Prince of ThievesBasilLock, Stock...Moussaka & Chips
1967Boy Playing Football [Wearing Hat]Uncredited
1967Gavin
1968The Artful DodgerBAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer]]
Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer
1969JimmyTV series, 1 Season, 17 Episodes (Segment: H.R. Pufnstuf; 2 episodes unreleased)
1970Pufnstuf Zaps the WorldJimmy
1971S.W.A.L.K.OrnshawSecond and last film to act alongside Mark Lester
1971Finn DoveSecond film to act alongside Ron Moody
1972Gavin
1972Peter ThompsonSeason 2, Episode 3
1973Existence (USA)
The Wild Little Bunch (USA)Reg
1973HimselfGuest appearance
1976Peregrine Cockshute
1978Mike SelbyBBC Schools and Colleges
1982Mock Turtle
1991Much the Miller's Son
1998Peddler
2000Bill BishopEpisode 4: Lock, Stock and Spaghetti Sauce
2005Durgen FleeceThird film to act alongside Ron Moody; final film role
::

Discography

Albums

Singles

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/The_Jack_Wild_Album.jpg" caption="''The Jack Wild Album''"] ::

::data[format=table title="List of singles, with selected chart positions"]

TitleYearPeak chart positionsAlbumUKUS"Some Beautiful""Wait For Summer""Melody""Working On It Night and Day""(Holy Moses!) Everything's Coming Up Roses""Cotton Candy" (Japan only)"Punch and Judy""I Need More Loving""Universal Song"
19704692The Jack Wild Album
1970-115
1970--The Jack Wild Album and Melody (Soundtrack)
1971--Melody (Soundtrack)
1971-107Everything’s Coming Up Roses
1971--
1972--A Beautiful World
1973--Non-album single
1974--
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.
::

References

Bibliography

  • Wild, Jack. Autobiography: It's A Dodger's Life, Fantom Films 2016. Hardback edition
  • Holmstrom, John. The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995, Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 296.
  • Dye, David. Child and Youth Actors: Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914-1985. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1988, p. 239.

References

  1. "Jack Wild obituary". The Independent.
  2. Vallance, Tom. (3 March 2006). "Jack Wild". [[The Independent]].
  3. "Official Jack Wild Website - Theatre Work".
  4. (3 March 2006). "Child star Jack Wild, the Artful Dodger, dies of cancer aged 53". The Guardian.
  5. "Jack Wild: Albums". MTV Networks.
  6. General Register Office of England and Wales, Marriages, March quarter 1976, Surrey North, Vol 17, page 156
  7. General Register Office of England and Wales, Marriages, September quarter 2005, Bedford, District 309, Page 0579, entry 004
  8. (29 September 2016). "Jack Wild".
  9. (3 March 2006). "Jack Wild". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
  10. Wild, Jack. (2016). "It's a Dodger's Life". Fantom Films Limited.
  11. (2013-01-12). "Jack's Wild life". Manchester Evening News.
  12. General Register Office of England and Wales, Deaths, March quarter 2006, Bedford, District 3091G, Register No G7D, entry 099
  13. Wilson, Scott. (19 August 2016). "Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.". McFarland.
  14. Barkham, Patrick. (3 March 2006). "Child star Jack Wild, the Artful Dodger, dies of cancer aged 53". [[The Guardian]].
  15. (March 2, 2006). "Oliver! star Jack Wild dies at 53". [[BBC News]].
  16. "...And Spaghetti Sauce".
  17. (1970). "Jack Wild - The Jack Wild Album".
  18. (1971). "Jack Wild - Everything's Coming Up Roses".
  19. (1972). "Jack Wild - A Beautiful World".
  20. Roberts, David. (2006). "[[British Hit Singles & Albums]]". Guinness World Records Limited.

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1952-births2006-deathsdeaths-from-cancer-in-englanddeaths-from-oral-cancerenglish-male-child-actorsenglish-male-film-actorsenglish-male-television-actorspeople-from-roytonmale-actors-from-lancashire20th-century-english-male-actorspeople-educated-at-barbara-speake-stage-schoolactors-from-the-london-borough-of-hounslowpeople-from-hounslowactors-from-the-metropolitan-borough-of-oldham