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Jack Wild

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Jack Wild
Wild dressed up as his character from Oliver! in 1968
Born(1952-09-30)30 September 1952
Royton, Lancashire, England
Died1 March 2006(2006-03-01) (aged 53)
Tebworth, Bedfordshire, England
Occupation(s)Actor, singer
Years active1964–2006
Spouses
  • Gaynor Jones
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1976; div. 1985)​
  • Claire Harding
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2005)​

Jack Wild (30 September 1952 – 1 March 2006) was an English actor and singer, best known for his debut role as the Artful Dodger in Oliver! (1968), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor as well as Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations.

Wild is also known for his roles as Jimmy in the NBC children's television series H.R. Pufnstuf (1969) and in the accompanying 1970 feature film as well as Much the Miller's Son in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991).

Early life

Wild was born into a working class family in Royton, Lancashire. In 1960, at the age of eight, with his parents and his older 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. Collins enrolled both Jack and Arthur at the Barbara Speake Stage School, an independent school in Acton, West London.

Acting

Oliver!

Jack Wild (right) with Oliver! co-star Mark Lester at the 41st Annual 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.[1]

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

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.[2]

Wild's first speaking roles on TV were an episode of Out of the Unknown, and 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.

Post Oliver!

It was at the 1968 premiere of Oliver! that 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 in this American family television series that launched in 1969. H.R. Pufnstuf was also a segment in the second (and final) season of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, despite two episodes remaining unaired until 2018. Wild also starred in the film Pufnstuf (1970), filmed shortly after production on the television show had concluded.

Other roles followed, including the films Melody (1971) (with Oliver! co-star Mark Lester) and Flight of the Doves (1971). The latter film reunited him with Ron Moody, who had played Fagin in Oliver!. In 1972, Wild appeared as a stowaway in an episode of the BBC TV's The Onedin Line. In 1973 he played Reg in The 14, a film directed by David Hemmings about children in London's East End orphaned by the death of their mother. On television Wild appeared in a BBC adaptation of Our Mutual Friend in 1976.[3]

Wild also embarked on a recording career, releasing The Jack Wild Album for Capitol Records containing the single "Some Beautiful" that received considerable exposure on Radio Luxembourg but did not chart well. Wild also released the albums Everything's Coming Up Roses and Beautiful World for Buddah Records in the early 1970s.[4]

However, by now Wild was becoming tired of being typecast in younger roles. He was 17 years old when he played the 11 year-old lead in H.R. Pufnstuf. 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 twenty-one being offered the role of a thirteen-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."

During the early 1970s, Wild was considered a teen heartthrob, alongside David Cassidy and Barry Williams.

Alcoholism

By 1973, aged 21, he was an alcoholic and diabetic. After exhausting his remaining fortune, Wild lived with his retired father for a few years.[5] His alcoholism caused three cardiac arrests and resulted in numerous hospital stays.[5] In 1981, he was supposed to star with Suzi Quatro in a series about a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde for British television, but it was cancelled at the last minute. His alcoholism ruined both his career and marriage to Gaynor Jones, who left him in 1985 because of his excessive drinking.[1] He later admitted his alcoholism was so debilitating that he was incapable of performing any kind of work.[6]

Wild eventually became sober on 6 March 1989 after joining the support group, Alcoholics Victorious.[6]

Later career

He 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. His 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), where he once again worked with Ron Moody.[7]

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 of 1970. They married on 14 February 1976.[8] She left him in 1985 because of his chronic drinking.[1]

In 2000, Wild was diagnosed with oral cancer, blaming the disease on his drinking and smoking habits.[9] He underwent chemotherapy immediately and had a piece of his tongue and both vocal cords removed in July 2004, leaving him unable to speak. Wild had to communicate through his second wife, Claire L. Harding, for the rest of his life. The two met when he was working with her in Jack and the Beanstalk in Worthing.[1] They married in Bedford in September 2005.[10]

Death and legacy

Wild died following a long battle with cancer on March 1, 2006.[11] He is buried in Toddington Parish Cemetery, Bedfordshire.[12]

At the time of his death, he and his wife, Claire, had been working on his autobiography.[13] 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.'[14] 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 his wife.[14]

Filmography

List of acting performances in film and television
Title Year Alternate titles Role Notes
Poor Cow 1967 Boy Playing Football [Wearing Hat] Uncredited
Danny the Dragon 1967 Gavin
Oliver! 1968 The Artful Dodger 1st film to co-star with Mark Lester[1] and Ron Moody.
Nominated – Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated – BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer
Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer
H.R. Pufnstuf 1969 Jimmy TV series, 1 Season, 17 Episodes (Segment: H.R. Pufnstuf; 2 episodes unreleased)
Pufnstuf 1970 Pufnstuf Zaps the World Jimmy
Melody 1971 S.W.A.L.K. Ornshaw 2nd and last film to co-star with Mark Lester.[1]
Flight of the Doves 1971 Finn Dove 2nd film to co-star with Ron Moody.
The Pied Piper 1972 Gavin
The Onedin Line 1972 Peter Thompson Season 2, Episode 3. The Onedin Line 19th Century shipping BBC television drama series, 1971 to 1980.
The 14 1973 Existence (USA)
The Wild Little Bunch (USA) 		Reg
Sigmund and the Sea Monsters 1973 Himself Guest Appearance
Keep It Up Downstairs 1976 Peregrine Cockshute
Alicja 1982 Mock Turtle
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves 1991 Much the Miller's Son
Basil 1998 Peddler
Moussaka & Chips 2005 Durgen Fleece 3rd and last film to co-star with Ron Moody. (final film role)

Discography

Albums

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions
UK[18] US
"Some Beautiful" 1970 46 92
"Wait For Summer" 1970 — 115
"Everything's Coming Up Roses" 1971 — 107
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Jack Wild". The Independent. 3 March 2006.
  2. ^ "Official Jack Wild Website - Theatre Work". Jackwild.info.
  3. ^ https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/mar/03/film.filmnews
  4. ^ "Jack Wild: Albums". CMT.com. MTV Networks. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Jack Wild". The Daily Telegraph. London. 3 March 2006. ISSN 0307-1235. OCLC 49632006. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  6. ^ a b Ian Wylie (29 December 2004). "Jack's Wild life | Manchester Evening News". menmedia.co.uk. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  7. ^ https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/mar/03/film.filmnews
  8. ^ General Register Office of England and Wales, Marriages, March quarter 1976, Surrey North, Vol 17, page 156
  9. ^ "Jack Wild". Oralcancerfoundation.org. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  10. ^ General Register Office of England and Wales, Marriages, September quarter 2005, Bedford, District 309, Page 0579, entry 004
  11. ^ General Register Office of England and Wales, Deaths, March quarter 2006, Bedford, District 3091G, Register No G7D, entry 099
  12. ^ "Toddington Parish Cemetery in Toddington, Bedfordshire". Findagrave.com. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Oliver! star Jack Wild dies at 53". BBC. 2 March 2006. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  14. ^ a b Wild, Jack (2016). It's a Dodger's Life. Fantom Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78196-266-4.
  15. ^ "Jack Wild - The Jack Wild Album". Discogs. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  16. ^ "Jack Wild - Everything's Coming Up Roses". Discogs. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  17. ^ "Jack Wild - A Beautiful World". Discogs. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  18. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 601. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

Bibliography

  • Wild, Jack. Autobiography: It's A Dodger's Life, Fantom Films 2016. Hardback edition ISBN 978-1-78196-266-4
  • Holmstrom, John. The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995, Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 296. ISBN 978-0859551786
  • Dye, David. Child and Youth Actors: Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914-1985. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1988, p. 239. ISBN 9780899502472
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