Incubator escapee wiki

Jack Wild

Article Discussion

Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person

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 educationEdit

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.<ref name="stage">Template:Cite news</ref> June Collins enrolled both Jack and Arthur at the Barbara Speake Stage School, an independent school in Acton, west London.<ref name="stage"/>

Acting careerEdit

Oliver!Edit

File:41st Academy Awards Mark Lester Jack Wild.jpg
Jack Wild (right) with 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.<ref name="independent-obit">Template:Cite news</ref> Wild was chosen to play the Artful Dodger for the 1968 movie version of Oliver! His performance received critical acclaim and several nominations:

TV workEdit

File:H.R. Pufnstuf Jack Wild 1969.jpg
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.<ref name="official-website">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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!Edit

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.<ref name="guardian1">Template:Cite news</ref> During the early 1970s, Wild was considered a teen heartthrob, alongside David Cassidy and Barry Williams. 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Later careerEdit

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.<ref name="guardian1"/>

Personal lifeEdit

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.<ref>General Register Office of England and Wales, Marriages, March quarter 1976, Surrey North, Vol 17, page 156</ref> She left him in 1985 because of his chronic drinking.<ref name="independent-obit" /> Wild met his second wife, Claire Harding, when he was working with her in Jack and the Beanstalk in Worthing.<ref name="independent-obit"/> They married in Bedford in September 2005.<ref>General Register Office of England and Wales, Marriages, September quarter 2005, Bedford, District 309, Page 0579, entry 004</ref> In 2001, Wild was diagnosed with oral cancer; he blamed the disease on his drinking and smoking habits.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He underwent chemotherapy immediately, and had his tongue and voice box removed in July 2004, leaving him unable to speak.<ref name="independent-obit" /> Wild had to communicate through his wife for the rest of his life.<ref name="independent-obit" />

AlcoholismEdit

By 21, Wild was an alcoholic. After exhausting his remaining fortune, he lived with his retired father for a few years.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk">Template:Cite news</ref> His alcoholism caused three cardiac arrests and resulted in numerous hospital stays.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/> 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.<ref name="independent-obit" />

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.<ref name="book">Template:Cite book</ref> He later admitted his alcoholism was so debilitating that he was incapable of performing any kind of work.<ref name="manchester">Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="manchester"/>

Death and legacyEdit

Wild was just 53 when he died of oral cancer on 1 March 2006.<ref>General Register Office of England and Wales, Deaths, March quarter 2006, Bedford, District 3091G, Register No G7D, entry 099</ref> He is buried in Toddington Parish Cemetery, Bedfordshire.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

At the time of his death, he and his wife had been working on his autobiography.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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."<ref name="book"/> 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.<ref name="book"/>

FilmographyEdit

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 First film to act alongside Mark Lester<ref name="independent-obit" /> 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 Second and last film to act alongside Mark Lester<ref name="independent-obit" />
Flight of the Doves 1971 Finn Dove Second film to act alongside Ron Moody
Template:Sortname 1972 Gavin
The Onedin Line 1972 Peter Thompson Season 2, Episode 3
Template:Sortname 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
Everyday Maths 1978 Mike Selby BBC Schools and Colleges
Alice 1982 Mock Turtle
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves 1991 Much the Miller's Son
Basil 1998 Peddler
Lock, Stock... 2000 Bill Bishop citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Moussaka & Chips 2005 Durgen Fleece Third film to act alongside Ron Moody; final film role

DiscographyEdit

AlbumsEdit

Template:Div col

  • The Jack Wild Album (1970)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

A1 "Sugar and Spice"
A2 "Early in the Morning"
A3 "Fish And Chips"
A4 "Some Beautiful"
A5 "A Picture of You"
B1 "Wait For Summer"
B2 "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"
B3 "Melody"
B4 "When I'm Sixty-Four"
B5 "Lazy Sunday"
  • Everything's Coming Up Roses (1971)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

A1 "(Holy Moses!) Everything's Coming Up Roses"
A2 "The Pushbike Song"
A3 "Cotton Candy"
A4 "Bring Yourself Back To Me"
A5 "Hello (Jack)"
B1 "The Old Man Song (Na Na Na Na)"
B2 "Apeman"
B3 "Takin' It Easy"
B4 "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"
B5 "What Have They Done to My Song Ma"
  • A Beautiful World (1972)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

A1 "A Beautiful World"
A2 "Punch and Judy"
A3 "Sweet Sweet Lovin'"
A4 "Bird in the Hand"
A5 "The Lord"
B1 "Beggar Boy"
B2 "Songs of Freedom"
B3 "Being With You"
B4 "E.O.I.O."
B5 "Bunny Bunny"

Template:Div col end

SinglesEdit

File:The Jack Wild Album.jpg
The Jack Wild Album
List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions
UK<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">Template:Cite book</ref> 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 alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

BibliographyEdit

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

External linksEdit

Template:Sister project 

 | name/{{#if:{{#invoke:ustring|match|1=0928349|2=^nm}}
   | Template:Trim/
   | nm0928349/
   }}
 | {{#if: {{#property:P345}}
   | name/Template:First word/
   | find?q=%7B%7B%23if%3A+%0A++++++%7C+%7B%7B%7Bname%7D%7D%7D%0A++++++%7C+%5B%5B%3ATemplate%3APAGENAMEBASE%5D%5D%0A++++++%7D%7D&s=nm
   }}
 }}{{#if: 0928349  {{#property:P345}} | {{#switch: 
 | award | awards = awards Awards for | biography | bio = bio Biography for
 }}}} {{#if: 
 | {{{name}}}
 | Template:PAGENAMEBASE
 }}] at IMDb{{#if: 0928349{{#property:P345}}
 | Template:EditAtWikidata
 | Template:Main other

}}{{#switch:{{#invoke:string2|matchAny|^nm.........|^nm.......|nm|.........|source=0928349|plain=false}} 

 | 1 | 3 =  Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning
 | 4 = Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning

}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:IMDb name with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|showblankpositional=1| 1 | 2 | id | name | section }}

Template:Authority control

Retrieved from "https://zalansite.site/mediawiki/index.php?title=Jack_Wild&oldid=282012"