Jack Wild

Actor

About

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Birth Place

Lancashire, England, GB

Born

September 30, 1952

Died

March 01, 2006

Cause of Death

Tongue And Throat Cancer

Biography

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Compact dark-haired English juvenile lead of the late 1960s and early 70s. An enthusiastic singer and hoofer, Wild gained international notice as The Artful Dodger opposite Mark Lester's wan blond Oliver Twist in "Oliver!" (1968), Carol Reed's lavish film version of Lionel Bart's musical take on the Charles Dickens story. Wild's lively rendition of the showstopper "Consider Yourself" hel...

Filmography

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Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

Keep It Up Downstairs (1976)

The Pied Piper (1972)

Flight of the Doves (1971)

Photos & Videos

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Flight Of The Doves (1971) -- (Movie Clip) In English And Gaelic Both

Flight Of The Doves (1971) -- (Movie Clip) You Don't Have To Be Irish To Be Irish

Family & Companions

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Gaynor Wild

Wife

Welsh; divorced.

Notes

There is an official Web site at www.jackwild.com

Wild struggled with a drinking problem until his mid-30s.

Biography

Compact dark-haired English juvenile lead of the late 1960s and early 70s. An enthusiastic singer and hoofer, Wild gained international notice as The Artful Dodger opposite Mark Lester's wan blond Oliver Twist in "Oliver!" (1968), Carol Reed's lavish film version of Lionel Bart's musical take on the Charles Dickens story. Wild's lively rendition of the showstopper "Consider Yourself" helped him net an Oscar nomination. Moving to Hollywood to exploit his new teen idol status, Wild was showcased in the campy and crypto-druggie kid's show, "H. R. Pufnstuf" (NBC, 1969-71; ABC, 1972-73). This Sid and Marty Krofft production featured Wild amid a gaggle of puppets and folks in elaborate costumes as a boy who is marooned with his magic talking flute in an enchanted land presided over by Mayor Pufnstuf, a friendly dragon, and bedeviled by the evil Witchipoo, who schemes to steal the flute for herself. Wild reprised this role for a feature version, "Pufnstuf" (1970).

Wild reteamed with Lester for "Melody" (1971) to play a pair of teens who rebel against the adult establishment. He was pursued by an evil Ron Moody in the cloying but diverting "Flight of the Doves" (1971), but was demoted to supporting status for "The Pied Piper" (1972), Jacques Demy's dark and unsettling children's story. By 1976, he was co-starring in a British "adult" feature, "Keep It Up Downstairs," playing one Peregrine Cockshute. Wild returned to familiar territory in a supporting role in "Our Mutual Friend," a "Masterpiece Theatre" (PBS, 1978) miniseries adaptation of the Dickens novel and returned to the big screen with a small role in the Kevin Costner vehicle "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991).

Filmography

Cast (Feature Film)

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

Keep It Up Downstairs (1976)

The Pied Piper (1972)

Flight of the Doves (1971)

Pufnstuf (1970)

The Artful Dodger

Film Production - Main (Feature Film)

When Saturday Comes (1997)

Lorna Doone (1994)

Cast (Short)

The Moviemakers (1968)

Life Events

1968

Feature debut, "Oliver!"

1969

Moved to Hollywood

1969

Starred in the live-action Saturday morning kids' show, "H. R. Pufnstuf"

Videos

Flight Of The Doves (1971) -- (Movie Clip) In English And Gaelic Both Jack Wild and Helen Raye as runaway heirs Derval and Finn, directed by Ralph Nelson, arrive for real at Dublin on a ferry from England, while their greedy stepfather (William Rushton) arrives in pursuit at the airport, met by a policeman (Brendan O’Reilly) and the evil uncle “Hawk” (Ron Moody) impersonating a lawyer, in Flight Of The Doves, 1971.

Flight Of The Doves (1971) -- (Movie Clip) You Don't Have To Be Irish To Be Irish Just fanfare, Ralph Nelson directing, also credited with the lyric as Alph Elson, the music by composer Roy Budd, young stars Jack Wild and Helen Raye romping with local extras and bands, shooting at Phoenix Park in Dublin, in Flight Of The Doves, 1971.

Flight Of The Doves (1971) -- (Movie Clip) We Might Have Made It Disguised now in opposite genders, English runaways Finn and Derval (Jack Wild, Helen Raye) have evaded capture again but think they’re done for and will never reach their Irish grandmother, when good fortune strikes, Dorothy McGuire greeting them, near the climax in Flight Of The Doves, 1971.

Flight Of The Doves (1971) -- (Movie Clip) The Far Off Place English runaways Finn and Derval (Jack Wild, Helen Raye) captured by friendly Irish tinkers, Barry Keegan and as his daughter, Dana, the English-born Irish pop singer who had just won the Eurovision Song Contest, her song here by prodigy Roy Budd and Brendan O’Dbuil, in Flight Of The Doves, 1971.

Oliver! (1968) -- (Movie Clip) Consider Yourself Just the front-end of the mammoth production number from Lionel Bart's "Consider Yourself," featuring Jack Wild (The Artful Dodger) and Mark Lester (title character), from Carol Reed's Dickens-based musical Oliver!, 1968.

Oliver! (1968) -- (Movie Clip) I'd Do Anything The Dodger (Jack Wild), title character (Mark Lester), Nancy (Shani Wallis)and Fagin (Ron Moody) perform Lionel Bart's hit "I'd Do Anything" in Carol Reed's musical version of the Dickens tale, Oliver!, 1968.

Oliver! -- (Re-issue Trailer) Six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, went to Oliver! (1968), the musical version of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist.

Family

Arthur Wild

Brother

Companions

Gaynor Wild

Wife

Welsh; divorced.

Bibliography

Notes

There is an official Web site at www.jackwild.com

Wild struggled with a drinking problem until his mid-30s.

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