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Anniversary of another death: Jack Wild, March 1, 2006
Jack Wild
Wild 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, 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).
....
Entertainment career
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At the height of his acting career, Wild usually acted younger than he was. For H.R. Pufnstuf, he was a seventeen-year-old playing a boy who was eleven.
"When I first entered in the show business," Wild said in 1999," 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.
While at Barbara Speake stage school, Wild met Welsh-born actress Gaynor Jones when they were around 12 years old. After he left the school in 1966, he didn't see her again until Christmas of 1970. They married on 14 February 1976.
Challenges
At age 21 he was already an alcoholic and a diabetic. By 1976 his film career was badly stalled. 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.
After exhausting his remaining fortune, Wild lived with his retired father for a few years. His alcoholism caused three cardiac arrests and resulted in several hospital stays until he stopped drinking in 1989. He later admitted his alcoholism was so debilitating during this period that from the late 1970s until he went sober, he was incapable of doing any kind of work.
....
Death
In 2000, Wild was diagnosed with oral cancer, blaming the disease on his drinking and smoking habits. 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 Harding, for the rest of his life. The two met when he was working with her in Jack and the Beanstalk in Worthing.
Wild died on 1 March 2006. He was buried in Toddington Parish Cemetery, Bedfordshire.
Wild 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, 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).
....
Entertainment career
....
At the height of his acting career, Wild usually acted younger than he was. For H.R. Pufnstuf, he was a seventeen-year-old playing a boy who was eleven.
"When I first entered in the show business," Wild said in 1999," 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.
While at Barbara Speake stage school, Wild met Welsh-born actress Gaynor Jones when they were around 12 years old. After he left the school in 1966, he didn't see her again until Christmas of 1970. They married on 14 February 1976.
Challenges
At age 21 he was already an alcoholic and a diabetic. By 1976 his film career was badly stalled. 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.
After exhausting his remaining fortune, Wild lived with his retired father for a few years. His alcoholism caused three cardiac arrests and resulted in several hospital stays until he stopped drinking in 1989. He later admitted his alcoholism was so debilitating during this period that from the late 1970s until he went sober, he was incapable of doing any kind of work.
....
Death
In 2000, Wild was diagnosed with oral cancer, blaming the disease on his drinking and smoking habits. 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 Harding, for the rest of his life. The two met when he was working with her in Jack and the Beanstalk in Worthing.
Wild died on 1 March 2006. He was buried in Toddington Parish Cemetery, Bedfordshire.
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