- Born
- Died
- Height5′ 5″ (1.65 m)
- Born September 30, 1952, in Royton, near Oldham, England, Jack Wild was discovered by talent agent June Collins, mother of rock star Phil Collins. His breakthrough came when he landed the role of Oliver in the London stage production of "Oliver!" When it came to casting the film, the role of the Artful Dodger went to Jack, a role that resulted in his getting an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Fresh from this success, Jack was offered the lead role in the American television series H.R. Pufnstuf (1969). This Sid Krofft and Marty Krofft production featured Wild as a boy marooned in an enchanted land with puppets and actors in elaborate costumes. The success of this program led to Wild reprising the role for the film version, Pufnstuf (1970). Other roles followed, including Melody (1971) and Flight of the Doves (1971). Around the same time, Wild released three albums ("The Jack Wild Album"; "Everything's Coming up Roses", featuring along with cover numbers a couple of new songs written by up-and-coming songwriter Lynsey de Paul; and "Beautiful World"). By 1972, however, he was already being demoted to the role of supporting actor for The Pied Piper (1972). He also appeared in Our Mutual Friend (1976). He returned to films in two small roles: the miller's son in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and a peddler in Basil (1998). Wild underwent surgery for oral cancer in July 2004, and had some vocal cords and part of his tongue removed. Unfortunately, the cancer proved untreatable and he died on 1 March 2006.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous
- SpousesClaire Harding(September 2005 - March 1, 2006) (his death)Gaynor Jones(February 1976 - 1985) (divorced)
- Impish grin, snub nose, boundless energy and husky voice
- At the height of his career he often played younger than he was
- Cockney Accent
- Was always careful never to be seen smoking or drinking in public because he didn't want to encourage young people to copy him.
- By the age of 21 he was a registered alcoholic, and he was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 30.
- Knew singer Phil Collins when they were youngsters, and played football with him. Collins's mother, a theatrical agent, entered both Jack and his brother Arthur Wild into the Barbara Speake Stage School, a training facility for kid professionals.
- His drinking and heavy smoking caused three near-fatal cardiac arrests and led to several spells in hospital during the 1980s.
- Was an alcoholic from the late 1970s until he sobered up in 1989.
- Until I was diagnosed with mouth cancer, I'd never heard of it. What I learned very quickly was that my lifestyle had made me a walking time bomb. I was a heavy smoker and an even heavier drinker and apparently together they are a deadly mixture.
- I'm thought of as a celebrity. Everything I've ever done . . . has been for children. As long as I was working constantly, that was fine, because, although I don't have any children, I do relate better to them than adults.
- I spent the seventies and eighties in a drunken haze.
- I wasn't being offered as many films or TV work or theatre work and so my automatic answer to that was to have a drink that would send me to sleep. From the late seventies onwards, I really wasn't in a fit state to do any work of any kind. But, thankfully, I actually became sober on March 6, 1989, and thank God I've been sober since. It is now no problem for me and I'm thankful for that journey because I have learnt one hell of a lot. At the height of my drinking, which I would say was the mid to late eighties - and by then I'd had a serious drinking career for a good ten years - I wouldn't drink immediately on getting up in the morning, but come midday my brain would tell me that I wanted a drink. Then, if I was at home, I would constantly have in the fridge a big bottle of dry white wine, which I would drink a lot of. The only reason I drank that was because I thought that you can't smell wine on your breath. So if I was driving my car and got stopped they wouldn't know that I'd been drinking. Then come the evening I might have had a few beers and white wine and maybe some spirits as well. I went in a drying out clinic thanks to Pete Townsend, who ran a charity for drug addicts and alcoholics. Within six hours of getting out - and I'd been dry for six weeks - I drove to the off- licence to buy a bottle of champagne to celebrate the fact that I had stopped drinking. Now that is a typical alcoholic's behaviour. Within a month, I was back to square one again. I was willing to try anything to stop killing myself and this friend said come to this meeting, Alcoholics Victorious. We use the Bible to get references for everyday living. That night I went home and I can honestly say I prayed to the God of my understanding. I got up the next day and it got to about six in the afternoon before I realised how many places I'd passed where I could have had a drink and didn't even think about it. I have never wanted to have a drink since.
- At an age when most youngsters are preparing for their GCSEs, I was suddenly a jet-setter, briefly the toast of Hollywood and London's West End. My immature wishes and naive opinions were treated with respect. It was all so flattering and seductive that if you were not careful, you came to believe that you really deserved instant superstar treatment. That was part of my problem. That, and an addictive craving for booze, which was to do me and my family so much harm ... I can remember going to parties where the 'nibbles' were great bowls of LSD, marijuana, cocaine, uppers and downers. I remember my jaw dropping when I saw for the first time the stunningly sexy young ladies who were hanging on my every word. As an inexperienced teenager from Hounslow, West London, it took me some time to realise that these charming creatures were professional hookers, there only to flatter and to do anything I wanted. In fact, I was a traditional working-class lad and I stuck to the booze. But down the years I paid a heavy price.
- H.R. Pufnstuf (1969) - $1,000,000
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