Jack Wild, actor who played Artful Dodger in “Oliver!” dies at 53
From the San Jose Mercury News
LONDON - Jack Wild, the actor who earned an Oscar nomination for his role as the irrepressible Artful Dodger in the movie musical “Oliver!”, has died, his agent said Thursday. He was 53.
Wild died Wednesday after a battle with mouth cancer, agent Alex Jay said.
Born in Royton, northwest England, in 1952, Wild was spotted by a talent agent while playing soccer in a London park and later attended stage school. He appeared in the London stage production of “Oliver!”, Lionel Bart’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist.” He was cast in the film as cheeky pickpocket the Artful Dodger, a role that earned the 16-year-old an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor.
Wild also was known to a generation of children as the hero of “H.R. Pufnstuf,” a psychedelic U.S. television series about a boy stranded on a fantastical island with a talking flute, a friendly dragon and eerie, chatty trees. A feature film, “Pufnstuf,” appeared in 1970.
Wild became a teen music idol, releasing three albums - “The Jack Wild Album,” “Everything’s Coming up Roses” and “Beautiful World.”
But he struggled with alcoholism and his adult acting career was fitful, although he had a role as one of the Merry Men in “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” in 1991.
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