Actor Jack Wild (Jimmy on H.R. Pufnstuf) dies at 53
wazzzy
Actor Jack Wild, who played The Artful Dodger in 1968 film Oliver!, has
died at the age of 53.
Wild was nominated for an Oscar when he was just 16 for his role in the
movie. He suffered from mouth cancer and had his voice box and tongue
removed.
Wild's agent Alex Jay said the actor "died peacefully at midnight last
night after a long battle with oral cancer".
He lost his voice three years ago and communicated through his wife
after surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Wild recently said: "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."
The former child star from Royton, near Oldham, made his TV debut aged
13.
He had a string of screen credits when he was chosen to star as the
pickpocketing urchin in the musical adaptation of Charles Dickens'
Oliver!
The role saw him appear alongside Oliver Reed and Harry Secombe in one
of the final films to be directed by British movie legend Carol Reed.
Jack Wild @ IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0928349/
Ed Varner
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4765996.stm
>
> Actor Jack Wild, who played The Artful Dodger in 1968 film Oliver!, has
> died at the age of 53.
> Wild was nominated for an Oscar when he was just 16 for his role in the
> movie. He suffered from mouth cancer and had his voice box and tongue
> removed.
> He had a string of screen credits when he was chosen to star as the
> pickpocketing urchin in the musical adaptation of Charles Dickens'
> Oliver!
>
> The role saw him appear alongside Oliver Reed and Harry Secombe in one
> of the final films to be directed by British movie legend Carol Reed.
>
This is eerie. As I read this message, the thread currently directly
below this one on Googlegroups is: OT: 'Chicago' and 'Oliver!' Among
"Worst" Oscar Winners.
Ed
King Daevid MacKenzie
semi-psychedelic pop on the Capitol label titled "Some Beautiful" (reached
#92 in the Billboard Hot 100 and #94 in the Cash Box Top 100). His follow-up
45, the theme tune from his movie MELODY, stiffed the charts. He issued four
LPs in the U.S. market -- the "H.R. Pufinstuf" soundtrack LP and THE JACK
WILD ALBUM for Capitol in '70, EVERYTHING'S COMING UP ROSES for Buddah in
'71 and A BEAUTIFUL WORLD for Buddah in '72...
...about 15 years back I recall hearing that Wild was working with Suzi
Quatro on developing a TV sitcom the two would star in; somewhat ironically,
Quatro just released her first album in several years last month...
--
King Daevid MacKenzie, WLSU-FM 88.9 La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA
heard occasionally at http://www.radio4all.net
http://myspace/kingdaevid
"You can live in your dreams, but only if you are worthy of them." HARLAN
ELLISON
Fragile Warrior, F'loonslayer
Didn't he actually die a few weeks ago or am I having Deja Vu??
Check out the photo of him on that site. For a cute kid, he turned out to
be quite a little troll.
James Neibaur
> ...about 15 years back I recall hearing that Wild was working with Suzi
> Quatro on developing a TV sitcom the two would star in; somewhat ironically,
> Quatro just released her first album in several years last month...
I remember really loving the movie Melody when I saw it back in 1970 (I
think the original title is To Love Somebody). Haven't seen it since. Will
have to look for it now.
RIP
JN
J.D. Baldwin
In the previous article, Fragile Warrior, F'loonslayer
<vol...@tds.net> wrote:
> Check out the photo of him on that site. For a cute kid, he turned
> out to be quite a little troll.
The treatment and surgery for oral cancer might be to blame for some
of that.
But, yeah, hard to believe that was the Artful Dodger.
--
_+_ From the catapult of |If anyone disagrees with any statement I make, I
_|70|___:)=}- J.D. Baldwin |am quite prepared not only to retract it, but also
\ / bal...@panix.com|to deny under oath that I ever made it. -T. Lehrer
***~~~~-----------------------------------------------------------------------
King Daevid MacKenzie
> I remember really loving the movie Melody when I saw it back in 1970 (I
> think the original title is To Love Somebody).
...although the Bee Gees record "To Love Somebody" appears on the
soundtrack, I'm positive the movie has never been distributed under any
other title than MELODY...
> Haven't seen it since. Will have to look for it now.
...it appears to never have been issued on DVD in the States or Canada;
a search on eBay turns up some DVDs of (possibly pirated) Asian origin.
I'm not sure it even got a legitimate VHS release here at any time...
Brian Watson
"J.D. Baldwin" <INVALID...@example.com.invalid> wrote in message
news:du72ej$l3h$1...@reader2.panix.com...
>
> In the previous article, Fragile Warrior, F'loonslayer
> <vol...@tds.net> wrote:
>> Check out the photo of him on that site. For a cute kid, he turned
>> out to be quite a little troll.
>
> The treatment and surgery for oral cancer might be to blame for some
> of that.
I think the substance abuse came first. Another case of "too much, too
young."
>
> But, yeah, hard to believe that was the Artful Dodger.
Oh, I don't know...
:-)
--
Brian
Brian Watson
"King Daevid MacKenzie" <echoes...@charter.net> wrote in message
news:LBENf.16$8P...@fe04.lga...
> James Neibaur sez:
>
>> I remember really loving the movie Melody when I saw it back in 1970 (I
>> think the original title is To Love Somebody).
>
> ...although the Bee Gees record "To Love Somebody" appears on the
> soundtrack, I'm positive the movie has never been distributed under any
> other title than MELODY...
>
>> Haven't seen it since. Will have to look for it now.
>
> ...it appears to never have been issued on DVD in the States or Canada; a
> search on eBay turns up some DVDs of (possibly pirated) Asian origin. I'm
> not sure it even got a legitimate VHS release here at any time...
Wasn't Melody a Mark Lester movie? Or am I thinking of S.W.A.L.K?
--
Brian
deb...@comcast.net
Jones. He probably didn't do the 1968 movie because he was in a TV show
called "The Monkees"
In fact, the Broadway "Oliver" cast appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show on
Feb.9, 1964, with the Beatles, & Davy Jones got a first hand look at
how girls react to rock groups!
deb...@comcast.net
[DODGER (spoken)]
So, Oliver Twist, you're coming with me.
[OLIVER (spoken)]
Are you sure Mr. Fagin won't mind?
[DODGER (spoken)]
Mind?!
Consider yourself at home.
Consider yourlef one of the familhy.
We've taken to you so strong.
It's clear we're going to get along.
Consider yourself well in
Consider yourslef par to the furniture.
There isn't a lot to spare.
Who cares?..What ever we've goin we share!
If it should chance to be
We should see
Some harder days
Empty larder days
Why grouse?
Alsyas a-chance we'll meet
Somebody
To foot the bill
Then the drinks are on the house!
Consider yourself our mate.
We do't want to have no fuss,
For after some consideration, we can state...
Consider yourself
One of us!
Consider yourself...
[OLIVER]
At home?
[DODGER]
Consider yourself...
[OLIVER]
One of the family
[CAPTAIN]
We've taken to you
[OLIVER]
So strong
[HAND WALKER]
It's clear...we're...
[ALL]
Going to get along
[DODGER]
Consider yourself...
[CHARLIE BATES]
Well in!
[DODGER]
Consider yourself...
[SNAKE]
Part of the furniture
[OLIVER]
There isn't a lot to spare
[ALL]
Who cares?
Whatever we got we share
[DODGER]
Nobody tries to be lah-di-dah or uppity--
There a cup-o'-tea for all.
[ALL]
Only it's wise to be handy wiv a rolling pin
Whne the landlord omes to call!
[DODGER]
Consider yourself
Our mate.
We don't want to have no fuss
[ALL]
For after some consideration we can sate
[OLIVER]
Considter yourself
[DODGER]
Yes!
[ALL]
One of us!
[COMPANY]
Consider yourself at home...
We've taken to you so strong.
Consider yourself well in...
There isn't a lot to spare
If it should chance to be
We should see
Some harder days
Empty larder days --
Why grouse?
Always a chane we'll meet
Somebody
To food the bill --
Then the drinks are on the house!
Consider yourself our mate.
We don't want to have no fuss
For after some consideration, we can state...
Consider yourself...
One of us!
[DODGER]
Consider yourself
[ALL]
At home.
[DODGER]
We've taken to you
[ALL]
So strong
[DODGER]
Consider yourself
[ALL]
Well in.
There isn't a lot to spare.
Nobody tries to be lah-di-dah or uppity.
There's a cup-o'-tea for all
Only it's wise to be handy wiv a rolling pin
Wen the landlord comes to call
Consider yourself our mate
We don't want to have no fuss
For after some consideration we can state
Consider yourself
One of us...
For after some consideration we can state
Consider yourself...
One of us!
If it should chance to be
We should see some harder days,
Empyt larder days,
Why grouse?
Always a chance we'll meet
Somebody to foot the bill.
Then the drinks are on the house.
Consider yourself at home.
Consider yourself one of the family.
We've taken to you so strong.
It's clear we're going to get along.
Consider yourself well in.
Consider yourself part of the furniture.
There isn't a lot to spare.
Who cares?
Whatever we've got we share.
If it should chance to be
We should see some harder days,
Empty larder days,
Why grouse?
Always a chance we'll meet
Somebody to foot the bill.
Then the drinks are on the house.
Consider yourself our mate.
We don't want to have no fuss
For after some considertaion we can state
Consider yourself...
One of us!!
King Daevid MacKenzie
>>> Haven't seen [MELODY] since. Will have to look for it now.
>> ...it appears to never have been issued on DVD in the States or Canada; a
>> search on eBay turns up some DVDs of (possibly pirated) Asian origin. I'm
>> not sure it even got a legitimate VHS release here at any time...
>
> Wasn't Melody a Mark Lester movie? Or am I thinking of S.W.A.L.K?
...both Wild and Lester appeared in MELODY. The IMDb lists S.W.A.L.K. as
an alternate title for this picture (prior to Brian's post, I'd never
heard of any film being titled such, but apparently there was also a
1982 Prunella Scales Britcom under that title completely unrelated to
MELODY)...
King Daevid MacKenzie
...Jones was signed up by manager Ward Sylvester as a direct result of
that Sullivan broadcast; Sylvester in turn got Jones recording and
acting contracts with Colpix Records and Columbia Pictures, which in
further turn led to Jones being shoehorned into his role on "The
Monkees" and the renaming of Colpix Records to Colgems Records...
leno...@yahoo.com
And, of course, Mark Lester starred in "Oliver!" He and his wife are
now doctors - osteopaths, specifically. A better ending than usual for
a child actor, thankfully.
Wonder if Billie Hayes will go to Wild's funeral? And will anyone ever
find out her age? (I'm guessing, based on the idea that it takes more
than makeup to play a convincing old character, that she was over 30 in
1955's "L'il Abner.") She's never told anyone her age - at least not to
anyone who would blab.
Lenona.
leno...@yahoo.com
He also played Much (Midge?) the miller's son in "Robin Hood: Prince of
Thieves."
Lenona.
Brian Watson
> Brian Watson quotes me quotin' James Neibaur 'n sez:
>
>>>> Haven't seen [MELODY] since. Will have to look for it now.
>>> ...it appears to never have been issued on DVD in the States or Canada;
>>> a search on eBay turns up some DVDs of (possibly pirated) Asian origin.
>>> I'm not sure it even got a legitimate VHS release here at any time...
>>
>> Wasn't Melody a Mark Lester movie? Or am I thinking of S.W.A.L.K?
>
> ...both Wild and Lester appeared in MELODY. The IMDb lists S.W.A.L.K. as
> an alternate title for this picture (prior to Brian's post, I'd never
> heard of any film being titled such, but apparently there was also a 1982
> Prunella Scales Britcom under that title completely unrelated to
> MELODY)...
Ah, that's it then. I shall sleep easier tonight as little things like this
more than they ought to.
:-)
--
Brian
GS
"J.D. Baldwin" <INVALID...@example.com.invalid> wrote in message
news:du72ej$l3h$1...@reader2.panix.com...
>
> <vol...@tds.net> wrote:
>> Check out the photo of him on that site. For a cute kid, he turned
>> out to be quite a little troll.
>
> The treatment and surgery for oral cancer might be to blame for some
> of that.
>
> But, yeah, hard to believe that was the Artful Dodger.
>
I never thought Wild was that cute a kid... more like if Michael J.
Pollard had a kid with himself.
Mordecai
"wazzzy" <enter...@gmail.com> wrote:
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4765996.stm
>
> Actor Jack Wild, who played The Artful Dodger in 1968 film Oliver!, has
> died at the age of 53.
> Wild was nominated for an Oscar when he was just 16 for his role in the
> movie. He suffered from mouth cancer and had his voice box and tongue
> removed.
>
Wonder if there's time to include him in the In Memoriam reel. As an
acting Oscar nominee I'd think he's quality, but as I posted earlier
this week, there's got to be a cut-off point for getting that together,
even with all of the digital editing they're doing these days.
--
M.
King Daevid MacKenzie
> I never thought Wild was that cute a kid... more like if Michael J.
> Pollard had a kid with himself.
...no, that would have been Mason Reese...
deb...@comcast.net
There's actually a movie called "Whatever Happened to Mason Reese"!
OK, who remembers Rodney Allen Rippy?!
James Neibaur
> James Neibaur sez:
>
>> I remember really loving the movie Melody when I saw it back in 1970 (I
>> think the original title is To Love Somebody).
>
> ...although the Bee Gees record "To Love Somebody" appears on the
> soundtrack, I'm positive the movie has never been distributed under any
> other title than MELODY...
>
>> Haven't seen it since. Will have to look for it now.
>
> ...it appears to never have been issued on DVD in the States or Canada;
> a search on eBay turns up some DVDs of (possibly pirated) Asian origin.
> I'm not sure it even got a legitimate VHS release here at any time...
It was released on VHS under the title To Love Somebody, actually. Saw it
for rent back in the late 80s.
JN
James Neibaur
> ...both Wild and Lester appeared in MELODY. The IMDb lists S.W.A.L.K. as
> an alternate title for this picture (prior to Brian's post, I'd never
> heard of any film being titled such, but apparently there was also a
> 1982 Prunella Scales Britcom under that title completely unrelated to
> MELODY)...
found this after doing a google search, on a Tracy Hyde site no less:
It was originally screened as Melody, even in the UK, which is why all of
the initial reviews and advertising campaign material have Melody as the
title. Just prior to general release in 1971 it was re-titled S.W.A.L.K. as
some people felt that Melody didn't convey the feel of the movie. S.W.A.L.K.
means 'Sealed With A Loving Kiss' and it was something school kids in
Britain wrote on the envelopes of their love letters.
Because American audiences weren't familiar with the term S.W.A.L.K., an
alternate title, To Love Somebody, was considered but ultimately it reverted
to Melody for most markets.
It seems it was also released under various other names around the world.
e.g. Melody Fair and Love Melody.
---------
I know I saw a VHS entitled To Love Somebody back in the late 80s, making a
mental note to rent it sometime when I realized it was Melody. I guessed
that perhaps To Love Somebody was the original British title, when in fact
it was an alternate title that only was on a few release prints. Apparently
these prints were also missing about four minutes of footage. And
apparently the VHS I saw was one of these edited, retitled prints.
Is this film available to any cable or television markets for broadcast?
JN
James Neibaur
> There's actually a movie called "Whatever Happened to Mason Reese"!
>
> OK, who remembers Rodney Allen Rippy?!
I am ashamed to admit to remembering both of them. One hawked deviled ham,
the other sang the Jack-in-the-Box ad.
JN
J.D. Baldwin
In the previous article, James Neibaur <jnei...@wi.rr.com> wrote:
> > There's actually a movie called "Whatever Happened to Mason Reese"!
> >
> > OK, who remembers Rodney Allen Rippy?!
>
> I am ashamed to admit to remembering both of them. One hawked
> deviled ham, the other sang the Jack-in-the-Box ad.
The Mason Reese movie was a student film by Brett Ratner, who directed
"Rush Hour" and the upcoming X-Men movie. It is included as a special
feature on the "Rush Hour" DVD. It's worth watching for five minutes
if you're curious about what Reese looks like today, but that's really
about it.
Rodney Allen Rippy appears (in adulthood) as himself in the song over
the closing credits of "Dickie Roberts." That hilarious song is about
the only reason to watch that picture at all, and thanks to the
miracle of DVD, you don't even have to watch the movie to catch it.
Lots of people remember him, but how many know the name John Gilchrist?
Arty McToon
"Mother May Aye" on an episode of the "Teen Titans" cartoon show.
R H Draney
>
>GS sez:
>
>> I never thought Wild was that cute a kid... more like if Michael J.
>> Pollard had a kid with himself.
>
>...no, that would have been Mason Reese...
Who would have been perfect to play the young Bruce Vilanch....
ObRandomWalk: I remember Reese on "The Mike Douglas Show" once during the height
of his fame...he had somehow got himself hooked up with an Important Cause,
specifically recapping your pop bottles, and kept pushing the idea like a weird
religious mantra....r
James Neibaur
> Lots of people remember him, but how many know the name John Gilchrist?
I remember Cookie. Played football.
JN
J.D. Baldwin
>
> I remember Cookie. Played football.
Not what I was going for -- think child stars.
James Neibaur
>
> In the previous article, James Neibaur <jnei...@wi.rr.com> wrote:
>>> Lots of people remember him, but how many know the name John Gilchrist?
>>
>> I remember Cookie. Played football.
>
> Not what I was going for -- think child stars.
Oh come on, JD, I know it's Mikey, I was kidding around.
JN
AndrewJ
portrayed by a teenaged Anthony Newley. Somebody needs to write a
dissertation: The Artful Dodger's Influence upon 1960s Pop Singing ...
R H Draney
>
>Death always comes in fours. Or was it fives. Or threes. I forget.
No, Death comes on all fours...the fog comes in on little cat feet (and tears up
the furniture)....r
Bill Schenley
> Brett Ratner, who directed "Rush Hour" and the
> upcoming X-Men movie. It is included as a special
> feature on the "Rush Hour" DVD. It's worth
> watching for five minutes if you're curious about
> what Reese looks like today, but that's really
> about it.
http://home.comcast.net/~uberneuman/mason.jpg
> Rodney Allen Rippy appears (in adulthood) as
> himself in the song over the closing credits of
> "Dickie Roberts." That hilarious song is about
> the only reason to watch that picture at all, and
> thanks to the miracle of DVD, you don't even have to
> watch the movie to catch it.
> Lots of people remember him, but how many know the
> name John Gilchrist?
I do ...
http://espn.starwave.com/i/pkg/05NBAdraft/250/18758.jpg
aka Bob
magnanimously proffered:
>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4765996.stm
>
>Actor Jack Wild, who played The Artful Dodger in 1968 film Oliver!, has
>died at the age of 53.
Photos through the years:
http://www.angelfire.com/celeb2/j_wild/
"It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens." - Woody Allen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wax-up and drop-in of Surfing's Golden Years: <http://www.surfwriter.net>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Glitter Ninja
>>Didn't he actually die a few weeks ago or am I having Deja Vu??
>>
>>Check out the photo of him on that site. For a cute kid, he turned out to
>>be quite a little troll.
>If he was 53, that means he would have been about 17 when H.R. Pufnstuf
>came out. He sure didn't look that old in the show.
That's exactly what I was thinking, so I went to Google Images to
refresh my memory. In 1969, when he was 17, he looked pre-pubescent.
The photo on his singles in the early 70s look more age appropriate,
though, so he must have just been a late bloomer.
Stacia
King Daevid MacKenzie
> Is this film available to any cable or television markets for broadcast?
...I'm pretty sure I have it on a lousy VHS recording from WGBA, then an
independent station, in Green Bay in the late '80s. I'm afraid I don't
know where in my far-too-many tapes it happens to be, tho...
James Neibaur
>> Is this film available to any cable or television markets for broadcast?
>
> ...I'm pretty sure I have it on a lousy VHS recording from WGBA, then an
> independent station, in Green Bay in the late '80s. I'm afraid I don't
> know where in my far-too-many tapes it happens to be, tho...
WBBM ran it late night in the seventies but that is the last time I saw it
JN
Brian Watson
"James Neibaur" <jnei...@wi.rr.com> wrote in message
news:C02CB0D7.6DC6C%jnei...@wi.rr.com...
> J.D. Baldwin 3/2/06 1:04 PM
>
>> Lots of people remember him, but how many know the name John Gilchrist?
>
> I remember Cookie. Played football.
I remember Kookie. Parked cars.
--
Brian
Brian Watson
"AndrewJ" <Andrew...@cs.com> wrote in message
news:1141335918.0...@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com...
> And in the 1948 David Lean film of OLIVER TWIST, the Artful Dodger was
> portrayed by a teenaged Anthony Newley. Somebody needs to write a
> dissertation: The Artful Dodger's Influence upon 1960s Pop Singing ...
And in the recent Roman Polanski remake, the Artful Dodger was played by ...
someone who deserved a better movie as, indeed, did all the cast. What a
stinker!
--
Brian
aka Bob
<WACC...@hotmail.com> magnanimously proffered:
Oh him. I think he loaned me his comb once ...
James Neibaur
>> I remember Cookie. Played football.
>
> I remember Kookie. Parked cars.
cool, man, cool
JN
The Kentucky Wizard
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4765996.stm
>
> Actor Jack Wild, who played The Artful Dodger in 1968 film Oliver!,
> has died at the age of 53.
> the movie. He suffered from mouth cancer and had his voice box and
> tongue removed.
He'd better not take that Freddie the magic flute to his grave. It was the
most entertaining part of the show.
Oh well, RIP Jimmy.
© The Wiz ®
«¤»¥«¤»¥«¤»
deb...@comcast.net
the
most entertaining part of the show.
Oh well, RIP Jimmy.
I can't believe he only did 17 episodes of HR Pufnstuf! They must've
just showed the same ones over & over!
The Kentucky Wizard
They did, and we just kept on watching them over and over.
© The Wiz ®
«¤»¥«¤»¥«¤»
Charlene
J.D. Baldwin wrote:
> Lots of people remember him, but how many know the name John Gilchrist?
The food critic for CBC Calgary?
wd41