Actor. Best known as the teenage Artful Dodger in the 1968 film "Oliver!" for which he received an Oscar nomination. Wild also was known to a generation of children as the hero of "H.R. Pufnstuf," a psychedelic TV series about a boy stranded on a fantastical island with a talking flute, a friendly dragon and eerie, chatty trees. A feature film, "Pufnstuf," was released in 1970. He became a teen music idol, releasing three albums "The Jack Wild Album," "Everything's Coming up Roses" and "Beautiful World." But Wild struggled with alcoholism and his adult acting career was fitful, although he had a role in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" in 1991. He was diagnosed with mouth cancer in 2000, and surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy had left him unable to speak. He blamed his cancer on years of heavy drinking and smoking and was quoted as saying, "My lifestyle made me a walking time bomb."
Actor. Best known as the teenage Artful Dodger in the 1968 film "Oliver!" for which he received an Oscar nomination. Wild also was known to a generation of children as the hero of "H.R. Pufnstuf," a psychedelic TV series about a boy stranded on a fantastical island with a talking flute, a friendly dragon and eerie, chatty trees. A feature film, "Pufnstuf," was released in 1970. He became a teen music idol, releasing three albums "The Jack Wild Album," "Everything's Coming up Roses" and "Beautiful World." But Wild struggled with alcoholism and his adult acting career was fitful, although he had a role in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" in 1991. He was diagnosed with mouth cancer in 2000, and surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy had left him unable to speak. He blamed his cancer on years of heavy drinking and smoking and was quoted as saying, "My lifestyle made me a walking time bomb."
Bio by: Ron Moody
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