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Oliver's Artful Dodger Jack Wild Dies
Written by Paul Rance
Saturday, 4 March 2006

Tragic British actor Jack Wild finally lost his long battle with cancer, dying in Tebworth, Bedfordshire, early in March at the young age of 53.

When virtually everyone tries to picture the Charles Dickens Artful Dodger character from 'Oliver Twist', it's Jack Wild's impish portrayal, in the massively popular 1968 musical, 'Oliver!', that comes to mind. Considering Anthony Newley also played the part brilliantly, in the 1948 film of 'Oliver Twist', that was really saying something.

Jack Wild appeared on TV, in 'George And The Dragon', 'Z Cars', 'H.R. Pufnstuf', 'Our Mutual Friend', and 'The Onedin Line'. He also appeared in the films 'Melody aka S.W.A.L.K. (1971)' (with 'Oliver!' co-star Mark Lester) and 'Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves (1991)'.

At 15, Jack Wild had created a reputation for himself he couldn't match, and being nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor proved to be a burden. His life became blighted by alcoholism in the 1970s and 1980s, a time he himself described as "a blur". Wild developed mouth cancer in 2000, and steadily deteriorated, though sadly at a time when he had found peace with himself, and had become happily married again. Wild remained friends with Mark Lester and Ron Moody - stars of the '68 film, and all three were not really given the opportunity to scale such heights again.

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