Jack Wild, the English actor who was immortalized and earned an Oscar® nomination as the Artful Dodger in Sir Carol Reed's movie musical Oliver! (1968) died in London on March 2 of mouth cancer. He was 53.

Born on September 30, 1952 in Royton, Lancashire, Wild was the son of mill workers who moved to London when he was eight years old to try and secure a better life for themselves. He was spotted when he was just 12 by talent agent June Collins as he played soccer with her son, a child actor and future pop star Phil Collins. Soon he was cast in a London stage production of Oliver!, the musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic Oliver Twist. Wild was such a hit, that when the productions rights were purchased for film, he was cast in the film version. Holding his own against Ron Moody (Fagin), Oliver Reed (Bill Sikes) and Mark Lester (Oliver), he nearly stole the show with his fantastic Consider Yourself number. Critics responded in kind, and at the tender age of 16, he was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar®.

Wild's next big break came when he snatched the part of Jimmy in Sid and Marty Krofft's wild puppet fantasy H.R. Pufnstuf. For two years (1969-71), this bizarre children's show, complete with Mayor Pufnstuf (with a southern accent!), a benign dragon, a talking flute companion and the evil Witchipoo, was a cult hit if there ever was one. Wild teamed with Mark Lester again for the superb adolescent drama Melody (1971). Here he played Lester's friend who is at first jealous of his new found love (Tracy Hyde), but then offers to help them runaway from home and get married, even though they are only 11! Unfortunately, Wild's next few films Flight of the Doves (1971), The Pied Piper (1972), and The 14 (1973) were marginal affairs. Sadly, after a few television appearances in his native UK, he became an alcoholic, and not much was seen of him for years.

He re-emerged in the '90s in regional theater, and even was cast in a few films: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and Basil (1998). He underwent surgery for oral cancer in July 2004, and had some vocal chords and part of his tongue removed. He could recently be seen in the Irish crime drama Moussaka & Chips (2005) and was still finding steady stage work before his untimely death. Wild is survived by his wife, Claire Harding.

by Michael T. Toole