Jack Wild Passes Away

[filkertom]

A small part of our childhoods has died. Actor Jack Wild, best known as The Artful Dodger in the musical Oliver! and Jimmy on the Sid & Marty Krofft series H. R. Pufnstuf, has passed away at the age of 53.

All together, now:

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 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 consideration, we can state
Consider yourself
One of us!

Comments

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

Since I reported on Jack Wild's passing this morning, I've had many replies. And all the ones from women of a certain age all included "oh, I had such a crush on him."

He was on the "Teen Beat" list of that ear, along with David Cassidy and Bobby Sherman and such... he was so dreamy.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Sorry I didn't catch yours earlier. FList churn....

[dandelion-diva.livejournal.com]

Oh blast. He wasn't terribly old either. Bleh.

Gessi, who had a crush on him as a kid. (But only in Oliver, I believe. I *loved* Puffinstuff, but was too distracted by everything else to pay attention to Jimmy. Or his skeeery flute.;)

[chaosdancer.livejournal.com]

Oh, now that hits me where I live. I was too young to have a crush on "Jimmy" in *that* way, but I sure loved him. So sorry he's gone!

[wcg.livejournal.com]

My sisters were ga-ga about him, back when.

[calico48103.livejournal.com]

Babe, I OWN a copy of HR Puff'n'Stuff on video... unopened. I've never been able to make myself break the seal. I consider this a VERY sad day for our generation. I watched that show religiously (and anything Sid and Marty did...)

[calico48103.livejournal.com]

H.R. Puff 'n Stuff
Who's your friend when things get rough?
H.R. Puff n' Stuff
He can't do a little 'cause he can't do enough


At least I think that's the last line.

I keep an image of witchy-poo on my desk top just for giggles... on her zoom-broom.

[dubheach.livejournal.com]

Oh man. He wasn't very old, was he. What did he die of?

He was tall (to me) dark, handsome and spoke with a wonderful British accent.

Of course I had a crush on him....

But I had a bigger crush on Puff N Stuff...I love 'em big and Green.

Why yes, I'm a Godzilla fan too, why do you ask?

[lukeski.livejournal.com]

Quite fitting for your arrivial at MarsCon. You are about to become pat of the family. ONE OF US! ONE OF US! ONE OF US! :)

[jss]

Now I'm picturing filkertom as that ambiguously-gendered Pat character from SNL. But he'd have to shave the beard first, and we know that's unlikely to happen.

Fortuitous typo alert!

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

Funny, I had a song he had sung in the Puf'nstuf show running through my head a couple of days ago, about how he had been turned into a Mechanical Boy. Music-mancy strikes again.

As hard and long as I look at that obit photo, I cannot see the teen idol in that face, nor even the Merrie Man from "Dances With Thieves." Cancer certainly took its toll. Peace be with him.

[unclelumpy.livejournal.com]

53?

Jesus!

What happened to the poor guy?

[celtickittenmew.livejournal.com]

Dear gods/godesses! I grew up on Oliver! and other musicals of that calibur. Jimmy was my acting/singing idol and what a cutie!! I have a witchy-poo my mom bought me as a child, even though H.P. PufnStuf was before my time. She loved it. We will light a candle for him. He will be missed.

[trdsf.livejournal.com]

o.O;

Okay, in 1969 I lived and died by Pufnstuf. Well, more accurately, I lived for it, and anyone who looked like they might change the channel on Saturday morning died.

Very sad.

[batyatoon]

...

I'd do anything
For you, dear, anything
For you mean everything
To me...

:(

[purpleranger.livejournal.com]

There were a couple of photos of Wild in the obit that Yahoo! ran. It looked like the intervening years had not been kind to him.