This is a fun game. Especially when you find out who is still standing and who isn't.
Today's movie of choice is the 1968 musical 'Oliver!" based on the book by Charles Dickins and the earlier stage play of 1966-7. Now, I could only find a limited amount of information, but here is the question of the day: of the actors who played the following characters, which one's are still alive? Hint: of the five, two are dead.
1)Mark Lester (Oliver Twist): Born of an Actress and a Director, This young man was introduced to his acting life even earlier than his role in Oliver!. His first role was at the age of 6, which was 4 years before Oliver was released.
Mark Lester was a close friend of Michael Jackson from 1982 until his death in 2009, and Mark was elected by Michael to be Godfather to Michael Jackson's children. This led to some scandal about who the father was of one of the Jackson children, which has no conclussion on record.
2)Ron Moody (Fagun): Not a stranger to the Oliver Twist story, having appeared as the same character in the stage play, Ron moody was brought to perform in the movie, which led to him being nominated for an Oscar and winning a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy.
In more recent times, Ron appeared in a recent stage play of Oliver Twist, made a short speech about the 50 years the play existed, and then revised 'Pick a Pocket or Two' with the cast.
3)Shani Wallis (Nancy): Despite the character's tragic ending, Nancy was one of my favorites. Shani made her theatre debut at the age of 4. She later studied theatre and earned a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Shani is a citizen of the United States and is an honored patron of the Music Hall Guild of Britain and America.
4)Oliver Reed (Sykes): Born Robert Oliver Reed, this actor has had a long and distingushed career in both film and stage, his role in Oliver no exception. But before any acting was done, Oliver served in the Royal Army Medical Corps before he became an extra in television and movies through the late 50's.
Oliver's love life was certainly one to note. married and then divorced shortly before the filming of Oliver, he then met one of the dancers hired for the film, and by the end of shooting, they were lovers. However, Oliver married Josephine Burge in 1985. His last film was the 1999 hit Gladiator, which became his last film before he retired.
5) Jack Wild (Artful Dodger): Born in England, Jack was pushed into acting at a young age to help pay his family's way. Jack was well known for his role in Oliver! but also for Children's television of the late 60's. His career moved down a road of theatre and television until the early 2000's where he retired, due to illness. But this was not before he appeared in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Theives. It was rumored that he was working on a Sitcom around the same time, but the plans never came to the surface. Jack finished his career with theatre performances.
So, who is still alive and who kicked the bucket?
Answer: Oliver Reed (1999) and Jack Wild (2006).
Oliver Reed died of a heart attack during the making of Gladiator and was either replaced with CGI or (at one point) a maniquin.
Jack Wild died from a long battle with oral cancer due to alcoholism and smoking. This put a stop to his career more than once, and was admitted to rehab several times.
So that is where they are now. I do have a few more films in mind as well as TV shows, but until I get around to them, I hope you enjoied your trivia for today!
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