This is a truly sad piece of news as Jack was one of my first hero/idols. Not for his performance in 'Oliver' but for his work in the bizarre cult kiddies TV show 'H.R. Pufnstuff'. He also used to pop up on youth-TV shows of the early to mid-70s, but as his cherubic looks disintegrated, the kids turned their back on him.

Yet another victim of 'child-star syndrome'.

Good luck Jack.

has been ill for some time and had the operation refered to some months ago - and was reportedly feeling well and positive quite recently - he has a strong family and supportive girlfriend, its a particularly difficult cancer to treat but people do manage it - he's also come a long way over the last few years and conquered quite a few demons - which makes him a big man in my book.

I was thinking about the Princess Di-Morrissey connection hypothesis and came up with this:

The English translation of the title "Little Man, What Now" comes from a 1934 German film "Kleiner Man, Was Nun? which was based on a book of the same name, by Hans Fallad who took his pen name "Fallada" from the magical talking horse in the Grimm tale 'The Goose Girl'. Jack Wild played Jimmy who had a magical talking Flute. The novel depicted the survival, struggle and problems of a young couple, Johannes and Lämmchen, in Germany in the grip of unemployment.

"I've never had a job because I've never wanted one".

Fallada was the son of High Court Judge (another re-current theme of Morrissey's is with judges, courts, crimials, victms and witnesses.)

Prior to the article in People Magazine about Jack Wild, Morrissey released his album "Morrissey, You are the Quarry" in May. The song "Little Man, What Now?" from Viva Hate is reportedly inspired by Morrissey seeing Jack Wild on an ATV show. "Little Man, What Now" was a novel written by Fallad who took his name from "Fallada", the magical talking horse from a Grimm's story just as Wild had played the character Jimmy who had a talking magical flute in the tv show and movie HR Puffnstuff. The song "Little Man, What Now" written by Morrissey about Jack Wile contained the line "What became of you".

"You are the Quarry" features the song "The World is Full of Crashing Bores" in which the opening line is "You must be wondering how the boy next door turned out". The song also mentions pop stars who are afraid of failing careers. In the song "Little Man, What Now", we are presented with a faded star who "murdered every line" and was "axed" and assigned to the back pages of a "faded annual". The song all contains the line "those who wish to hurt you work within the law"...Fallada's father was High Court Judge. And just before this song is the song "I'm Not Sorry"....which ends with a flute solo.

Some more background on Fallada:
Fallada had a very hellish life, accidentally shooting and killing a friend and committed himself for a time. After writing two novels, Fallada lost his muse and became addicted to morphine. Fallada was sent to prison twice for embezzlement for trying to finance his drug use.

After his self imposed exile and rehab, he became an editor and began writing again. "KLEINER MANN - WAS NUN?" (Little Man, What Now?) gained international success and was praised by Thomas Mann & Hermann Hesse. The story line of the film and book was about a couple who were unemployed and floundering in a society that was stifling and smothering them.

Fallada's style of writing was dubbed Neue Sachlichkeit (new factualism) His themes centered around the effects of technological advances on attitudes, cynicism and disillusionment of the working class and petty bourgeois figures, moral and social problems of the era between the two world wars. Upon deeper study, Fallada's writings were often optimistic and expressed his faith in people in spite of the surface of his language and subjects. Reviewers considered his work morbid, morose, banal, dark and depressing, but Fallad enjoyed huge popularity in Germany and critical acclaim from the literary scholars neverthless (sound familiar?)

The film "Little Man, What Now?" was filmed in Hollywood in 1934. The director, Frank Borzage (1893-1962), was known for his unabashed sentimentalism and lyrical tenderness.

Fallada was blacklisted by the Nazis in 1935. He started to drink again, had an affair with a woman, whom he later married and who also suffered from morphine addiction and alcoholism. After yet another shooting incident Fallada was incarcerated in an asylum. During this time Fallada started to write DER TRINKER, which tells about his alcoholism and was published in 1950.

Fallada was appointed mayor of Feldburg, after the Red Army had occupied the town at the end of WWII. When he resigned he was taken up by the literary establishment of