

He had already developed a reputation as something of a hellraiser, heavy drinker and womaniser. Oliver Reed was already something of an acting legend by 1968, but it was Oliver! that turned him into a household name after playing the villainous Bill Sikes. Now aged 87, the Tottenham-born singer still lives in the States. “If I’d stayed in the UK after Oliver!, I’d probably still be working hard.
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But then movie musicals like Doctor Dolittle flopped and they decided not to make any more, which was a big blow.
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“When I came back to America, I had offers to do what became a very famous series on television, The Brady Bunch," she told the Sunday Post. However, she was not able to recapture the success of her most famous role. West End performer Shani Wallis arguably stole the show with her powerful performance as the tragic Nancy in Oliver!.Īfter the movie, Shani moved to the States with her husband and appeared in a number of TV shows like Charlie's Angels, Columbo and Murder She Wrote. Mark was famously a close friend of Michael Jackson, and has claimed in interviews that he could be the biological father of Paris Jackson, as he provided his sperm to the singer. In 2006, he married his second wife, a psychiatric nurse. He has four children with his first wife, Jane, whom he divorced in 2005. He became an osteopath, studying at the British School of Osteopathy, and in 1993, Lester opened the Carlton Clinic, an acupuncture clinic in Cheltenham. In his 20s, he became a karate black belt, and later started a career in osteopathy.Īged 28, he took his A-Levels, passing Chemistry and Biology. He went on to act in a number of films over the next 10 years, including the lead role in The Prince and the Pauper.

Mark Lester was cast in the title role of the 1968 film, though his singing was dubbed by Kathe Green, daughter of the film's music arranger Johnny Green. He had to communicate through his second wife Claire for the rest of his life. Tragically, Jack was diagnosed with oral cancer in 2001, and later had his tongue and voicebox removed, leaving him unable to speak.
