Johnny Sheffield

For other people with similar names, seeJohn Sheffield (disambiguation).

Johnny Sheffield
Sheffield andJohnny WeissmullerinTarzan Finds a Son!(1939)
Born	John Matthew Sheffield Cassan (1931-04-11)April 11, 1931 Pasadena, California,U.S.
Died	October 15, 2010 (aged 79) Chula Vista, California,U.S.
Alma mater	UCLAbusinessdegree
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1939–1955
Spouse	Patricia Sheffield ​ ​ (m.1959)​
Children	3
Parent	Reginald Sheffield(father)

Johnny Sheffield(bornJohn Matthew Sheffield Cassan,April 11, 1931 – October 15, 2010) was an American child actor who, between 1939 and 1947, portrayed Boy in theTarzan film seriesand, between 1949 and 1955, playedBomba the Jungle Boy.

Early life

Sheffield was born John Matthew Sheffield Cassan on April 11, 1931, inPasadena, California,the second child of English-American actorReginald Sheffieldand Louise Van Loon. His older sister was Mary Alice Sheffield Cassan and his younger brother was William Hart Sheffield Cassan (actor Billy Sheffield). His father was himself a former juvenile performer when he came to the United States from his native England. His mother, a native of New York City, was aVassar Collegegraduate with a liberal arts education who loved books and lectured widely.

In 1938, Sheffield became a child star after he was cast in the juvenile lead of aWest Coastproduction of the highly successfulBroadwayplayOn Borrowed Time,which starredDudley Diggesand featuredVictor Mooreas Gramps. Sheffield played the role of Pud. He later went to New York as a replacement and performed the role on Broadway.

Tarzanand other films

The following year, his father read an article inThe Hollywood Reporterthat asked, "Have you a Tarzan Jr. in your backyard?" He believed he did and set up an interview.MGMwas searching for a suitable youngster to play the adopted son ofTarzanin its next jungle movie with starsJohnny WeissmullerandMaureen O'Sullivan.When he was 7 years old,Sheffield was taken to an audition where Weissmuller chose him over more than 300 juvenile actors interviewed for the part of "Boy" inTarzan Finds a Son!(1939). Newspaper articles at the time mentioned erroneously that Sheffield was only 5 years old.In that same year, Sheffield appeared in theBusby Berkeleymovie musicalBabes in ArmswithMickey RooneyandJudy Garland,classmates of his at the studio school.

He appeared with many other performers over the years, includingJeanette MacDonald,Pat O'Brien,Cesar Romero,Ronald ReaganandBeverly Garland.He played the childhood version of the title character inKnute Rockne, All American,perhaps the most prestigious film in which he had a role.

Sheffield played Boy in three Tarzan movies at MGM, and in another five after the star, Weissmuller, andproductionof the movie series moved toRKO.Brenda Joyceplayed Jane in the last three Tarzan movies in which Sheffield appeared.

Bomba and Bantu

After he outgrew the role of Boy, the teenaged Sheffield went on to star in his own jungle movie series forAllied Artists.The first entry in this series,Bomba, the Jungle Boywas released in 1949with co-starPeggy Ann Garner.In all, he appeared as Bomba 12 times, more than any other character he portrayed. Sheffield retired from films at age 24 after starring in his twelfth Bomba film in 1955 ( "Lord of the Jungle" ).

He then made apilotfor atelevisionseries,Bantu the Zebra Boy,which was created, produced, and directed by his father,Reginald Sheffield.Although the production values were high compared to other TV jungle shows of the day, a sponsor was not found and the show was not taken up as a weekly series. In his later years, Sheffield sold bootlegged copies of the pilot to collectors on videotape.

Post-Hollywood careers

Sheffield decided to leave theindustryand enrolled incollegeto further hiseducation.He lived and worked for a time inArizona.He married Patricia Sheffield in 1959 inYuma, Arizona.The couple had three children: Patrick, Stewart, and Regina.

After leavingshow business,Sheffield completed abusinessdegreeatUCLA.Turning his attention to other fields, he involved himself variously infarming,real estateandconstruction.For a time, he was a representative for theSanta Monica SeafoodCompanyimportinglobsters fromBaja Californiain Mexico.

In his later years Johnny Sheffield lived inSouthern Californiawhere he wrote articles about his Hollywood years and sold copies of the TVpilotBantu, the Zebra Boyon video.

Death

Sheffield's wife, Patty, said that he fell from a ladder while pruning a palm tree.Though his injuries seemed minor, he died of a heart attack four hours later on October 15, 2010, inChula Vista, California,aged 79.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1939	Tarzan Finds a Son!	Boy
	Babes in Arms	Bobs
1940	Little Orvie	Orvie Stone
	Lucky Cisco Kid	Tommy Lawrence
	Knute Rockne, All American	Knute Rockne(at age 7)
1941	Million Dollar Baby	Alvie Grayson
	Tarzan's Secret Treasure	Boy
1942	Tarzan's New York Adventure	Boy
1943	Tarzan Triumphs	Boy
	Tarzan's Desert Mystery	Boy
1945	Roughly Speaking	Frankie (at age 9)	Uncredited
	Tarzan and the Amazons	Boy
1946	Tarzan and the Leopard Woman	Boy
1947	Tarzan and the Huntress	Boy
1949	The Sun Comes Up	Music Lover	Uncredited
	Bomba, the Jungle Boy	Bomba
	Bomba on Panther Island	Bomba
1950	The Lost Volcano	Bomba
	Bomba and the Hidden City	Bomba
1951	The Lion Hunters	Bomba
	Bomba and the Elephant Stampede	Bomba
1952	African Treasure	Bomba
	Bomba and the Jungle Girl	Bomba
1953	Safari Drums	Bomba
1954	The Golden Idol	Bomba
	Killer Leopard	Bomba
1955	Lord of the Jungle	Bomba	Final film role

Bibliography

• Best, Marc.Those Endearing Young Charms: Child Performers of the Screen(South Brunswick and New York: Barnes & Co., 1971), pp. 235–239.
• Holmstrom, John.The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995,Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, pp. 175–176.
• Dye, David.Child and Youth Actors: Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914-1985.Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1988, pp. 213.

External links

• Johnny SheffieldatIMDb
• "Matt's Bomba the Jungle Boy Movie Guide"