Johnny Sheffield (born John Matthew Sheffield Cassan, April 11, 1931 – October 15, 2010) was an American child actor who, between 1939 and 1947, portrayed Boy in the
Tarzan film series and, between 1949 and 1955, played
Bomba, the Jungle Boy
''Bomba, the Jungle Boy'' is a series of American boys' adventure books produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate under the pseudonym Roy Rockwood. and published by Cupples and Leon in the first half of the 20th century, in imitation of the successfu ...
.
Early life
Sheffield was born John Matthew Sheffield Cassan on April 11, 1931, in
Pasadena, California
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...
,
the second child of English-American actor
Reginald Sheffield
Matthew Reginald Sheffield Cassan (18 February 1901 – 8 December 1957) was an English-American actor.
Life
He was born as Matthew Reginald Sheffield Cassan on 18 February 1901 in the St. George's, Hanover Square district of London, to Matt ...
and 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.
In 1938, Sheffield became a child star after he was cast in the juvenile lead of a
West Coast production of the highly successful
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
play
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* P ...
''On Borrowed Time'', which starred
Dudley Digges
Sir Dudley Digges ( – ) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1610 and 1629. Digges was also a "Virginia adventurer," an investor who ventured his capital in the Virginia Company of London; his s ...
and featured
Victor Moore
Victor Fred Moore (February 24, 1876 – July 23, 1962) was an American actor of stage and screen, a major Broadway star from the late 1920s through the 1930s. He was also a writer and director, but is best remembered today as a comedian, play ...
as Gramps. Sheffield played the role of Pud.
''Tarzan'' and other films
The following year, his father read an article in ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' that asked, "Have you a Tarzan Jr. in your backyard?" He believed he did and set up an interview.
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
was searching for a suitable youngster to play the adopted son of
Tarzan
Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer.
Creat ...
in its next jungle movie with stars
Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller ( ; born Johann Peter Weißmüller, ; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was a Hungarian-born German American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive-swimming records o ...
and
Maureen O'Sullivan
Maureen Paula O'Sullivan (May 17, 1911 – June 23, 1998) was an Irish actress who played Jane in the ''Tarzan'' series of films during the era of Johnny Weissmuller. She starred in dozens of feature films across a span of more than half a ...
. 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" in ''
Tarzan Finds a Son!
''Tarzan Finds a Son!'' is a 1939 Tarzan film based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the fourth in the MGM ''Tarzan'' series to feature Johnny Weissmuller as the "King of the Apes" and the fourth of six films in which he ...
'' (1939). Newspaper articles at the time mentioned erroneously that Sheffield was only 5 years old. In that same year, Sheffield appeared in the
Busby Berkeley
Berkeley William Enos, (November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) known professionally as Busby Berkeley, was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geo ...
movie musical ''
Babes in Arms
''Babes in Arms'' is a 1937 coming-of-age musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a group of small-town Long Island teenagers who put on a show to avoid being sent to a work ...
'' with
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...
and
Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...
, classmates of his at the studio school.
He appeared with many other performers over the years, including
Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American soprano and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 film) ...
,
Pat O'Brien,
Cesar Romero
César Julio Romero Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was an American actor. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost 60 years. His wide range of screen roles included Latin lover (stereotype), Latin lovers, historical ...
,
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
and
Beverly Garland
Beverly Lucy Garland (née Fessenden; October 17, 1926 – December 5, 2008) was an American actress. Her work in feature films primarily consisted of small parts in a few major productions or leads in low-budget action and science-fiction movi ...
. He played the childhood version of the title character in ''
Knute Rockne, All American
''Knute Rockne, All American'' is a 1940 American biographical film that tells the story of Knute Rockne, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame's legendary football coach. It stars Pat O'Brien (actor), Pat O'Brien as Rockne and Ronald Reagan as p ...
'', 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, and
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stat ...
of the movie series moved to
RKO
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Kei ...
.
Brenda Joyce played 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 for
Allied Artists. The first entry in this series, ''
Bomba, the Jungle Boy
''Bomba, the Jungle Boy'' is a series of American boys' adventure books produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate under the pseudonym Roy Rockwood. and published by Cupples and Leon in the first half of the 20th century, in imitation of the successfu ...
'' was released in 1949
[ ] with co-star
Peggy Ann Garner
Peggy Ann Garner (February 3, 1932 – October 16, 1984) was an American child actress.
As a child actress, Garner had her first film role in 1938. At the 18th Academy Awards, Garner won the Academy Juvenile Award, recognizing her body of ...
. 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 a
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
for a
television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
series, ''Bantu, the Zebra Boy'', which was created, produced, and directed by his father,
Reginald Sheffield
Matthew Reginald Sheffield Cassan (18 February 1901 – 8 December 1957) was an English-American actor.
Life
He was born as Matthew Reginald Sheffield Cassan on 18 February 1901 in the St. George's, Hanover Square district of London, to Matt ...
. 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 the
industry
Industry may refer to:
Economics
* Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity
* Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery
* The wider industrial sector ...
and enrolled in
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...
to further his
education
Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
. He lived and worked for a time in
Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
. He married Patricia Sheffield in 1959 in
Yuma, Arizona
Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 95,548 at the 2020 census, up from the 2010 census population of 93,064.
Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, Metropolitan ...
. The couple had three children: Patrick, Stewart, and Regina.
After leaving
show business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...
, Sheffield completed a
business
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...
degree at
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
.
[ Turning his attention to other fields, he involved himself variously in ]farming
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
, real estate, and construction
Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...
. For a time, he was a representative for the Santa Monica Seafood
Santa Monica Seafood is an American foodservice distribution company serving the Southwestern United States. It exclusively distributes seafood at a wholesale price and has ten physical stores.
The company also has satellite locations in Albuq ...
Company importing lobsters from Baja California
Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...
in Mexico.
In his later years Johnny Sheffield lived in Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
, where he wrote articles about his Hollywood years and sold copies of the TV pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
''Bantu, the Zebra Boy'' on 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, in Chula Vista, California
Chula Vista ( ; , ) is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. It is the second-most populous city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the Largest cities in Southern California, seventh-most populous city in Southern California ...
, aged 79.[ He was remembered by the '']New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' as "the character Boy in the Tarzan movies of the 1930s and ’40s."
Filmography
References
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
*
"Matt's Bomba the Jungle Boy Movie Guide"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheffield, Johnny
1931 births
2010 deaths
20th-century American male actors
Male actors from Los Angeles
American male film actors
American male child actors
American people of English descent
University of California, Los Angeles alumni