Johnny Sheffield (born John Matthew Sheffield Cassan, April 11, 1931
â€" October 15, 2010) was an American child actor who, between 1939
and 1947, played Boy in the Tarzan film series and, between 1949 and
1955, played Bomba the Jungle Boy.Sheffield was born John Matthew
Sheffield Cassan in Pasadena, California, the second child of actor
Reginald Sheffield and Louise Van Loon (January 21, 1905 â€" April 14,
1987). 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 a Vassar College graduate 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 a West
Coast production of the highly successful Broadway play On Borrowed
Time, which starred Dudley Digges and featured Victor Moore as Gramps.
Sheffield played the role of Pud, a long role for a child. He later
went to New York as a replacement and performed the role on
Broadway.The following year, his father read an article in The
Hollywood Reporter that asked, "Have you a Tarzan Jr. in your
backyard?" He believed he did and set up an interview. MGM was
searching for a suitable youngster to play the adopted son of Tarzan
in its next jungle movie with stars Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen
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" in Tarzan 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 the
Busby Berkeley movie musical Babes in Arms with Mickey Rooney and Judy
Garland, classmates of his at the studio school.
â€" October 15, 2010) was an American child actor who, between 1939
and 1947, played Boy in the Tarzan film series and, between 1949 and
1955, played Bomba the Jungle Boy.Sheffield was born John Matthew
Sheffield Cassan in Pasadena, California, the second child of actor
Reginald Sheffield and Louise Van Loon (January 21, 1905 â€" April 14,
1987). 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 a Vassar College graduate 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 a West
Coast production of the highly successful Broadway play On Borrowed
Time, which starred Dudley Digges and featured Victor Moore as Gramps.
Sheffield played the role of Pud, a long role for a child. He later
went to New York as a replacement and performed the role on
Broadway.The following year, his father read an article in The
Hollywood Reporter that asked, "Have you a Tarzan Jr. in your
backyard?" He believed he did and set up an interview. MGM was
searching for a suitable youngster to play the adopted son of Tarzan
in its next jungle movie with stars Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen
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" in Tarzan 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 the
Busby Berkeley movie musical Babes in Arms with Mickey Rooney and Judy
Garland, classmates of his at the studio school.
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