Johnny Sheffield

Johnny Sheffield

Johnny Sheffield (born John Matthew Sheffield Cassan) was an American child, teen, and young-adult actor, his screen career lasting from 1938 to 1955. 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 5 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. 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. He appeared with many other performers over the years, including Jeanette MacDonald, Pat O'Brien, Cesar Romero, Ronald Reagan and Beverly Garland. He played the childhood version of the title character in Knute 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, and production of the movie series moved to RKO. Brenda Joyce played Jane in the last three Tarzan movies in which Sheffield appeared. After he outgrew the role of Boy, the teenaged Sheffield went on to star in his own jungle movie series for Allied Artists. In 1949, he made Bomba, the Jungle Boy with co-star Peggy Ann Garner. In all, he appeared as Bomba 12 times, more than any other character he portrayed. Sheffield appeared in his last movie, as Bomba, in 1955. He then made a pilot for a television series, 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 never produced as a weekly series.

  • Title: Johnny Sheffield
  • Popularity: 3.02
  • Known For: Acting
  • Birthday: 1931-04-11
  • Place of Birth: Pasadena, California, USA
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As: John Matthew Sheffield Cassan, John Sheffield
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Johnny Sheffield Movies

  • 1939
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    Tarzan Finds a Son!

    Tarzan Finds a Son!

    6.1 1939 HD

    A young couple die in a plane crash in the jungle. Their son is found by Tarzan and Jane who name him Boy and raise him as their own. Five years...

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  • 1942
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    Tarzan's New York Adventure

    Tarzan's New York Adventure

    6.4 1942 HD

    Circus owner Buck Rand kidnaps Boy to perform in his show. He forces a pilot to fly him, Boy and his animal trainer out of the jungle. Tarzan and...

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  • 1941
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    Tarzan's Secret Treasure

    Tarzan's Secret Treasure

    5.7 1941 HD

    A scientific expedition happens to discover that gold exists on Tarzan's escarpment. The villainous Medford and Vandermeer kidnap Jane and Boy to...

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  • 1954
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    Killer Leopard

    Killer Leopard

    5 1954 HD

    Movie actress Linda Winters has gone into the jungle to find her lost husband Fred. Bomba the Jungle Boy helps in the rescue effort. A major obstacle...

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  • 1947
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    Tarzan and the Huntress

    Tarzan and the Huntress

    5.6 1947 HD

    A shortage of zoo animals after World War II brings beautiful animal trainer Tanya, her financial backer and her cruel trail boss to the jungle....

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  • 1943
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    Tarzan Triumphs

    Tarzan Triumphs

    6.1 1943 HD

    Zandra, white princess of a lost civilization, comes to Tarzan for help when Nazis invade the jungle with plans to conquer her people and take their...

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  • 1943
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    Tarzan's Desert Mystery

    Tarzan's Desert Mystery

    6.1 1943 HD

    A letter from Jane, who is nursing British troops, asks Tarzan's help in obtaining a malaria serum extractable from jungle plants. Tarzan and Boy set...

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  • 1945
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    Tarzan and the Amazons

    Tarzan and the Amazons

    6.3 1945 HD

    A group of archaeologists asks Tarzan to help them find an ancient city in a hidden valley of women. He refuses, but Boy is tricked into doing the...

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  • 1946
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    Tarzan and the Leopard Woman

    Tarzan and the Leopard Woman

    5.663 1946 HD

    A tribe devoted to the leopard cult is dedicated to preventing civilization from moving further into Africa.

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  • 1941
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    Million Dollar Baby

    Million Dollar Baby

    6 1941 HD

    A sudden windfall has unexpected consequences on a working class girl during the Great Depression.

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  • 1949
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    Bomba, the Jungle Boy

    Bomba, the Jungle Boy

    5.583 1949 HD

    George Harland and his daughter Pat are photographers who discover a wild boy in the jungle. When Pat becomes lost, Bomba brings her back, overcoming...

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  • 1952
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    African Treasure

    African Treasure

    6.9 1952 HD

    Against stock footage of lions, elephants and wildebeasts, Bomba the Jungle Boy captures a pair of nefarious diamond smugglers.

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  • 2006
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    Charlie Chan's Lucky Director: H. Bruce Humberstone

    Charlie Chan's Lucky Director: H. Bruce Humberstone

    1 2006 HD

    Short documentary on Charlie Chan film series director H. Bruce Humberstone

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  • 1950
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    The Lost Volcano

    The Lost Volcano

    5.3 1950 HD

    Little David Gordon lives in the jungle with his parents Ruth and Fred, along with their servant Nona. David likes living there while his father...

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  • 1953
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    Safari Drums

    Safari Drums

    5.2 1953 HD

    A group of movie makers arrive in Africa to make a film about jungle wildlife.

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  • 1940
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    Lucky Cisco Kid

    Lucky Cisco Kid

    5.6 1940 HD

    Cisco and Gordito arrive to find there is an outlaw operating in the area who is assumed to be the Cisco Kid. When a reward is offered for his...

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  • 1949
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    Bomba on Panther Island

    Bomba on Panther Island

    5 1949 HD

    In this second film in the Bomba, the Jungle Boy series, Bomba tracks a dangerous panther.

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  • 1951
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    Elephant Stampede

    Elephant Stampede

    5.1 1951 HD

    Bomba the jungle boy swings into action when an elephant herd is threatened by ivory hunters.

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  • 1950
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    Bomba and the Hidden City

    Bomba and the Hidden City

    4.6 1950 HD

    A nature photographer and his guide meet a corrupt emir with a dirty secret. Only jungle-dwelling Bomba knows the truth.

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  • 1951
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    The Lion Hunters

    The Lion Hunters

    5.3 1951 HD

    A lion trapper and his daughter rendezvous with their hardheaded partner in the African jungle. Bomba, with assistance from a local tribe, strives to...

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  • 1952
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    Bomba and the Jungle Girl

    Bomba and the Jungle Girl

    5.286 1952 HD

    Bomba decides to find out who his parents were. He starts with Cody Casson's diary and follows the trail to a native village. An ancient blind woman...

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  • 1954
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    The Golden Idol

    The Golden Idol

    4.2 1954 HD

    Prince Ali wants the Golden Idol of Watusi and hires a ruthless hunter to get it for him. Bomba has the idol and, with the help of Commissioner...

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  • 1955
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    Lord of the Jungle

    Lord of the Jungle

    6.4 1955 HD

    The jungle boy tries to stop a herd of rogue elephants.

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  • 1939
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    Babes in Arms

    Babes in Arms

    6.4 1939 HD

    Mickey Moran, son of two vaudeville veterans, decides to put up his own vaudeville show with his girlfriend Patsy Barton. But child actress Rosalie...

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  • 1940
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    Little Orvie

    Little Orvie

    7 1940 HD

    Family film, based on a Booth Tarkington tale, about a young boy who takes extreme measures to keep the stray dog he befriends.

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  • 1940
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    Knute Rockne All American

    Knute Rockne All American

    6 1940 HD

    The story of legendary Notre Dame football player and coach Knute Rockne.

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  • 1938
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    The Man on the Rock

    The Man on the Rock

    6 1938 HD

    A look at whether Napoleon Bonaparte indeed died on the island of St. Helena in 1821.

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  • 2004
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    The One, the Only, the Real Tarzan

    The One, the Only, the Real Tarzan

    7.2 2004 HD

    The glorious and tragic story of American athlete and actor Johnny Weissmuller (1904-84), Olympic swimmer, water polo player and the only true...

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