Celebrity Biographies
Johnny sheffield
His name, Johnny Sheffield, did not become very popular, but the character he played, “Boy”, the adoptive son of Tarzan, did in Johnny Weismuller’s famous films that marked several generations. The actor died on October 15 in Chula Vista, a San Diego neighborhood, as a result of a fall when he was climbing a ladder to prune a palm tree in the garden of his house. He was 79 years old.
Born on April 11, 1931, in Pasadena, California, Jon Matthew Sheffield Cassan was the son of British actor Reginald Sheffield ( Captive of Desire ). He found out by reading the Hollywood Reporter that MGM was looking for a boy for a Tarzan movie and introduced his son, who competed with 300 applicants, and had to prove his swimming skills to get the role. He made his debut in the hit Tarzan and His Son , with Mauren O’Sullivan and the quintessential monkey man, Johnny Weismuller, who became very fond of him; in real life, instead of “Boy” he called him “Big John”.
Sheffield was also in Babes in Arms , a musical with Mickey Rooney , and has subsequently been in seven other King of the Jungle films. Tarzan and the Huntress , from 1947, was his last film as Boy, when he was almost a man, since he was 16 years old. When he retired from the series he became the lead in Bomba, the Jungle Boy , which began a series of 12 titles that did not become as popular as the films he had starred in with Johnny Weismuller.
In 1955, tired of the world of cinema, he decided to retire completely. He studied business and dedicated himself to the business world. He had three children with his wife Patricia and although he wrote about his years in Hollywood, he never made movies again.