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Johnny Sheffield

Johnny Sheffield

Actor · Died October 15, 2010, aged 79 · Pasadena, California, USA

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.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
April 11, 1931
Died
October 15, 2010 (aged 79)
From
Pasadena, California, USA
Works as
Actor
Titles
10 on MovieCove · 26 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 11% in 30 days

What are Johnny Sheffield's films like?

Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Power.

Genres

Action7 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 62nd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Action movies
Adventure2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 40th percentile
: browse their Adventure movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
43%
Power
25%
Morality
15%
Survival
10%
Society
7%
Family bonds4 titles, browse their movies with this themeGreed3 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 9 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 9 · Serious 0 · Dark 0

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 4 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 2 · Charged 7 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 5 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 9 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 9 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 9 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

8 analyzed roles

Usually the Ally: 6 of 8 analyzed roles.

Ally
6 of 8
Herald
1 of 8
Hero
1 of 8
Show the 8 roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Thrilling
6
Tense
6
Joyful
4
Warm
3
Hopeful
3
Other
1

How their films linger

Fun8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy9

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Johnny Sheffield's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 1 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, on HBO Max (1).

Subscription and free streaming for Johnny Sheffield's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

26 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page; 3 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Lord of the Jungle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    as Bomba

  • Killer Leopard (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    as Bomba

  • The Golden Idol (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    as Bomba

  • Safari Drums (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    as Bomba

  • Bomba and the Jungle Girl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)

    as Bomba

  • African Treasure (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)

    as Bomba

  • Elephant Stampede (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)

    as Bomba

  • The Lion Hunters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)

    as Bomba

  • Bomba and the Hidden City (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)

    as Bomba

  • The Lost Volcano (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)

    as Bomba

  • Bomba on Panther Island (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)

    as Bomba

  • Bomba: The Jungle Boy(1949)

    as Bomba

    Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films

  • Tarzan and the Huntress(1947)

    as Boy

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Tarzan and the Leopard Woman(1946)

    as Boy

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Tarzan and the Amazons(1945)

    as Boy

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • Tarzan's Desert Mystery(1943)

    as Boy

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • Tarzan Triumphs(1943)

    as Boy

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • Tarzan's New York Adventure(1942)

    as Boy

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Tarzan's Secret Treasure(1941)

    as Boy

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Million Dollar Baby (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    as Alvie Grayson

  • Knute Rockne All American(1940)

    as Knute - Age 7

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Lucky Cisco Kid (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    as Tommy Lawrence

  • Little Orvie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    as Orvie Stone

  • Babes in Arms (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    as Bobs (as John Sheffield)

  • Tarzan Finds a Son!(1939)

    as Boy

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • The Man on the Rock (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    as Napoleon's Son (uncredited)

Career shape

Star power in the 92nd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 26 titles from 1938 to 1955.

Biggest box office

Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942)

$5.9M worldwide

Highest rated

Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942)

Midcredits 69th

Most popular right now

Tarzan Triumphs (1943)

Film career

  • 1939Screen debut· Tarzan Finds a Son!
  • 1943Career best· Tarzan Triumphs

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting26 of 26: 26 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score62nd

By decade

1930s3 · acting1940s13 · acting1950s10 · acting

Billing

usually 3rd · top billed in 0% of 10 roles

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.

How do Johnny Sheffield's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 62nd percentile, the median of all 10; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 54th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

54thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Approval · how many liked their films

68thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Reach · how many have seen their films

66thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Midcredits score across 10 titles, by percentile

  • 50th to 74th9
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

None of their 10 titles divides audiences: 9 are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Crowd Pleaser9
  • Mixed1

Most loved · actor

Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942)

Midcredits 69th · 65% liked

Reviewers score the acting 61/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles; fans 68, detractors 44. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Johnny Sheffield work with?

People who share at least 2 of Johnny Sheffield's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Edgar Rice Burroughs shares the most, 8.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers