Manuel Padilla Jr.

Born: 1955-07-13, Los Angeles, California, USA

Died: 2008-01-29

Biography

In the 1960s, Padilla was a popular child actor, usually playing the Mexican or Indian boy in TV westerns such as "Rawhide," "Bonanza" and "Gunsmoke". He was a regular in the 1960s TV series "Tarzan", with actor Ron Ely, in dozens of episodes as native boy 'Jai', and as also a semi-regular in the TV series, "The Flying Nun", with actress Sally Field. In featured films, as an adult, Padilla made appearances in the films, "The Great White Hope", "American Graffiti", "A Man Called Horse", and "Scarface", among others. Padilla died unexpectedly at age 52, just after making a public appearance at the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California, in January 2008.

Filmography

• Scarface (1983)
• Gunsmoke (1955)
• Then Came Bronson (1969)
• Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)
• More American Graffiti (1979)
• A Man Called Horse (1970)
• The Great White Hope (1970)
• Cutter's Trail (1970)
• Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1966)
• The Mountains of the Moon (1967)
• Tarzan and the Great River (1967)
• The Young and the Brave (1963)
• Tarzan's Deadly Silence (1970)
• Tarzan and the Perils of Charity Jones (1971)
• Tarzan's Jungle Rebellion (1967)
• Dime with a Halo (1963)
• Taffy and the Jungle Hunter (1965)