Manuel Padilla Jr.
Birthday: Born in 1955-07-13 in Los Angeles, California, USA
Deathday: 2008-01-29
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.
TV Credits
Tarzan
Character: Jai
Tarzan is a series that aired on NBC from 1966 – 1968. The series portrayed Tarzan as a well-educated character, one who, tired of civilization, had returned to the jungle where he had been raised. The show retained many of the trappings of the classic movie series, including Cheeta, while excluding other elements, such as Jane, as part of the "new look" for the fabled apeman that producer Sy Weintraub had introduced in previous motion pictures starring Gordon Scott, Jock Mahoney, and Mike Henry...
Gunsmoke
Character: Paco Avila
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television....
Movie Credits
American Graffiti
Character: Carlos
A couple of high school graduates spend one final night cruising the strip with their buddies before they go off to college....
Tarzan and the Great River
Character: Pepe
Tarzan is summoned to Brazil by an old friend to stop an evil tribal cult from destroying native villages and enslaving the survivors. The Lord of the Jungle is accompanied on his quest by a pretty blonde doctor, a boy and a grizzled sea captain....
Cotton Candy
Character: Julio Sanchez
An uncool high-schooler forms his own group to beat the local hotshots in a battle of the bands....
More American Graffiti
Character: Carlos
College graduates deal with Vietnam and other issues of the late '60s....
Tarzan and the Valley of Gold
Character: Ramel
In Central America, a little native boy, Ramel, is abducted by Vinaro, a madman who believes the child to be the sole link to a lost Aztec city of gold. Vinaro uses one of his diabolical explosive mechanisms to eliminate police and army officials; and the legendary Tarzan is flown in to help locate the jungle city, rescue the boy, and bring Vinaro to justice....
The Mountains of the Moon
Character: Jai
A religious sect, cheated by an adventurer, wants to occupy an African territory not knowing that it is inhabited by a bloodthirsty tribe. Luckily Tarzan intervenes....
Robin and the 7 Hoods
Character: Orphan Boy
Set in Prohibition era Chicago, bootlegger Robbo and his cronies refuse to pay the greedy Guy Gisborne a cut of their profits after Guy shoots mob boss Big Jim and takes over. When Big Jim's daughter, Marian, gives Robbo a large sum, believing he has avenged her father's death, the gangster donates to an orphanage, cementing his reputation as a softhearted hood....
Taffy and the Jungle Hunter
Character: Beau
A hunter, who captures wild animals for zoos, takes his young son and the boy's widowed governess on his latest expedition. The boy and his pet chimp, in company with a baby elephant his father has captured, run away from camp and experience many thrilling adventures....
The Great White Hope
Character: Paco
A black champion boxer and his white female companion struggle to survive while the white boxing establishment looks for ways to knock him down....
Scarface
Character: Kid #2
After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands in his way, Tony eventually becomes the biggest drug lord in the state, controlling nearly all the cocaine that comes through Miami. But increased pressure from the police, wars with Colombian drug cartels and his own drug-fueled paranoia serve to fuel the flames of his eventual downfall....
The Young and the Brave
Character: Han
A drama of the Korean War. Four American Army POWs escape behind enemy lines and try to make their way back to their units in the South. Along the way they are aided by a young Korean boy and his adopted dog, a US trained German Shepherd named Lobo....
Tarzan's Deadly Silence
Character: Jai
Tarzan tries to stop a bloodthirsty Colonel from taking over an African village with his soldiers of fortune. The ape-man has been rendered deaf by an exploding hand grenade, effectively limiting one of his keen senses. Tarzan relies on his telepathic powers to stop a lion. Woody Strode also appears in this film that combines two made for television episodes....
Tarzan and the Perils of Charity Jones
Character: Jai
Jai, the orphaned boy adopted by the Monkey Man, helps missionary Charity Jones bring an organ to a friendly tribe, but they are captured by hostile natives....
Dime with a Halo
Character: Rafael
Five Mexican street urchins steal a dime from the church's collection box and bet it on a race-horse....
A Man Called Horse
Character: Leaping Buck
In 1825, English peer Lord John Morgan is cast adrift in the American West. Captured by Sioux Indians, Morgan is at first targeted for quick extinction, but the tribesmen sense that he is worthy of survival. He eventually passes the many necessary tests that will permit him to become a member of the tribe....
Sylvia
Character: Pancho Guzman (uncredited)
Sylvia West (Carroll Baker) may not be who she says she is. Her fiancé, the very well-to-do Frederick Summers (Peter Lawford), hires an investigator named Alan Maklin (George Maharis) to do some digging, and what he finds out about her life prior to becoming a writer is quite shocking. Will the newfound knowledge ruin the marriage? Gordon Douglas (Young at Heart) directs this drama, which is based on E.V. Cunningham's book....
Tarzan's Jungle Rebellion
Character: Jai
In this exciting jungle adventure the esteemed archaeologist, Dr Singleton, and his daughter, Mary, travel to mystical Africa in search of an ancient artifact: the fabled Blue Stone of Heaven. Imbued with the unfathomable power to bestow its holder with immense strength, the statuette attracts corrupt Colonel Tatakombi, who, blind with greed, intends to spark an uprising, and turn the natives against Tarzan. Can mighty Tarzan avert the jungle rebellion?...
Cutter's Trail
Character: Paco Avila
The Marshal of Santa Fe returns home to find his town almost wiped out by Mexican bandits and enlists the help of a young Mexican boy and his mother to track them down....