Reginald Sheffield
Acting
Born February 18, 1901, London, England, UK
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Reginald Sheffield was born Matthew Reginald Sheffield Cassan in the St. George's, Hanover Square district of London, to Matthew Sheffield Cassan and Alice Mary Field. He had a brother, Edward Sheffield Cassan, and a sister, Flora Kathleen Sheffield Cassan, who became an actress known as Flora Sheffield. His father was born in Ireland and his mother in England. They were married in London in 1892. Matthew died when Reginald was nine. In 1913 Reginald (billed as Eric Desmond) appeared in David Copperfield. In 1914, Alice Sheffield and her children emigrated to the United States, where they lived in Queens, New York. Reginald acted on the stage and in films. While his sister Flora was an actress, brother Edward worked as an accountant in a bank and later became a theatrical agent. Sheffield's Broadway performances credited as Reggie Sheffield include Evidence (1914), in which his mother also appeared, The Merry Wives of Windsor (1916), If (1917), The Betrothal (1918), and Helena's Boys (1924). His performances credited as Reginald Sheffield include Youth (1920), The Way Things Happen (1924), Hay Fever (1925), Slaves All (1926), Soldiers and Women (1929), and Dear Old England (1930). Reginald Sheffield was married in 1927 to Louise Van Loon (21 January 1905 – 14 April 1987), a New York-born Vassar College graduate with a liberal arts education. The couple had three children: Mary Alice Sheffield Cassan (born 1928), Jon Matthew Sheffield Cassan (11 April 1931 – 15 October 2010) (aka actor Johnny Sheffield), and William Hart Sheffield Cassan (15 July 1935 – 12 December 2010) (actor Billy Sheffield). As film production became more and more located in Southern California, Sheffield and his wife travelled back and forth between New York City and Los Angeles. After several years they moved permanently to the West Coast. Being a trained stage actor, Sheffield easily made the transition from silent films to talkies. He was a working actor who became memorable in numerous character and supporting roles and appeared with some of the greatest film stars of the day, including Constance Bennett, William Powell, George Arliss, Loretta Young, Gary Cooper, Errol Flynn, Rosalind Russell, Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine. In 1954, he began starring as Professor Mayberry in the television series Rocky Jones, Space Ranger. And after his son, Johnny Sheffield [of first the Tarzan then the Bomba films series], appeared in his last jungle film in 1955, Reginald created, produced and directed a pilot for a television series, Bantu, the Zebra Boy, but a sponsor was not found and the show was never produced as a weekly series. Sheffield acted in both versions, 1938 and 1958, of Cecil B. DeMille's The Buccaneer, the latter being his last screen appearance. Reginald Sheffield died 8 December 1957 at his home in Pacific Palisades, California, aged 56.
Filmography
- 1958Marjorie Morningstar — Hotel Desk Clerk (uncredited)
- 1957The Story of Mankind — Julius Caesar
- 195623 Paces to Baker Street
- 1956Secret of Treasure Mountain — Edward Lancaster
- Rocky Jones, Space Ranger
- 1954The Black Shield of Falworth — Lord Constable (uncredited)
- 1953Second Chance — Mr. Woburn, English tourist
- 1953The Story of Three Loves — Coudray's Stage Manager
- 1952At Sword's Point
- Four Star Playhouse — Inspector Blaney
- 1949A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court — Auctioneer (uncredited)
- 1949Prison Warden — English Charlie / Watkins the Butler
- 1948A Woman's Vengeance — Solicitor (uncredited)
- 1948Kiss the Blood Off My Hands — Superintendent
- 1948The Three Musketeers
- 1947Singapore — Travel Agent (uncredited)
- 1947The Exile — Commanding Officer (uncredited)
- 1946Devotion — Charles Dickens (uncredited)
- 1946The Searching Wind — Harry, Reporter
- 1946The Verdict — Chaplain (uncredited)
- 1946Three Strangers — Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
- 1945Captain Kidd — Captain of the King's Guard (uncredited)
- 1945My Name Is Julia Ross — McQuarrie (uncredited)
- 1945The Man in Half Moon Street — Art Expert at Party
- 1944Our Hearts Were Young and Gay — Purser (uncredited)
- 1943Appointment in Berlin — Miller - Wilson's Butler (uncredited)
- 1943My Kingdom for a Cook — Reuter's English Reporter
- 1942Eagle Squadron — Doc
- 1942Eyes in the Night — Victor
- 1941Suspicion — Reggie Wetherby
- 1941The Lady Eve — Professor Jones (uncredited)
- 1940Arise, My Love — Steward (uncredited)
- 1940Earthbound — Defense Attorney
- 1940Hudson's Bay — Clerk (uncredited)
- 1940My Son, My Son! — Thurston
- 1940Vigil in the Night — Judge Tyler
- 1939Gunga Din — Rudyard Kipling - Journalist
- 1938Female Fugitive — Dr. Richardson
- 1938The Buccaneer — Ship's Surgeon
- 1936The White Angel — Patient (uncredited)
- 1935Cardinal Richelieu — Richelieu's Outrider
- 1935Society Fever — Lord Michael
- 1935Splendor — Billy Grimes
- 1934Charlie Chan in London — Flight Cmdr. King (uncredited)
- 1934Of Human Bondage — Cyril Dunsford
- 1934One More River — Tommy
- 1931Partners of the Trail — John Durrant
- 1930Old English — Bob Pillin
- 1930The Green Goddess — Lieutenant Cardew
- 1928The Adorable Cheat — Will Dorsey
- 1926White Mice — Peter de Peyster
- 1925The Pinch Hitter — Alexis Thompson
- 1924Classmates — Bert Stafford
- 1919Piccadilly Jim — Ogden Pett
- 1919The Country Cousin — Sammy Wilson
- 1914The Magic Glass — Tommy (as Eric Desmond)
- 1913David Copperfield — David Copperfield as a Child (as Eric Desmond)
- The Nest — Martin Hamilton