Manuel Padilla Jr.
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.
Acting
Movie
Scarface
as Kid #2
1983
Movie
American Graffiti
as Carlos
1973
Movie
A Man Called Horse
as Leaping Buck
1970
TV
Gunsmoke
as Paco Avila
1955
Movie
More American Graffiti
as Carlos
1979
Movie
Robin and the 7 Hoods
as Orphan Boy
1964
Movie
The Great White Hope
as Paco
1970
TV
Tarzan
as Jai
1966
Movie
Tarzan and the Valley of Gold
as Ramel
1966
Movie
The Young and the Brave
as Han
1963
Movie
Tarzan and the Great River
as Pepe
1967
Movie
Sylvia
as Pancho Guzman (uncredited)
1965
Movie
Cotton Candy
as Julio Sanchez
1978
TV
Then Came Bronson
as Mike Wade
1969
Movie
Dime with a Halo
as Rafael
1963
Movie
Tarzan's Deadly Silence
as Jai
1970
Movie
Tarzan's Jungle Rebellion
as Jai
1967
Movie
Cutter's Trail
as Paco Avila
1970
Movie
Taffy and the Jungle Hunter
as Beau
1965
Movie
Tarzan and the Perils of Charity Jones
as Jai
1971
Movie
The Mountains of the Moon
as Jai
1967