Reginald Sheffield

Reginald Sheffield, born Matthew Reginald Sheffield Cassan on 18 February 1901 in the St. George's, Hanover Square district of London, was an English-American actor whose career spanned stage, film, and television. He died on 8 December 1957 at his home in Pacific Palisades, California, at the age of 56.

Sheffield was the son of Matthew Sheffield Cassan, who was born in Ireland, and Alice Mary Field, who was born in England and married in London in 1892. His father died when Sheffield was nine years old. He had two siblings: a sister, Flora Kathleen Sheffield Cassan, who pursued an acting career under the name Flora Sheffield, and a brother, Edward Sheffield Cassan, who worked as a bank accountant before becoming a theatrical agent. In 1913, Sheffield appeared in a film adaptation of David Copperfield, billed under the name Eric Desmond. The following year, Alice Sheffield emigrated with her children to the United States, where the family settled in Queens, New York.

Sheffield's stage career in New York began under the billing Reggie Sheffield, with credits including Evidence in 1914, a production in which his mother Alice also appeared, followed by The Merry Wives of Windsor in 1916, If in 1917, The Betrothal in 1918, and Helena's Boys in 1924. Performing under his better-known billing of Reginald Sheffield, he appeared on Broadway between 1920 and 1930 in a series of productions that included Youth in 1920, The Way Things Happen and The Pearl of Great Price in 1924, Hay Fever in 1925 in which he played the role of Sandy Tyrell, Slaves All in 1926, Soldiers and Women in 1929 in which he played Lieutenant Mason, and Dear Old England in 1930.

In 1927, Sheffield married Louise Van Loon, born 21 January 1905 in New York and a graduate of Vassar College. The couple had three children: Mary Alice Sheffield Cassan, born in 1928; Jon Matthew Sheffield Cassan, born 11 April 1931, who became known as actor Johnny Sheffield; and William Hart Sheffield Cassan, born 15 July 1935, who worked as actor Billy Sheffield. As film production increasingly concentrated in Southern California, Sheffield and his wife traveled regularly between New York City and Los Angeles before eventually relocating permanently to the West Coast.

His training as a stage actor equipped Sheffield to navigate the transition from silent films to sound pictures. Throughout his film career he took on character and supporting roles, appearing alongside performers including Constance Bennett, William Powell, George Arliss, Loretta Young, Gary Cooper, Errol Flynn, Rosalind Russell, Cary Grant, and Joan Fontaine. He appeared in both versions of Cecil B. DeMille's The Buccaneer, the 1938 original and the 1958 remake, the latter marking his final screen appearance.

In 1954, Sheffield began playing Professor Mayberry in the television series Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, a role he reprised across several related productions through 1956. Following his son Johnny Sheffield's final appearance in the Bomba, the Jungle Boy film series in 1955, Reginald created, produced, and directed a pilot for a proposed television series titled Bantu, the Jungle Boy, though no sponsor was secured and the series was never produced on a weekly basis. Sheffield also appeared as a guest performer in episodes of Four Star Playhouse, Studio 57, and The Adventures of Jim Bowie during the 1950s.