Appearances

Title	Role	Year	Approx. Age
Tarzan - The Thief Catcher	Jai	1967	12
Tarzan and the Great River	Pepe	1967	12
Tarzan TV - Season 1 - Part 1 / Disc 1 and 2	Jai	1966	11
Tarzan TV - Season 1 - Part 1 / Disc 3 and 4	Jai	1966	11
Tarzan and the Valley of Gold	Ramel	1966	11
The Young and the Brave	Han	1963	8

For years Manuel Padilla Jr. was a child actor known for playing the Mexican or Indian boy in TV westerns such as "Rawhide," "Bonanza" and "Gunsmoke".

He played a series of characters with Mike Henry as Tarzan... One as a lost Aztec boy in Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1966), and as an orphan on board a river boat in Tarzan and the Great River (1967), before finally landing the role of boy in the TV series Tarzan (1966-1968) with Ron Ely as Tarzan.

Many might remember him as fourteen-year-old Marcello in the The Flying Nun TV series (1969). He was also featued as a young brave named Leaping Buck in A Man Called Horse (1970).

His other bit roles include Kid #2 in Scarface (1983) and Carlos, a member of the Pharoahs gang, in American Graffiti (1973) and More American Graffiti (1979).

Manuel died unexpectedly in 2008 at age 52 just after making a public appearance at the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California. He is survived by his parents and four children.