Michael Shea (actor)

Michael Shea
Michael Shea as Huckleberry Finn, 1968.
Born	Michael D. Shea (1952-11-04) November 4, 1952 (age 64) Glendale, New York, USA
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1963–1973

Michael Shea (born November 4, 1952) is an American former child actor. Beginning a prolific career as a child actor at the age of ten, Shea is perhaps best known for portraying the title role in the NBC children's television series, The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as well as for his feature film roles; as Nick in the Ivan Tors family film, Namu, the Killer Whale, as Jimmy in the MGM western, Welcome to Hard Times, and as "Cav" in the Walt Disney drama, . Although born and raised in New York City, Shea was primarily cast as the wholesome small-town "country boy" throughout most of his career as a child star.

Michael Shea was born on November 4, 1952 (some sources mistakenly reporting his year of birth as 1951) in Glendale, New York to parents Mr. and Mrs. Frank Shea. He spent his early years raised in New York and grew up with four siblings, two brothers and two sisters. At the age of nine, a neighbor reportedly approached Shea with the idea of entering show business, however, the thought of stardom frightened him. In a 1968 interview, Shea recalled the early experience saying, "I ran into the woods and started crying. I kept saying, 'I don't want to be a star.'"

At the age of ten, Shea reconsidered the possibilities of a professional acting career. In 1968, he recounted his reasoning saying, "I thought I'd like to try acting, but I wasn't sure I'd want to stay in it, so I asked my neighbor if I could get out if I didn't like it. He said 'sure.'" Shea's neighbor was Aliam Dunn, casting director of The Ed Sullivan Show, who used his industry connections to introduce Shea to a New York talent agent. Soon, Shea was landing work as a child model and actor, appearing in television commercials for Campbell's Soup and Scooter Pies among others.