Bruce Bennett
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- May 19, 1906
- Died
- February 24, 2007 (aged 100)
- Birthplace
- Tacoma, Washington, USA
Biography
Bruce Bennett (born Harold Herman Brix) was an American actor and Olympic silver medalist shot putter. His first career was as an athlete. At the University of Washington, where he majored in economics, he played football (tackle) in the 1926 Rose Bowl and was a track-and-field star. Two years later, he won the Silver medal for the shot put in the 1928 Olympic Games. Brix moved to Los Angeles in 1929 after being invited to compete for the Los Angeles Athletic Club and befriended actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr., who arranged a screen test for him at Paramount. In 1931, MGM, adapting author Edgar Rice Burroughs's popular Tarzan adventures for the screen, selected Brix to play the title character. Brix, however, broke his shoulder filming the 1931 football film Touchdown, so swimming champion Johnny Weissmuller replaced Brix and became a major star. After Ashton Dearholt convinced Burroughs to allow him to form Burroughs-Tarzan Enterprises, Inc., and make a Tarzan serial film, Dearholt cast Brix in the lead. Pressbook copy has it that Burroughs made the choice himself, but, in fact, in his biography, Brix confirmed that Burroughs never even saw him until after the contract was signed, and then only briefly. The film was begun on location in Guatemala, under rugged conditions (jungle diseases and cash shortages were frequent). Brix did his own stunts, including a fall to rocky cliffs below. The Washington Post quoted Gabe Essoe's passage from his book Tarzan of the Movies: "Brix's portrayal was the only time between the silents and the 1960s that Tarzan was accurately depicted in films. He was mannered, cultured, soft-spoken, a well educated English lord who spoke several languages, and didn't grunt."[4] Brix shown in the opening credits of the serial The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935). Due to financial mismanagement, Dearholt had to complete filming of much of the serial back in Hollywood, and Brix, although his travel and daily living expenses in Guatemala were covered throughout the shoot, never received his contracted salary, along with the rest of the cast. The finished film, The New Adventures of Tarzan, was released in 1935 by Burroughs-Tarzan, and offered to theatres as a 12-chapter serial or a seven-reel feature. A second feature, Tarzan and the Green Goddess, was culled from the footage in 1938.
Known For
Filmography
Tarzan: Lord of the Movies
Movie · as Tarzan (Archive Footage)
Discovering Treasure: The Story of 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'
Movie · as James Cody (archive footage)
Tarzan at the Movies, Part 2: The Many Faces of Tarzan
Movie · as Tarzan (archive footage)
Laat de dokter maar schuiven
Movie · as John
The Clones
Movie · as Clone Lab Assistant
Deadhead Miles
Movie · as Johnny Mesquitero
Lassie: Well of Love
Movie · as Bert Daniels
Torpedo of Doom
Movie · as Lt. Frank Corley
Branded
TV · 1 ep
Kraft Suspense Theatre
TV · as Gen. Adams · 1 ep
The Virginian
TV · as Silas Graham · 1 ep
The Outsider
Movie · as Gen. Bridges
Fiend of Dope Island
Movie · as Charlie Davis
The Alligator People
Movie · as Dr. Eric Lorimer
The Cosmic Man
Movie · as Dr. Karl Sorenson
Flaming Frontier
Movie · as Capt. Jim Hewson
77 Sunset Strip
TV · 1 ep
The Texan
TV · 1 ep
Ain't No Time for Glory
Movie · as Lt. Col. Steven Granville
Perry Mason
TV · as Lawrence Balfour, Dan Morgan, Matt Lambert, Malone, Reve Watson · 1 ep
Panic!
TV · 1 ep
Love Me Tender
Movie · as Maj. Kincaid
Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer
Movie · as Daniel Boone
The Three Outlaws
Movie · as Charlie Trenton
The Bottom of the Bottle
Movie · as Brand
Hidden Guns
Movie · as Stragg
Three Violent People
Movie · as Commissioner Harrison
West Point
TV · 1 ep
Strategic Air Command
Movie · as Gen. Espy
The Big Tip Off
Movie · as Bob Gilmore
Robbers' Roost
Movie · as 'Bull' Herrick
Damon Runyon Theater
TV · as Professor Woodhead · 1 ep
Dragonfly Squadron
Movie · as Dr. Stephen Cottrell
With This Ring
Movie · as Frederick C. Miller
Lassie
TV · 4 eps
Stories of the Century
TV · as William Clark Charles Quantrill · 1 ep
Dream Wife
Movie · as Charlie Elkwood
Letter to Loretta
TV · as Seth Ranson · 1 ep
Sudden Fear
Movie · as Steve Kearney
Cavalcade of America
TV · as Abe Lincoln · 1 ep
The Last Outpost
Movie · as Col. Jeb Britton
The Great Missouri Raid
Movie · as Cole Younger
Angels in the Outfield
Movie · as Saul Hellman
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV · as Judge Paul Maston · 1 ep
Mystery Street
Movie · as Dr. McAdoo
Shakedown
Movie · as David Glover
The Second Face
Movie · as Paul Curtis
Lux Video Theatre
TV · as Dr. Grant, Ben Archer · 1 ep
The House Across the Street
Movie · as Matthew J. Keever
Without Honor
Movie · as Fred Bandle
Undertow
Movie · as Reckling
The Doctor and the Girl
Movie · as Dr. Alfred Norton
The Younger Brothers
Movie · as Jim Younger
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Movie · as James Cody
Smart Girls Don't Talk
Movie · as Marty Fain
Silver River
Movie · as Stanley Moore
To the Victor
Movie · as Henderson
Nora Prentiss
Movie · as Dr. Joel Merriam
Dark Passage
Movie · as Bob
Cheyenne
Movie · as Ed Landers
The Man I Love
Movie · as San Thomas
A Stolen Life
Movie · as Jack R. Talbot
Beer Barrel Polecats
Movie · as Prison Guard (archive footage)
Mildred Pierce
Movie · as Albert 'Bert' Pierce
Danger Signal
Movie · as Dr. Andrew Lang
I'm from Arkansas
Movie · as Bob Hamlin
U-Boat Prisoner
Movie · as Archie Gibbs
Sahara
Movie · as Waco Hoyt
Murder in Times Square
Movie · as Supai George
There's Something About a Soldier
Movie · as Frank Molloy
The More the Merrier
Movie · as FBI Agent Evans
Frontier Fury
Movie · as Clem Hawkins (uncredited)
Submarine Raider
Movie · as 1st Office Russell
Atlantic Convoy
Movie · as Capt. Morgan
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp!
Movie · as Tommy Lydel
Sabotage Squad
Movie · as Lieutenant John Cronin
Underground Agent
Movie · as Lee Graham
The Officer and the Lady
Movie · as Bob Conlon
So Long Mr. Chumps
Movie · as Prison Guard / Truck Driver (uncredited)
Honolulu Lu
Movie · as Skelly
Three Girls About Town
Movie · as Reporter
Dutiful But Dumb
Movie · as Vulgarian Soldier in General's Office (uncredited)
Two Latins from Manhattan
Movie · as Federal Agent
The Secret Seven
Movie · as Patrick Norris
Before I Hang
Movie · as Dr. Paul Ames
The Taming of the Snood
Movie · as Detective
The Spook Speaks
Movie · as Mordini's former assistant
Girls of the Road
Movie · as Officer Sullavan
The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date
Movie · as Scotty
No Census, No Feeling
Movie · as Football Player #20 (uncredited)
The Man with Nine Lives
Movie · as State Trooper (uncredited)
Boobs in the Woods
Movie · as Park Ranger (uncredited)
West of Abilene
Movie · as Frank Garfield
The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady
Movie · as McManus
The Heckler
Movie · as Ole Margarine
Five Little Peppers at Home
Movie · as Jim - King's Chauffeur
The Phantom Submarine
Movie · as Paul Sinclair
Babies for Sale
Movie · as Policeman
The Man from Tumbleweeds
Movie · as Prison Warden
Hi-Yo Silver
Movie · as Bert Rogers
Island of Doomed Men
Movie · as Hazen - Guard (uncredited)
Cafe Hostess
Movie · as Budge
Blazing Six Shooters
Movie · as Geologist Winthrop
Escape to Glory
Movie · as Ship's gunnery officer
How High Is Up?
Movie · as Workman with Leaky Lunchpail (uncredited)
Convicted Woman
Movie · as Reporter (uncredited)
Glamour for Sale
Movie · as Cop (uncredited)
Daredevils of the Red Circle
Movie · as Tiny Dawson
Blondie Brings Up Baby
Movie · as Mason's Chauffeur (uncredited)
Five Little Peppers And How They Grew
Movie · as Tom - King's Chauffeur
My Son Is Guilty
Movie · as Lefty
Invisible Stripes
Movie · as Rich Man (uncredited)
Land of Fighting Men
Movie · as Fred Mitchell
Tarzan and the Green Goddess
Movie · as Tarzan
Hawk of the Wilderness
Movie · as Lincoln Rand Jr / Kioga
The Fighting Devil Dogs
Movie · as Lieutenant Frank Corby
The Lone Ranger
Movie · as Bert Rogers
Danger Patrol
Movie · as Joe
Amateur Crook
Movie · as Jimmy Baxter
Flying Fists
Movie · as Hal "Chopper' Donovan, aka Hal Smith
Sky Racket
Movie · as Eric Lane - Agent 17
Million Dollar Racket
Movie · as Larry Duane
Shadow of Chinatown
Movie · as Martin Andrews
A Million to One
Movie · as Johnny Kent
Silks and Saddles
Movie · as Jimmy Shay
Two Minutes to Play
Movie · as Martin Granville
Shadow of Chinatown
Movie · as Martin Andrews
The New Adventures of Tarzan
Movie · as Tarzan
The New Adventures of Tarzan
Movie · as Tarzan
Student Tour
Movie · as Hercules
Death on the Diamond
Movie · as Man on Ticket Line (uncredited)
Treasure Island
Movie · as Man at Tavern (uncredited)
Riptide
Movie · as Man at Cannes Bar (uncredited)
College Humor
Movie · as Student
Meet the Baron
Movie · as Train Passenger (uncredited)
Million Dollar Legs
Movie · as Klopstokian Athlete (uncredited)
Movie Crazy
Movie · as Dinner Guest (Uncredited)