Bruce Bennett

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

142

Gender

Male

Birthday

1906-05-19

Day of death

2007-02-24 (100 years old)

Place of Birth

Tacoma, Washington, USA

Bruce Bennett

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

  • Perry Mason

    Perry Mason

  • Perry Mason

    Perry Mason

  • Perry Mason

    Perry Mason

  • Perry Mason

    Perry Mason

  • Perry Mason

    Perry Mason

  • Lassie

    Lassie

  • The Virginian

    The Virginian

  • The Texan

    The Texan

  • 77 Sunset Strip

    77 Sunset Strip

  • Kraft Suspense Theatre

    Kraft Suspense Theatre

  • West Point

    West Point

  • Million Dollar Legs

    Million Dollar Legs

  • Branded

    Branded

  • Lux Video Theatre

    Lux Video Theatre

  • Lux Video Theatre

    Lux Video Theatre

  • Mildred Pierce

    Mildred Pierce

  • Cavalcade of America

    Cavalcade of America

  • The Clones

    The Clones

  • Sahara

    Sahara

  • How High Is Up?

    How High Is Up?

  • Sudden Fear

    Sudden Fear

  • Dragonfly Squadron

    Dragonfly Squadron

  • Danger Signal

    Danger Signal

  • Student Tour

    Student Tour

  • Treasure Island

    Treasure Island

  • Flaming Frontier

    Flaming Frontier

  • Invisible Stripes

    Invisible Stripes

  • Silver River

    Silver River

  • A Million to One

    A Million to One

  • Dark Passage

    Dark Passage

  • Robbers' Roost

    Robbers' Roost

  • The Outsider

    The Outsider

  • Undertow

    Undertow

  • Riptide

    Riptide

  • Shakedown

    Shakedown

  • Atlantic Convoy

    Atlantic Convoy

  • Dream Wife

    Dream Wife

  • Cafe Hostess

    Cafe Hostess

  • The Last Outpost

    The Last Outpost

  • Letter to Loretta

    Letter to Loretta

  • Nora Prentiss

    Nora Prentiss

  • Danger Patrol

    Danger Patrol

  • Sky Racket

    Sky Racket

  • Murder in Times Square

    Murder in Times Square

  • Movie Crazy

    Movie Crazy

  • The More the Merrier

    The More the Merrier

  • Panic!

    Panic!

  • The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

    The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

  • Strategic Air Command

    Strategic Air Command

  • Without Honor

    Without Honor

  • Angels in the Outfield

    Angels in the Outfield

  • The Man with Nine Lives

    The Man with Nine Lives

  • Cheyenne

    Cheyenne

  • Love Me Tender

    Love Me Tender

  • Mystery Street

    Mystery Street

  • Stories of the Century

    Stories of the Century

  • The Alligator People

    The Alligator People

  • Underground Agent

    Underground Agent

  • Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer

    Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer

  • Torpedo of Doom

    Torpedo of Doom

  • The Man from Tumbleweeds

    The Man from Tumbleweeds

  • I'm from Arkansas

    I'm from Arkansas

  • Three Violent People

    Three Violent People

  • Flying Fists

    Flying Fists

  • The Three Outlaws

    The Three Outlaws

  • The Bottom of the Bottle

    The Bottom of the Bottle

  • Meet the Baron

    Meet the Baron

  • The Younger Brothers

    The Younger Brothers

  • The Great Missouri Raid

    The Great Missouri Raid

  • Lassie: Well of Love

    Lassie: Well of Love

  • The Man I Love

    The Man I Love

  • Damon Runyon Theater

    Damon Runyon Theater

  • Hawk of the Wilderness

    Hawk of the Wilderness

  • The House Across the Street

    The House Across the Street

  • Daredevils of the Red Circle

    Daredevils of the Red Circle

  • Before I Hang

    Before I Hang

  • Island of Doomed Men

    Island of Doomed Men

  • To the Victor

    To the Victor

  • The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date

    The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date

  • The Big Tip Off

    The Big Tip Off

  • Two Latins from Manhattan

    Two Latins from Manhattan

  • Land of Fighting Men

    Land of Fighting Men

  • The Second Face

    The Second Face

  • Hi-Yo Silver

    Hi-Yo Silver

  • Fiend of Dope Island

    Fiend of Dope Island

  • The Officer and the Lady

    The Officer and the Lady

  • Two Minutes to Play

    Two Minutes to Play

  • College Humor

    College Humor

  • The New Adventures of Tarzan

    The New Adventures of Tarzan

  • The Secret Seven

    The Secret Seven

  • West of Abilene

    West of Abilene

  • Death on the Diamond

    Death on the Diamond

  • Five Little Peppers at Home

    Five Little Peppers at Home

  • The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady

    The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady

  • Tarzan: Lord of the Movies

    Tarzan: Lord of the Movies

  • U-Boat Prisoner

    U-Boat Prisoner

  • Blondie Brings Up Baby

    Blondie Brings Up Baby

  • Dutiful But Dumb

    Dutiful But Dumb

  • The Fighting Devil Dogs

    The Fighting Devil Dogs

  • Million Dollar Racket

    Million Dollar Racket

  • Tarzan and the Green Goddess

    Tarzan and the Green Goddess

  • Escape to Glory

    Escape to Glory

  • The Doctor and the Girl

    The Doctor and the Girl

  • The New Adventures of Tarzan

    The New Adventures of Tarzan

  • Smart Girls Don't Talk

    Smart Girls Don't Talk

  • Three Girls About Town

    Three Girls About Town

  • So Long Mr. Chumps

    So Long Mr. Chumps

  • Glamour for Sale

    Glamour for Sale

  • Girls of the Road

    Girls of the Road

  • Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

    Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

  • Beer Barrel Polecats

    Beer Barrel Polecats

  • Blazing Six Shooters

    Blazing Six Shooters

  • My Son Is Guilty

    My Son Is Guilty

  • Laat de dokter maar schuiven

    Laat de dokter maar schuiven

  • The Heckler

    The Heckler

  • The Taming of the Snood

    The Taming of the Snood

  • With This Ring

    With This Ring

  • The Lone Ranger

    The Lone Ranger

  • Babies for Sale

    Babies for Sale

  • A Stolen Life

    A Stolen Life

  • Submarine Raider

    Submarine Raider

  • Amateur Crook

    Amateur Crook

  • Convicted Woman

    Convicted Woman

  • The Spook Speaks

    The Spook Speaks

  • Ain't No Time for Glory

    Ain't No Time for Glory

  • The Phantom Submarine

    The Phantom Submarine

  • There's Something About a Soldier

    There's Something About a Soldier

  • Silks and Saddles

    Silks and Saddles

  • Sabotage Squad

    Sabotage Squad

  • Tramp, Tramp, Tramp!

    Tramp, Tramp, Tramp!

  • Shadow of Chinatown

    Shadow of Chinatown

  • Deadhead Miles

    Deadhead Miles

  • Discovering Treasure: The Story of 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'

    Discovering Treasure: The Story of 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'

  • The Cosmic Man

    The Cosmic Man

  • Five Little Peppers And How They Grew

    Five Little Peppers And How They Grew

  • Shadow of Chinatown

    Shadow of Chinatown

  • Hidden Guns

    Hidden Guns

  • Frontier Fury

    Frontier Fury

  • No Census, No Feeling

    No Census, No Feeling

  • Boobs in the Woods

    Boobs in the Woods

  • Honolulu Lu

    Honolulu Lu

  • Tarzan at the Movies, Part 2: The Many Faces of Tarzan

    Tarzan at the Movies, Part 2: The Many Faces of Tarzan