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
James Cody
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Albert 'Bert' Pierce
Mildred Pierce
Patrick Norris
The Secret Seven
Joe
Danger Patrol
Fred Mitchell
Land of Fighting Men
Dr. Paul Ames
Before I Hang
Dr. Joel Merriam
Nora Prentiss
San Thomas
The Man I Love
Matthew J. Keever
The House Across the Street
Dr. Andrew Lang
Danger Signal
Bob Conlon
The Officer and the Lady
Dr. Eric Lorimer
The Alligator People
Fred Bandle
Without Honor
Jack R. Talbot
A Stolen Life
Gen. Espy
Strategic Air Command
Bob
Dark Passage
Marty Fain
Smart Girls Don't Talk
Bob Gilmore
The Big Tip Off
Maj. Kincaid
Love Me Tender
Stanley Moore
Silver River
Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer
Waco Hoyt
Sahara
Dr. McAdoo
Mystery Street
Steve Kearney
Sudden Fear
Detective
The Taming of the Snood
Mordini's former assistant
The Spook Speaks
David Glover
Shakedown
Officer Sullavan
Girls of the Road
Dr. Karl Sorenson
The Cosmic Man
Tarzan
Tarzan and the Green Goddess
Reckling
Undertow
Charlie Trenton
The Three Outlaws
1st Office Russell
Submarine Raider
Dr. Alfred Norton
The Doctor and the Girl
Supai George
Murder in Times Square
Tarzan
The New Adventures of Tarzan
Charlie Davis
Fiend of Dope Island
Paul Curtis
The Second Face
Scotty
The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date
Brand
The Bottom of the Bottle
Martin Andrews
Shadow of Chinatown
Jim Younger
The Younger Brothers
Col. Jeb Britton
The Last Outpost
James Cody (archive footage)
Discovering Treasure: The Story of 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'
Johnny Kent
A Million to One
Prison Guard / Truck Driver (uncredited)
So Long Mr. Chumps
Football Player #20 (uncredited)
No Census, No Feeling
Gen. Bridges
The Outsider
Ed Landers
Cheyenne
Dr. Stephen Cottrell
Dragonfly Squadron
Jimmy Baxter
Amateur Crook
Cole Younger
The Great Missouri Raid
Tiny Dawson
Daredevils of the Red Circle
Lincoln Rand Jr / Kioga
Hawk of the Wilderness
Hal "Chopper' Donovan, aka Hal Smith
Flying Fists
'Bull' Herrick
Robbers' Roost
Eric Lane - Agent 17
Sky Racket
Hercules
Student Tour
Frank Molloy
There's Something About a Soldier
Frederick C. Miller
With This Ring
Jimmy Shay
Silks and Saddles
Bert Rogers
The Lone Ranger
Lieutenant Frank Corby
The Fighting Devil Dogs
FBI Agent Evans
The More the Merrier
Man on Ticket Line (uncredited)
Death on the Diamond
Bob Hamlin
I'm from Arkansas
Martin Granville
Two Minutes to Play
State Trooper (uncredited)
The Man with Nine Lives
Charlie Elkwood
Dream Wife
Man at Tavern (uncredited)
Treasure Island
Stragg
Hidden Guns
Student
College Humor
Mason's Chauffeur (uncredited)
Blondie Brings Up Baby
Martin Andrews
Shadow of Chinatown
Park Ranger (uncredited)
Boobs in the Woods
Frank Garfield
West of Abilene
McManus
The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady
Ole Margarine
The Heckler
Henderson
To the Victor
Jim - King's Chauffeur
Five Little Peppers at Home
Tom - King's Chauffeur
Five Little Peppers And How They Grew
Capt. Morgan
Atlantic Convoy
Larry Duane
Million Dollar Racket
Archie Gibbs
U-Boat Prisoner
Tommy Lydel
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp!
Lefty
My Son Is Guilty
Paul Sinclair
The Phantom Submarine
Skelly
Honolulu Lu
Lee Graham
Underground Agent
Lieutenant John Cronin
Sabotage Squad
Policeman
Babies for Sale
Prison Warden
The Man from Tumbleweeds
Prison Guard (archive footage)
Beer Barrel Polecats
Clem Hawkins (uncredited)
Frontier Fury
Saul Hellman
Angels in the Outfield
Bert Rogers
Hi-Yo Silver
Hazen - Guard (uncredited)
Island of Doomed Men
Budge
Cafe Hostess
Train Passenger (uncredited)
Meet the Baron
Bert Daniels
Lassie: Well of Love
Geologist Winthrop
Blazing Six Shooters
Ship's gunnery officer
Escape to Glory
Reporter
Three Girls About Town
Clone Lab Assistant
The Clones
Johnny Mesquitero
Deadhead Miles
Lt. Frank Corley
Torpedo of Doom
Vulgarian Soldier in General's Office (uncredited)
Dutiful But Dumb
Workman with Leaky Lunchpail (uncredited)
How High Is Up?
Reporter (uncredited)
Convicted Woman
Commissioner Harrison
Three Violent People
Capt. Jim Hewson
Flaming Frontier
Klopstokian Athlete (uncredited)
Million Dollar Legs
Federal Agent
Two Latins from Manhattan
Cop (uncredited)
Glamour for Sale
Man at Cannes Bar (uncredited)
Riptide
Tarzan
The New Adventures of Tarzan
Rich Man (uncredited)
Invisible Stripes
Dinner Guest (Uncredited)
Movie Crazy
John
Laat de dokter maar schuiven
Tarzan (Archive Footage)
Tarzan: Lord of the Movies
Tarzan (archive footage)
Tarzan at the Movies, Part 2: The Many Faces of Tarzan
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
121
Gender
Male
Birthday
1906-05-19
Place of Birth
Tacoma, Washington, USA
Also Known As
Harold Herman Brix