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Bruce Bennett

Known for acting · Born 19 May 1906 · Died 24 February 2007 · aged 100 · Tacoma, Washington, USA

138 credits

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.

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Known for

Dark Passage

1947

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

1948

Sahara

1943

Mildred Pierce

1945

Mystery Street

1950

The Alligator People

1959

Sudden Fear

1952

Before I Hang

1940

The More the Merrier

1943

Nora Prentiss

1947

A Stolen Life

1946

Strategic Air Command

1955

Acting (137)

2017Tarzan: Lord of the MoviesTarzan (Archive Footage)Film
2003Discovering Treasure: The Story of 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'James Cody (archive footage)Film
1996Tarzan at the Movies, Part 2: The Many Faces of TarzanTarzan (archive footage)Film
1980Laat de dokter maar schuivenJohnFilm
1973The ClonesClone Lab AssistantFilm
1972Deadhead MilesJohnny MesquiteroFilm
1970Lassie: Well of LoveBert DanielsFilm
1966Torpedo of DoomLt. Frank CorleyFilm
1965BrandedSeries
1963Kraft Suspense TheatreGen. AdamsSeries
1962The VirginianSilas GrahamSeries
1961The OutsiderGen. BridgesFilm
1960Fiend of Dope IslandCharlie DavisFilm
1959The Alligator PeopleDr. Eric LorimerFilm
1959The Cosmic ManDr. Karl SorensonFilm
195877 Sunset StripSeries
1958The TexanSeries
1958Flaming FrontierCapt. Jim HewsonFilm
1957Perry MasonLawrence Balfour, Dan Morgan, Matt Lambert, Malone, Reve WatsonSeries
1957Panic!Series
1957Ain't No Time for GloryLt. Col. Steven GranvilleFilm
1956Love Me TenderMaj. KincaidFilm
1956Three Violent PeopleCommissioner HarrisonFilm
1956Daniel Boone, Trail BlazerDaniel BooneFilm
1956The Bottom of the BottleBrandFilm
1956The Three OutlawsCharlie TrentonFilm
1956Hidden GunsStraggFilm
1956West PointSeries
1955Strategic Air CommandGen. EspyFilm
1955Robbers' Roost'Bull' HerrickFilm
1955The Big Tip OffBob GilmoreFilm
1955Damon Runyon TheaterProfessor WoodheadSeries
1954Lassie · 4 episodesSeries
1954Dragonfly SquadronDr. Stephen CottrellFilm
1954Stories of the CenturyWilliam Clark Charles QuantrillSeries
1954With This RingFrederick C. MillerFilm
1953Dream WifeCharlie ElkwoodFilm
1953Letter to LorettaSeth RansonSeries
1952Sudden FearSteve KearneyFilm
1952Cavalcade of AmericaAbe LincolnSeries
1951Angels in the OutfieldSaul HellmanFilm
1951The Great Missouri RaidCole YoungerFilm
1951The Last OutpostCol. Jeb BrittonFilm
1951Schlitz Playhouse of StarsJudge Paul MastonSeries
1950Mystery StreetDr. McAdooFilm
1950ShakedownDavid GloverFilm
1950Lux Video TheatreDr. Grant, Ben ArcherSeries
1950The Second FacePaul CurtisFilm
1949UndertowRecklingFilm
1949Without HonorFred BandleFilm
1949The Doctor and the GirlDr. Alfred NortonFilm
1949The House Across the StreetMatthew J. KeeverFilm
1949The Younger BrothersJim YoungerFilm
1948The Treasure of the Sierra MadreJames CodyFilm
1948Silver RiverStanley MooreFilm
1948Smart Girls Don't TalkMarty FainFilm
1948To the VictorHendersonFilm
1947Dark PassageBobFilm
1947Nora PrentissDr. Joel MerriamFilm
1947CheyenneEd LandersFilm
1946A Stolen LifeJack R. TalbotFilm
1946The Man I LoveSan ThomasFilm
1946Beer Barrel PolecatsPrison Guard (archive footage)Film
1945Mildred PierceAlbert 'Bert' PierceFilm
1945Danger SignalDr. Andrew LangFilm
1944I'm from ArkansasBob HamlinFilm
1944U-Boat PrisonerArchie GibbsFilm
1943SaharaWaco HoytFilm
1943The More the MerrierFBI Agent EvansFilm
1943Murder in Times SquareSupai GeorgeFilm
1943There's Something About a SoldierFrank MolloyFilm
1943Frontier FuryClem Hawkins (uncredited)Film
1942Submarine Raider1st Office RussellFilm
1942Atlantic ConvoyCapt. MorganFilm
1942Tramp, Tramp, Tramp!Tommy LydelFilm
1942Sabotage SquadLieutenant John CroninFilm
1942Underground AgentLee GrahamFilm
1941So Long Mr. ChumpsPrison Guard / Truck Driver (uncredited)Film
1941Dutiful But DumbVulgarian Soldier in General's Office (uncredited)Film
1941Three Girls About TownReporterFilm
1941Honolulu LuSkellyFilm
1941The Officer and the LadyBob ConlonFilm
1941Two Latins from ManhattanFederal AgentFilm
1940Before I HangDr. Paul AmesFilm
1940The Man with Nine LivesState Trooper (uncredited)Film
1940Island of Doomed MenHazen - Guard (uncredited)Film
1940No Census, No FeelingFootball Player #20 (uncredited)Film
1940The Lone Wolf Meets a LadyMcManusFilm
1940Cafe HostessBudgeFilm
1940How High Is Up?Workman with Leaky Lunchpail (uncredited)Film
1940The Lone Wolf Keeps a DateScottyFilm
1940Convicted WomanReporter (uncredited)Film
1940The Spook SpeaksMordini's former assistantFilm
1940Girls of the RoadOfficer SullavanFilm
1940Five Little Peppers at HomeJim - King's ChauffeurFilm
1940Glamour for SaleCop (uncredited)Film
1940The Taming of the SnoodDetectiveFilm
1940Boobs in the WoodsPark Ranger (uncredited)Film
1940The HecklerOle MargarineFilm
1940The Phantom SubmarinePaul SinclairFilm
1940Babies for SalePolicemanFilm
1940The Man from TumbleweedsPrison WardenFilm
1940Hi-Yo SilverBert RogersFilm
1940Escape to GloryShip's gunnery officerFilm
1940The Secret SevenPatrick NorrisFilm
1940West of AbileneFrank GarfieldFilm
1940Blazing Six ShootersGeologist WinthropFilm
1939Invisible StripesRich Man (uncredited)Film
1939Blondie Brings Up BabyMason's Chauffeur (uncredited)Film
1939Five Little Peppers And How They GrewTom - King's ChauffeurFilm
1939Daredevils of the Red CircleTiny DawsonFilm
1939My Son Is GuiltyLeftyFilm
1938Tarzan and the Green GoddessTarzanFilm
1938The Fighting Devil DogsLieutenant Frank CorbyFilm
1938The Lone RangerBert RogersFilm
1938Hawk of the WildernessLincoln Rand Jr / KiogaFilm
1938Land of Fighting MenFred MitchellFilm
1937Sky RacketEric Lane - Agent 17Film
1937Danger PatrolJoeFilm
1937Amateur CrookJimmy BaxterFilm
1937Flying FistsHal "Chopper' Donovan, aka Hal SmithFilm
1937Million Dollar RacketLarry DuaneFilm
1936Shadow of ChinatownMartin AndrewsFilm
1936Shadow of ChinatownMartin AndrewsFilm
1936A Million to OneJohnny KentFilm
1936Two Minutes to PlayMartin GranvilleFilm
1936Silks and SaddlesJimmy ShayFilm
1935The New Adventures of TarzanTarzanFilm
1935The New Adventures of TarzanTarzanFilm
1934Treasure IslandMan at Tavern (uncredited)Film
1934Death on the DiamondMan on Ticket Line (uncredited)Film
1934RiptideMan at Cannes Bar (uncredited)Film
1934Student TourHerculesFilm
1933College HumorStudentFilm
1933Meet the BaronTrain Passenger (uncredited)Film
1932Movie CrazyDinner Guest (Uncredited)Film
1932Million Dollar LegsKlopstokian Athlete (uncredited)Film

Writing (1)

1960Fiend of Dope IslandWriterFilm