Bruce Bennett

File:Herman Brix 1928.jpg

Harold Herman Brix was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington, where he attended Stadium High School from which he graduated in 1924.{{cite news |url=https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/special-reports/article25857619.html |title=From Stadium's halls to the silver screen |first=Kathleen |last=Merryman |date=September 9, 2006 |newspaper=The News Tribune |location=Tacoma, Washington |access-date=September 12, 2020}} He was the fourth of five children born to an immigrant couple from Germany.{{Citation needed |date=August 2024}}

Bennett played college football at the University of Washington, where he majored in economics. He played in the 1926 Rose Bowl and was a track-and-field star. Bennett won the Silver medal for the shot put in the 1928 Olympic Games.Bernstein, Adam (February 27, 2007). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/27/AR2007022702029.html "Film Star and Olympian Herman Brix"]. The Washington Post. He won four consecutive AAU shot put titles (1928–31), the NCAA title in 1927, and the AAU indoor titles in 1930 and 1932. In 1930, Bennett set a world indoor record at {{convert|15.61|m|ftin|abbr=on}}. In 1932, he set his personal best at {{convert|16.07|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, but failed at the Olympic trials to qualify for the Los Angeles Games.{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/br/herman-brix-1.html |title=Herman Brix |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417174531/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/br/herman-brix-1.html |archive-date=2020-04-17}}

Image:NewAdventuresTarzan yell1.png

Bennett moved to Los Angeles in 1929 after being invited to compete for the Los Angeles Athletic Club and befriended actor Douglas Fairbanks, who arranged a screen test for him at Paramount.{{Citation needed |date=August 2024}}

In 1931, MGM, in adapting author Edgar Rice Burroughs's Tarzan adventures for the screen, selected Bennett to play the title character. Bennett broke his shoulder filming the 1931 football film Touchdown, so swimming champion Johnny Weissmuller replaced Bennett. Ashton Dearholt cast Bennett in the lead of a Tarzan serial film. The film began production on location in Guatemala.{{Citation needed |date=August 2024}}

The 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.

Bennett portrayed the titular hero in Republic's serial Hawk of the Wilderness.

Bennett worked in serials and action features for low-budget studios until 1939. Finding himself typecast as Tarzan, Bennett changed his name and became a member of Columbia Pictures' stock company. He appeared in How High Is Up? with The Three Stooges and The Spook Speaks. His screen career was interrupted by World War II, when he served in the United States Navy.

File:Bruce Bennett in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre trailer.jpg in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)]]

In the 1940s and 1950s, Bennett appeared in Sahara (1943), Mildred Pierce (1945), Nora Prentiss (1947), Dark Passage (1947), The Man I Love (1947), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), Undertow (1949), Mystery Street (1950), Angels in the Outfield (1951), Sudden Fear (1952), and Strategic Air Command (1955), The Alligator People (1959).[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/725383%7C24253/bruce-bennett#filmography "Bruce Bennett Filmography"] Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Retrieved May 21, 2018.

In 1954, Bennett played William Quantrill, the Confederate guerrilla figure, in an episode of the syndicated television series Stories of the Century. Bennett made five guest appearances on Perry Mason and five episodes of Science Fiction Theatre.

Bennett co-wrote and starred in Fiend of Dope Island (filmed 1959, released 1961).

{{more citations needed|date=July 2021}}

File:Herman Brix and his wife Jeanette Braddock.jpg

Bennett had two children, Christopher and Christina, by wife Jeannette, who died in 2000. They named their children after his parents.{{Citation needed |date=August 2024}}

Bennett became a businessman during the 1960s. He pursued parasailing and skydiving. He last skydived at the age of 96, descending from an altitude of 10,000 feet near Lake Tahoe.{{Citation needed |date=August 2024}}

Bennett died at 100 on February 24, 2007 from complications of a broken hip, just 3 months before his 101st birthday.{{cite news |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070301/ap_en_mo/run_obit_brix |title=Olympian and actor Herman Brix dies |access-date=March 3, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070307172906/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070301/ap_en_mo/run_obit_brix |archive-date=March 7, 2007 |website=Yahoo! News |agency=Associated Press |date=March 1, 2007}}{{Cite web |last=WHITE |first=RUSTY |date=2007-03-08 |title=OBITUARY – HERMAN BRIX aka BRUCE BENNETT - Entertainment Today |url=https://entertainmenttoday.net/news/nobituary/11880/2007/03/obituary-herman-brix-aka-bruce-bennett/,%20https://entertainmenttoday.net/news/nobituary/11880/2007/03/obituary-herman-brix-aka-bruce-bennett/ |access-date=2024-08-02 |website=entertainmenttoday.net |language=en-US}}

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• Touchdown (1931) as Football Player (uncredited)
• Million Dollar Legs (1932) as Klopstokian Athlete (uncredited)
• Movie Crazy (1932) as Dinner Guest (uncredited)
• Madison Square Garden (1932) as Wrestler (uncredited)
• College Humor (1933) as Student (uncredited) (as Herman Brix)
• Meet the Baron (1933) as Train Passenger (uncredited)
• You Can't Buy Everything (1934) as Bank Clerk (uncredited)
• Lazy River (1934) as Sailor (uncredited)
• Riptide (1934) as Man at Cannes Bar (uncredited)
• Treasure Island (1934) as Man at Tavern (uncredited)
• Death on the Diamond (1934) as Man on Ticket Line (uncredited)
• Student Tour (1934) as Hercules – Crewman (uncredited)
• The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935) as Tarzan (as Bruce Bennett)
• Shadow of Chinatown (1936) as Martin Andrews (as Herman Brix)
• Two Minutes to Play (1936) as Martin Granville (as Herman Brix)
• Silk and Saddles (1936) as Jimmy Shay (as Herman Brix)
• Blake of Scotland Yard (1937) as Adolph – Henchman (uncredited)
• A Million to One (1937) as Johnny Kent (as Herman Brix)
• Fighting Fists (1937) as Hal "Chopper' Donovan, aka Hal Smith (as Herman Brix)
• Sky Racket (1937) as Eric Lane – Agent 17 (as Herman Brix)
• Million Dollar Racket (1937) as Lawrence 'Larry' Duane (as Herman Brix)
• Danger Patrol (1937) as Joe (as Herman Brix)
• Amateur Crook (1937) as Jimmy Baxter (as Herman Brix)
• The Lone Ranger (1938, Serial) as Bert Rogers (as Herman Brix)
• Land of Fighting Men (1938) as Fred Mitchell (as Herman Brix)
• Fighting Devil Dogs (1938, Serial) as Lieutenant Frank Corby (as Herman Brix)
• Hawk of the Wilderness (1938, Serial) as Lincoln Rand Jr / Kioga (as Herman Brix)
• Tarzan and the Green Goddess (1938) as Tarzan (archive footage)
• Daredevils of the Red Circle (1939, Short) as Tiny Dawson (as Herman Brix)
• Five Little Peppers and How They Grew (1939) as Tom – King's Chauffeur (uncredited)
• Blondie Brings Up Baby (1939) as Mason's Chauffeur (uncredited)
• My Son Is Guilty (1939) as Lefty (first film credited as Bruce Bennett)
• Invisible Stripes (1939) as Rich Man (uncredited)
• Cafe Hostess (1940) as Budge
• Convicted Woman (1940) as Reporter (uncredited)
• Five Little Peppers at Home (1940) as Jim – King's Chauffeur (uncredited)
• Blazing Six Shooters (1940) as Geologist Winthrop
• The Man with Nine Lives (1940) as State Trooper (uncredited)
• The Man from Tumbleweeds (1940) as Prison Warden (uncredited)
• Escape to Glory (1940) as Ship's gunnery officer
• Island of Doomed Men (1940) as Hazen – Guard (uncredited)
• The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady (1940) as McManus – Motorcycle Cop
• Babies for Sale (1940) as Policeman (uncredited)
• Girls of the Road (1940) as Officer Sullavan
• The Secret Seven (1940) as Pat Norris
• Before I Hang (1940) as Dr. Paul Ames
• Hi-Yo Silver (1940) as Bert Rogers (archive footage)
• Glamour for Sale (1940) as Minor Role (uncredited)
• No Census, No Feeling (1940) as football player (uncredited role in this Three Stooges short)
• So You Won't Talk (1940) as Reporter (uncredited)
• West of Abilene (1940) as Frank Garfield
• The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date (1940) as Scotty
• Phantom Submarine (1940) as Paul Sinclair
• Two Latins from Manhattan (1941) as Federal Agent
• The Officer and the Lady (1941) as Bob Conlon
• Three Girls About Town (1941) as Reporter (uncredited)
• So Long Mr. Chumps (1941) as Prison Guard (uncredited role in this Three Stooges short)
• Honolulu Lu (1941) as Skelly
• Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1942) as Tommy Lydel
• Submarine Raider (1942) as 1st Officer Russell
• Atlantic Convoy (1942) as Capt. Morgan
• Sabotage Squad (1942) as Lieutenant John Cronin
• Underground Agent (1942) as Lee Graham
• Murder in Times Square (1943) as Supai George
• The More the Merrier (1943) as FBI Agent Evans
• Frontier Fury (1943) as Clem Hawkins (uncredited)
• Sahara (1943) as Waco Hoyt
• There's Something About a Soldier (1943) as Frank Molloy
• U-Boat Prisoner (1944) as Archie Gibbs
• I'm from Arkansas (1944) as Bob Hamline
• Mildred Pierce (1945) as Bert Pierce
• Danger Signal (1945) as Dr. Andrew Lang
• Shadows of Chinatown (1946) (uncredited)
• A Stolen Life (1946) as Jack R. Talbot
• The Man I Love (1947) as San Thomas
• Nora Prentiss (1947) as Dr. Joel Merriam
• Cheyenne (1947) as Ed Landers
• Dark Passage (1947) as Bob
• The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) as James Cody
• To the Victor (1948) as Henderson
• Silver River (1948) as Stanley Moore
• Smart Girls Don't Talk (1948) as Marty Fain
• The Younger Brothers (1949) as Jim Younger
• Task Force (1949) as McCluskey
• The House Across the Street (1949) as Matthew J. Keever
• The Doctor and the Girl (1949) as Dr. Alfred Norton
• Without Honor (1949) as Fred Bandle
• Undertow (1949) as Det. Charles Reckling
• Mystery Street (1950) as Dr. McAdoo
• Shakedown (1950) as David Glover
• The Second Face (1950) as Paul Curtis
• The Great Missouri Raid (1951) as Cole Younger / Steve Brill
• The Last Outpost (1951) as Col. Jeb Britton
• Angels in the Outfield (1951) as Saul Hellman
• Sudden Fear (1952) as Steve Kearney
• Dream Wife (1953) as Charlie Elkwood
• Dragonfly Squadron (1954) as Dr. Stephen Cottrell
• The Big Tip Off (1955) as Bob Gilmore
• Strategic Air Command (1955) as Col. Espy
• Robbers' Roost (1955) as 'Bull' Herrick
• Survival in Box Canyon (1955–1957, TV Series) as Dr. Sheldon Thorpe / General Frank Terrance / Major Sorenson / Dr. Hugh Bentley / Gen. Troy
• Hidden Guns (1956) as Stragg
• The Bottom of the Bottle (1956) as Brand
• The Three Outlaws (1956) as Charlie Trenton
• Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer (1956) as Daniel Boone
• Love Me Tender (1956) as Maj. Kincaid
• Three Violent People (1956) as Commissioner Harrison
• Flaming Frontier (1958) as Capt. Jim Hewson
• Perry Mason (1958) as Lawrence Balfour
• The Cosmic Man (1959) as Dr. Karl Sorenson
• The Alligator People (1959) as Dr. Eric Lorimer
• The Outsider (1961) as Gen. Bridges
• Fiend of Dope Island (1961) as Charlie Davis
• Lost Island of Kioga (1966) as Lincoln Rand Jr., aka Kioga (TV feature version of the 1938 serial "Hawk of the Wilderness", q.v.)
• {{ill|The Clones (1973)|lt=The Clones|cy|The Clones|fi|Kloonit (elokuva)|italic=yes}} (1973) as Clone Lab Assistant
• Deadhead Miles (1973) as Johnny Mesquitero
• Let the Doctor Shove (1980) as John Vandenberk (final film role)

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• List of centenarians (actors, filmmakers and entertainers)

Notes

{{Reflist}}

Bibliography

• Chapman, Mike. Please Don't Call Me Tarzan. Culture House Press {{ISBN|978-0-9676-0802-0}}
• Katz, Ephraim The Macmillan International Encyclopedia of Film. Collins ({{ISBN|978-0-3339-0690-3}})

• {{Cite news |last=Henry |first=Bill |date=1937-02-22 |title=Hollywood in Sport: Athletic Greats Star as Tarzans |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-hollywood-in-sport/153249564/ |access-date= |work=The Los Angeles Times |pages=30}}

{{Commons}}

{{wikiquote}}

• {{IMDb name|id=0071636}}
• {{Olympedia}}
• [http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OralHistory/OHBrix.pdf Interview with Herman Brix aka Bruce Bennett]
• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/27/AR2007022702029.html Washington Post obituary]

{{USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners in men's shot put}}

{{Footer US NC shot put Men}}

{{Footer USA Track & Field 1928 Summer Olympics}}

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Category:1906 births

Category:2007 deaths

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:American male film actors

Category:American male shot putters

Category:American male television actors

Category:American men centenarians

Category:American people of German descent

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics

Category:Male actors from Tacoma, Washington

Category:Male film serial actors

Category:Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics

Category:NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners

Category:Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field

Category:Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)

Category:People associated with physical culture

Category:Players of American football from Tacoma, Washington

Category:Stadium High School alumni

Category:Track and field athletes from Washington (state)

Category:University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni

Category:Washington Huskies football players

Category:Washington Huskies men's track and field athletes

Category:20th-century American sportsmen