Bruce Bennett

Bruce Bennett was born as Harold Herman Brix in the year 1906 on May 19th. He changed his name to Bruce Bennett when he started acting. He was born in Washington, the United States where he started his career as an athlete. Bruce was a professional shot put player and actor. He died in 2007 aged 100 due to a fracture in his hip.

Early Life

Harold Herman Brix, as he was known by in his initial days started his career in sports as an athlete. He graduated in Economics from the University of Washington where he played football in 1926. In 1928, two years after graduating Harold represented his country at the Olympics where he won a silver medal in shot put. He won consecutive titles from 1928 to 1931 making his name in the field. He set a world record in 1930, by recording 15.6 m at an indoor event. He failed to qualify for Olympics in Los Angeles after he failed the trials. Harold then moved to Los Angeles to compete in a club where he got to actor Douglas Fairbanks. He became friends with Douglas Jr. and got himself a screen test at Paramount. From here began the journey of Bruce Bennett The Actor.

Work

Harold changed his name to Bruce Bennett in 1939. He was selected to play the title role in the popular series Tarzan. He was forced to opt out of it after a shoulder injury proved to be a curse. Johnny Weissmuller replaced him and went to become a star in that role. Later, in a serial film, Harold was cast as Tarzan. Going against the odds, Harold performed stunts of his own for the film. Due to financial issues, Harold never received his salary, but he continued to work for the film. Finally, Ashton Dearholt finished the film and released it in 1935. His character became popular and was used as a title for the serial Hawk of the Wilderness. Harold by now had become the member of Columbia Pictures. He played many supporting roles in many films by Columbia Pictures. Harold’s acting career came to a stall when the World War-II broke down. He served in the US Navy until he returned in the 1940s with many television programs. During this time, he appeared in many movies like Dark Passage and Strategic Air Command. Harold became popular in the 40s after he played a detective in Undertow, directed by William Castle. His role as a forensic scientist in Mystery Street also became popular amongst the crowd. Later in his career, Bruce did many B-films. Bruce was known for his enthusiasm for adventure. He skydived from 10,000 feet at the age of 96. Bruce died when he turned 100 due to complications in his hip. Bruce married his longtime wife in 1933 and had two children. He had three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren in his honor. Bruce ended his career as a successful businessman. Even today, Bruce Bennett is remembered for the stunts he performed on his own. He has left a legacy behind him which no one has matched yet. We salute him for his hard work and dedication towards sports, acting, business and adventure.