Bruce Bennett (1906-2007), nee Harold Herman Brix, was as an athlete before he was an actor, winner of the Silver medal for shot-putting in the 1928 Olympic Games and holder of the indoor and outdoor records for shot-putting. Tapped by Edgar Rice Burroughs, he starred in the 1935 movie serial, THE NEW ADVENTURES OF TARZAN. After doing serials and B-movies and then finding himself still typecast, Brix changed his name to "Bruce Bennett." It was the right move. He appeared in many top-notch films in the ‘40s and early ‘50s including SAHARA (1943), MILDRED PIERCE (1945), NORA PRETISS (1947), DARK PASSAGE (1947), MYSTERY STREET (1950) and SUDDEN FEAR (1952). One of his best roles was as Cody, the lone prospector who is killed by Humphrey Bogart in THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948). In the late ‘40s and early ‘50s, Bennett turned to playing grittier characters – a detective in UNDERTOW and a forensic scientist in MYSTERY STREET. From the mid-1950s on, he appeared in lesser films such as THE ALLIGATOR PEOPLE (1959) and on TV. In the ‘60s he became a successful businessman. Bennett reached his 100th birthday on May 19, 2006 but died less than a year later of complications from a broken hip.
BRUCE BENNETT
Bruce Bennett (1906-2007), nee Harold Herman Brix, was as an athlete before he was an actor, winner of the Silver medal for shot-putting in the 1928 Olympic Games and holder of the indoor and outdoor records for shot-putting. Tapped by Edgar Rice Burroughs, he starred in the 1935 movie serial, THE NEW ADVENTURES OF TARZAN. After doing serials and B-movies and then finding himself still typecast, Brix changed his name to "Bruce Bennett." It was the right move. He appeared in many top-notch films in the ‘40s and early ‘50s including SAHARA (1943), MILDRED PIERCE (1945), NORA PRETISS (1947), DARK PASSAGE (1947), MYSTERY STREET (1950) and SUDDEN FEAR (1952). One of his best roles was as Cody, the lone prospector who is killed by Humphrey Bogart in THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948). In the late ‘40s and early ‘50s, Bennett turned to playing grittier characters – a detective in UNDERTOW and a forensic scientist in MYSTERY STREET. From the mid-1950s on, he appeared in lesser films such as THE ALLIGATOR PEOPLE (1959) and on TV. In the ‘60s he became a successful businessman. Bennett reached his 100th birthday on May 19, 2006 but died less than a year later of complications from a broken hip.
