Bruce Bennett(1906-2007)
- Actor
- Writer
Herman Brix was a star shot-putter in the 1928 Olympics. After losing
the lead in MGM's
Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) due
to a shoulder injury, he was contracted by
Ashton Dearholt for his independent
production of
The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935),
a serial and the only Tarzan film between the silents and the 1960s to
present the character accurately, as a sophisticated, educated English
nobleman who preferred living in the jungle and was able to speak
directly with animals in their own language. He subsequently found
himself typecast and confined to starring roles in other serials and
character and even bit parts in poverty row features and two-reeler
comedies. After starring in the Republic Pictures serial
Hawk of the Wilderness (1938)
as the Tarzan-like Kioga, he dropped out of films for a few years, took
acting lessons, and changed his name to Bruce Bennett. He made many
movies after that, gaining fame as a leading man in many Warners
products. In 1960, he retired from acting and went into business,
becoming sales manager of a major vending machine company, making only
occasional TV guest appearances. A reclusive man, he eschewed
interviews, although he did appear at one Burroughs-oriented convention
in the 1970s and discussed some of his experiences during the making of
his Tarzan serial. In 2001, he allowed himself to be interviewed for a
slender biography by a Mike Chapman, and held signings at local
bookstores, enjoying his "rediscovery" by the general public in the few
years remaining before his death.