David Bruce (actor)
David Bruce was an American film actor. He was a company member of Peninsula Players Theatre in Fish Creek, Wisconsin in 1939.
Life and career
Born Marden Andrew McBroom in Kankakee, Illinois, Bruce was the second of four children born to prominent Kankakee restaurateur Vernon McBroom and his wife, the former Neva Voorhees. He attended Northwestern University in 1934 intending to study law but became a drama major.
In 1940, after extensive travel for theater work, McBroom made his way to California and signed with a Hollywood agent, Henry Willson. The agent changed his name to David Bruce and got him a stock contract at Warner Brothers. Bruce's first role was in the Errol Flynn movie The Sea Hawk. The actor was released from his Warner's contract to join the Naval Air Force at the outset of World War II, but he was discharged due to a chronic ear infection. After appearing in the John Wayne movie Flying Tigers, Universal Pictures offered him a long-term contract. At the war's end, Universal did not renew Bruce's contract. During the 1950s, Bruce acted in several Columbia pictures, appeared on television, and wrote for television.
Personal life
He met his future wife, Cynthia Sory when she directed him in a Northwestern University production of Henry IV. Bruce was the father of singer-songwriter Amanda McBroom, who wrote the song The Rose, made popular by Bette Midler. His daughter wrote a tribute to her father in a song titled "Errol Flynn."
He was also the father of John Jolliffe, a psychologist in Orange County, CA.
Death
Bruce withdrew from acting after 1956. His wife died after a lengthy illness in 1962. Bruce eventually returned to Kankakee to work for a relative's promotional film company. Amanda McBroom's own burgeoning Hollywood acting career paved the way for Bruce's return to acting. Bruce died from a heart attack in Venice, California at the age of 60, immediately after wrapping his first scene on the film Moving Violation.
Legacy
Amanda McBroom says that the lyrics to her song about her father, Errol Flynn, are "absolutely" true, including that Errol Flynn was one of Bruce's best friends." Amanda McBroom confirms that excessive drinking "destroyed him for a while." The lyric that Bruce "died with his boots on" does not refer to the Errol Flynn movie but rather to the manner in which David Bruce died, on a film set as a working actor. The lyrics of the song, however, contradict that statement: "It's my daddy, the actor, 'bout to die with his boots on, he's the man standing up there next to old Errol Flynn."
Selected filmography
The Man Who Talked Too Much – Gerald WilsonThe Sea Hawk – Martin BurkeRiver's End – BaltMoney and the Woman – Bank Depositor Knute Rockne All American – Reporter When Knute is Ill A Dispatch from Reuters – BruceEast of the River – Student The Letter – Minor Role Santa Fe Trail – Phil SheridanFlight from Destiny – SaundersThe Sea Wolf – Young SailorSingapore Woman – David RitchieSergeant York – Bert ThomasThe Smiling Ghost – Paul MyronThe Body Disappears – Jimmie BarbourHighways by Night – Herman – Desk Clerk Flying Tigers – Lt. BartonHow's About It – OliverHoneymoon Lodge – Horace Crump aka Bob SterlingCorvette K-225 – Lt. RawlinsYou're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith – Harvey JonesThe Mad Ghoul – Ted AllisonShe's for Me – Michael ReedCalling Dr. Death – Robert DuvalGung Ho! – Larry O'RyanLadies Courageous – Frank GarrisonMoon Over Las Vegas – Richard CorbettSouth of Dixie – Danny LeeChristmas Holiday – Gerald TylerThe Mummy's Ghost – Radio Announcer Allergic to Love – J. Roger MaceCan't Help Singing – Dr. Robert LathamSalome Where She Danced – CleveLady on a Train – Wayne MorganThat Night with You – JohnnySusie Steps Out – Jeffrey WestcottRacing Luck – Jeff StuartAdventures of Don Juan – Count D'Orsini Joe Palooka in the Big Fight – Tom ConwayThe Sickle or the Cross – George HartPrejudice – Joe HansonYoung Daniel Boone – Daniel BooneThe Great Plane Robbery – CarterTimber Fury – Jim CaldwellHi-Jacked – MattPygmy Island – Maj. BoltonRevenue Agent – Cliff GageThe Du Pont Story – A young du PontPier 23 – Charles GiffenThe Great Adventures of Captain Kidd – Alan DuncanThe Iron Glove – Austrian Sergeant at Tavern Cannibal Attack – Arnold KingMasterson of Kansas – Clay BennettJungle Hell – Dr. Paul Morrison Moving Violation − Reporter 1