James Prudhomme (June 6, 1921 – July 14, 1984), was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

, better known by the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projectin ...

s Brute Bernard or Jim 'Brute' Bernhard. He spent much of his career wrestling as part of a

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

with

Skull Murphy The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...

. He competed for several wrestling promotions associated with the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...

(NWA). He also worked for the Australia-based

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Natio ...

(WCW) as well as the

World Wide Wrestling Federation Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American sports promotion company. It was run by Vincent J. McMahon from 1953 to 1982. Operating as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing ...

(WWWF). He died of a gunshot while cleaning a rifle in 1984.

Career

Early career

Bernard was discovered by wrestling promoter Jack Britton, who convinced him to become a wrestler. He made his debut in 1957, competing in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. He initially wrestled under his real name, but he later took on the name Brute Bernard. He also competed as in Detroit for a promotion run by

Ed Farhat Edward George Farhat (June 7, 1926 – January 18, 2003) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name The Sheik (often called The Original Sheik to distinguish him from The Iron Sheik, who debuted in 1972). Farhat is cre ...

. He teamed up with fellow Canadian wrestler Skull Murphy throughout the 1960s. Their first championship came on May 16, 1963, when they won the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship. They held the title belts for almost six months before dropping them to

Killer Kowalski Walter Kowalski (born Edward Władysław Spulnik; October 13, 1926 – August 30, 2008), known professionally as Killer Kowalski, was a Polish-Canadian professional wrestler. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, includin ...

and

Gorilla Monsoon Robert James Marella (June 4, 1937 – October 6, 1999), better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play commentator, and booker. Monsoon is famous for his run as a villainous super-heavyw ...

on November 14. They then began competing for

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to a ...

, an NWA territory. They participated in a tag team tournament and won the vacant Florida version of the

NWA World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed member promotions to create their own territorial version of the "NWA Worl ...

in 1964. Bernard and Murphy feuded with

Hiro Matsuda (July 22, 1937 – November 27, 1999) was a Japanese professional wrestler and trainer best known by his ring name . He trained many professional wrestlers including Hulk Hogan, The Great Muta, "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, Scott Hall, Lex Lug ...

and Duke Keomurka over the belts and traded the belts back and forth before losing them to Matsusa and Keomurka for good. Bernard and Murphy worked for World Championship Wrestling in 1966, where they won the IWA World Tag Team Championship twice.

Texas

Murphy remained in Australia, while Bernard returned to the United States to compete for

World Class Championship Wrestling World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA) (1986–1991) was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter E ...

in Texas. He defeated

Fritz Von Erich Jack Barton Adkisson Sr. (August 16, 1929 – September 10, 1997), better known by his ring name Fritz Von Erich, was an American professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and the patriarch of the Von Erich family. He was a 3-time world champi ...

, patriarch of the

Von Erich family The Von Erich family is an American professional wrestling family. Originally from Texas, their actual surname is Adkisson, but every member who has been in the wrestling business has used the ring name "Von Erich," after the family patriarch, Fri ...

for the Texas version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship in March 1967. That year, he had four more title reigns, as he won the NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Championship twice and teamed with his

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Mike Paidousis to win the NWA American Tag Team Championship twice.

Later career

Bernard and Murphy reunited in Australia, where they won the IWA World Tag Team Championship twice more in 1968 and 1969. They also competed for

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promo ...

the Carolinas The Carolinas are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina, considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east. Combining Nort ...

, where they participated in a series of "battle of the bullies" matches. These bouts went against the tradition of having faces (fan favorites) competing against

heels The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerte ...

(villains), as Bernard and Murphy competed against fellow heels the Blond Bombers ( Swede Hanson and Rip Hawk). Murphy died of a heart attack on March 23, 1970. Bernard took on a new partner, Larry Hamilton, and the pair won the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship in October 1971. They also competed in Texas, where they won the NWA American Tag Team Championship. Bernard continued to wrestle in Australia and won the NWA Austra-Asian Heavyweight Championship by defeating

Spiros Arion Spiros Arion ( el, Σπύρος Αρίων) born Spyridon Manousakis ( el, Σπυρίδων Μανουσάκης) (born September 1940) is an Egyptian-born Greek former professional wrestler who had an extensive and successful career, mainly in ...

on November 4, 1972. He held the belt for three weeks before dropping it back to Arion. He also won the country's World Brass Knuckles Championship twice. Back in Jim Crockett Promotions, he formed a tag team with Jay York. They had rivalries with the team of George Scott and Nelson Royal as well as the

Anderson family The Anderson family is a group of professional wrestlers, a part fictional, part real, extended family largely consisting of brothers, cousins and children. Gene Anderson NWA Hall of Famer Gene Anderson (the only actual 'Anderson' of the origi ...

(

Gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...

and Ole). Bernard and York were managed by Beauregarde, who also teamed with them in six-man matches. Bernard and York won the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship by defeating Scott and Royal on November 26, 1973 but lost the belts to the Andersons one month later. Bernard wrestled for several promotions in his final years as a wrestler. He returned to Detroit, where he competed as The Brute. He also teamed with Frank Morrell in Texas to win the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship in 1977. He returned to the Carolinas and wrestled for Jim Crockett Promotions until he was released due to his age. He continued to wrestle occasionally; in his final match, he refused to go along with the scripted finish. The

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other tit ...

, Dave Routh, declared the result a

double countout Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. Bernard got upset in the locker room and attacked Routh. He broke Routh's nose and was fired as a result.

Personal life

Bernard was married to female professional wrestler Betty Joe Hawkins. He died in 1984 of a self-inflicted gunshot; it was not determined if his death was a

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

or an accident. One story states that Bernard was playing Russian roulette.

Championships and accomplishments

*Big Time Promotions **Big Time Television Championship (1 time) *

** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'' (

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outsid ...

) - with

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promo ...

** NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Larry Hamilton ** NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Jay York * NWA Big Time Wrestling ** NWA American Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) - with Mike Paidousis (2) and The Missouri Mauler (1) ** NWA Brass Knuckles Championship ''(Texas version)'' (

) ** NWA United States Heavyweight Championship ''(Texas version)'' ( 1 time) *North American Wrestling Alliance **NAWA Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time) * Western States Sports ** NWA Western States Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Frank Morrell *

World Championship Wrestling (Australia) World Championship Wrestling was an Australian professional wrestling promotion that ran from 1964 until 1978. History The promotion gained publicity through television programs on the Nine Network, which were presented at noon on Saturdays and ...

** NWA Austra-Asian Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** IWA World Tag Team Championship ( 5 times) - with

** World Brass Knuckles Championship ''(Australia version)'' (2 times) *

** WWWF United States Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with

References

External links

Profile at Online World of Wrestling
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, Brute 1921 births 1984 deaths Canadian male professional wrestlers Deaths by firearm in Canada Accidental deaths in Canada Firearm accident victims 20th-century professional wrestlers WCWA Brass Knuckles Champions NWA World Tag Team Champions (Florida version) NWA Austra-Asian Heavyweight Champions IWA World Tag Team Champions (Australia) World Brass Knuckles Champions