Brute Bernard Jim Bernard ( June 6 , 1921 - July 14 , 1984 ) was a Canadian professional wrestler . He is best known by his ring name , Brute Bernard , and spent much of his career wrestling as part of a tag team with Skull Murphy . He competed for several wrestling promotions associated with the National Wrestling Alliance ( NWA ) . He also worked for the Australia - based World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) as well as the World Wide Wrestling Federation ( WWWF ) . He died of a self - inflicted gunshot 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 . 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 . 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 and Gorilla Monsoon on November 14 . They then began competing for Championship Wrestling from Florida , an NWA territory . They participated in a tag team tournament and won the vacant Florida version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship in 1964 . Bernard and Murphy feuded with Hiro Matsuda 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 in Texas . He defeated Fritz Von Erich , patriarch of the Von Erich family 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 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 in the Carolinas , 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 ( villains ) , as Bernard and Murphy competed against fellow heels the Blond Bombers ( Swede Hanson and Rip Hawk ) . Murphy died of an apparent suicide 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 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 ( Gene 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 , Dave Routh , declared the result a double countout . 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 or an accident . One story states that Bernard was playing Russian roulette .