Bernard Burns was a member of a team of treasure hunters in The Mummy. He was portrayed by Tuc Watkins.
History[]
Burns was part of a team of treasure hunters consisting of Isaac Henderson, David Daniels and Dr. Allen Chamberlain. Led by their jittery guide Beni Gabor, the group followed closely on the heels of Rick O'Connell and his band as they set out to find the hidden necropolis of Hamunaptra.
Both teams made it to the City of the Dead and went about exploring the ancient ruins. Burns and his party discovered a chest which contained the fabled Book of the Dead as well as several canopic jars. That night, Evelyn Carnahan opened the ancient book and read aloud a passage within its pages, not knowing that doing so would bring about the revival of the accursed mummy Imhotep. Out of nowhere, a great swarm of locusts appeared and the adventurers took shelter from the swarm within the ancient tunnels of Hamunaptra.
Inside the tunnels, Burns became separated from the others. He would be the first to fall victim to Imhotep who attacked him from the shadows. When Rick and the others heard Burns' screams, they rushed to find him. They found him alive, but his tongue and his eyes had been removed. The party then returned to Fort Brydon in Cairo.
Death[]
After the adventurers returned to Fort Brydon, Burns was confined to his room. He was later visited by his guide Beni who had returned with another mysterious figure, which as it turned out was Imhotep. As one of the men who had opened the chest containing the Book of the Dead, Burns was marked by Imhotep's curse and doomed to have his life essence consumed by the mummy to fuel his regeneration. All that was left of Burns was a dried, withered husk.