Rand Brooks
Rand Brooks | |
---|---|
Brooks in the trailer for Dramatic School, 1938 | |
Born | St Louis, Missouri, U.S. | September 21, 1918
Died | September 1, 2003 Santa Ynez, California, U.S. | (aged 84)
Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California |
Occupation(s) | Actor, producer, rancher |
Spouse(s) | Lois Laurel (daughter of Stan Laurel, divorced) Hermine Brooks (married 1978-2003; her death) |
Children | 2 |
Rand Brooks (September 21, 1918 – September 1, 2003) was an American film actor, originally from St. Louis, Missouri.
Career
After leaving school, he got a screen test at MGM and was given a bit part in Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938). His big fame came with his part as Charles Hamilton in Gone with the Wind (1939). After Gone With the Wind, he had relatively small parts in other movies including Babes in Arms as Margaret Hamilton's son, then a regular role as Lucky in the Hopalong Cassidy series of westerns in the mid 1940s. Among the films, which starred William Boyd as Hopalong, were Hoppy's Holiday, The Dead Don't Dream, and Borrowed Trouble. Brooks served in the United States Army during World War II.
In 1948, he co-starred with Adele Jergens and an unknown (at the time) starlet (Marilyn Monroe) in the low-budget black-and-white Columbia Pictures film, Ladies of the Chorus. Brooks became the first actor to share an on-screen kiss with Monroe, who in a few years would be one of the world's biggest movie stars. Filmed in just ten days, the film was released soon after its completion and brought only moderate success.
Television brought new opportunities, again often in westerns. He played Cpl. Randy Boone in the 1950s television series, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin.
Brooks had guest roles in 1950s western series, including The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, Mackenzie's Raiders, The Range Rider, The Lone Ranger, Maverick, and Jefferson Drum. He appeared three times on Sky King and twice on the syndicated adventure series, Rescue 8, as well as on CBS's Perry Mason courtroom drama series.
After he left show business, Brooks ran a private ambulance company in Glendale, California. He sold the company in 1994 and retired to his ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley where he bred champion Andalusian horses.
Death
Brooks died in Santa Ynez, California, 20 days before his 85th birthday. He was survived by his second wife, Hermine, and his two children, Randy and Laurel by his first marriage to Lois Laurel, daughter of Stan Laurel.
Partial filmography
- Hold That Kiss (1938) - Guitar Player in Band (uncredited)
- Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938) - Young Man on Bandstand (uncredited)
- Dramatic School (1938) - Pasquel Jr.
- The Old Maid (1939) - Jim
- Babes in Arms (1939) - Jeff Steele
- Thunder Afloat (1939) - Listener (uncredited)
- Dancing Co-Ed (1939) - Steve (uncredited)
- Balalaika (1939) - Crying Soldier (uncredited)
- Gone with the Wind (1939) - Charles Hamilton - Her Brother
- Laddie (1940) - Peter Dover
- Northwest Passage (1940) - Peter Dover
- And One Was Beautiful (1940) - Joe Havens
- Florian (1940) - Victor
- Girl from Avenue A (1940) - Steve
- Life with Henry (1940) - Daniel Gordon (uncredited)
- The Son of Monte Cristo (1940) - Hans Mirbach
- Jennie (1940) - Karl Schermer
- Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941) - 'Buzz' Wheelwright
- Double Trouble (1941) - Jerry Baldwin
- The People vs. Dr. Kildare (1941) - Dr. George Young (uncredited)
- Lady Scarface (1941) - James 'Jimmy' Powell
- Niagara Falls (1941) - Honeymooner
- Cowboy Serenade (1942) - Jim Agnew
- The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine (1942)
- Fingers at the Window (1942) - Young Reporter (uncredited)
- The Sombrero Kid (1942) - Philip Martin
- Air Force (1943) - Co-Pilot (uncredited)
- High Explosive (1943) - Jimmy Baker
- Lady in the Dark (1944) - Ben (uncredited)
- Resisting Enemy Interrogation (1944) - Pilot (uncredited)
- The Harvey Girls (1946) - Townsman at Saloon (uncredited)
- The Devil's Playground (1946) - Lucky Jenkins
- The Great Morgan (1946) - Film Character (uncredited)
- Fool's Gold (1946) - Lucky Jenkins
- Unexpected Guest (1947) - Lucky Jenkins
- Dangerous Venture (1947) - Lucky Jenkins
- The Marauders (1947) - Lucky Jenkins
- Hoppy's Holiday (1947) - Lucky Jenkins
- Kilroy Was Here (1947) - Rodney Meadows
- Silent Conflict (1948) - Lucky Jenkins
- The Dead Don't Dream (1948) - Lucky Jenkins
- Sinister Journey (1948) - Lucky Jenkins
- Borrowed Trouble (1948) - Lucky Jenkins
- False Paradise (1948) - Lucky Jenkins
- Strange Gamble (1948) - Lucky Jenkins
- Sundown in Santa Fe (1948) - Tom Wyatt
- Joan of Arc (1948) - Jean d'Arc
- Ladies of the Chorus (1948) - Randy Carroll
- The Wyoming Bandit (1949) - Jimmy Howard
- Black Midnight (1949) - Daniel Jordan
- The Vanishing Westerner (1950) - Sanderson's First Victim
- Riding High (1950) - Henry Early
- Bunco Squad (1950) - Robert (uncredited)
- Heart of the Rockies (1951) - Jim Corley
- Yukon Manhunt (1951) - Len Kaufman
- The Steel Fist (1952) - Capt. Giorg Nicholoff
- The Cimarron Kid (1952) - Emmett Dalton (uncredited)
- Waco (1952) - Henchman Al
- Man from the Black Hills (1952) - Fake Jimmy Fallon
- The Gunman (1952) - Jud Calvert
- Montana Incident (1952) - Dave Connors
- The Maverick (1952) - Trooper Barnham
- Born to the Saddle (1953) - John Grant
- The Charge at Feather River (1953) - Pvt. Adams (uncredited)
- To Hell and Back (1955) - Lt. Harris (uncredited)
- Official Detective (1957, TV Series) - McClellan
- The Challenge of Rin Tin Tin (1958)
- The Last Hurrah (1958) - Votes Tallyman (uncredited)
- Stump Run (1959) - Wayne Lawson
- Comanche Station (1960) - Station Man
- Posse from Hell (1961) - Townsman (uncredited)
- Stagecoach to Dancers' Rock (1962) - Quint Rucker
- Harlow (1965) - Casting Director (uncredited)
- Requiem for a Gunfighter (1965) - Abe Gentry
- Leather Narcissus (1967)
- In Like Flint (1967) - Missile Control Officer (uncredited)
- Double Indemnity (1973, TV Movie) - Conductor (uncredited)
- The Sex Symbol (1974, TV Movie) - Edward Kelly (final film role)