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Rand Brooks
Actor

Rand Brooks

21 Sep 1918Born
1 Sep 2003Died
84Age at death
117Credits

Biography

Arlington Rand Brooks Jr. (September 21, 1918 – September 1, 2003) was an American film and television actor.

Brooks was born in Wright City, Missouri. He was the son of Arlington Rand Brooks, a farmer. His mother and he moved to Los Angeles when he was four, though he continued to spend summers in Wright City. Brooks continued to make visits to his hometown of Wright City into the 1950s, up to and following the death of his father in 1950. His mother and his grandfather were actors.

After leaving school, Brooks got a screen test at MGM and was given a bit part in Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938).

Read the full biography

His big fame came with his part as Charles Hamilton in Gone with the Wind (1939), a role which he later admitted he despised; he wanted to play more macho parts. He made $100 per week under contract at MGM, but when he was on loan to Selznick International Pictures for Gone with the Wind, he made $500 per week.

After Gone With the Wind, he had relatively small parts in other movies including Babes in Arms, then a regular role as Lucky in the Hopalong Cassidy series of Westerns in the mid-1940s; Brooks succeeded Russell Hayden in the role. Among the films, which starred William Boyd as Hopalong, were Hoppy's Holiday, The Dead Don't Dream, and Borrowed Trouble. He received positive notice for his work in Fool's Gold, with Variety reporting that he did "an excellent job." In edited, half-hour versions of some of the films, he appeared in 12 of the 52 episodes of the Hopalong Cassidy television series.

In 1948, he co-starred with Adele Jergens and 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 was one of the world's biggest movie stars. Filmed in just 10 days, the film was released soon after its completion. Variety called his performance in the 1952 film The Steel Fist "capable."

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 Mackenzie's Raiders, The Lone Ranger, Maverick, Gunsmoke, and Bonanza. He appeared twice on the syndicated adventure series, Rescue 8, as well as on CBS's Perry Mason courtroom drama series.

In 1962, he directed and produced a movie about brave dogs, Bearheart, but the film was entangled in legal troubles due to his business manager's involvement in crimes such as forgery and graft. The film was finally released in 1978, under the title Legend of the Northwest.

After he left show business, Brooks ran a private ambulance company in Glendale, California. He commented that he "died in more pictures than almost anyone" and that though he was never very big in show business, he was willing to return to it. Brooks sold the ambulance company in 1994, and retired to his ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley, where he bred champion Andalusian horses. He attended a Gone with the Wind reunion for Clark Gable's birthday, along with Ann Rutherford and Fred Crane, in Cadiz, Ohio, in 1992.

On September 1, 2003, Brooks died in Santa Ynez, California.

Known for

Filmography

The 80 most recent of 117 credits.

  1. 1991Rin-Tin-Tin: Hero of the WestFilm: Cpl. Boone
  2. 1978Legend of the NorthwestFilm: Director
  3. 1974The Sex SymbolFilm: Edward Kelly (voice)
  4. 1971ColumboSeries: Jerry - Wine Lab Assistant (uncredited) (1 episode)
  5. 1968Adam-12Series: Mr. Edwards, Bus Driver, Mr. Marshall (1 episode)
  6. 1967In Like FlintFilm: Missle Control Officer (uncredited)
  7. 1966The Green HornetSeries: Conway (1 episode)
  8. 1965Requiem for a GunfighterFilm: Abe Gentry
  9. 1964The MunstersSeries: The Man (1 episode)
  10. 196412 O'Clock HighSeries: Finance Officer (1 episode)
  11. 1963Petticoat JunctionSeries: Ernest Belden (1 episode)
  12. 1962Combat!Series: G.I. Lieutenant (1 episode)
  13. 1962Stagecoach to Dancers' RockFilm: Quint Rucker
  14. 1962The VirginianSeries: Henry (1 episode)
  15. 1960My Three SonsSeries: Frank Walker, Ed Henson (1 episode)
  16. 1960Comanche StationFilm: Station Man
  17. 1960Stump RunFilm
  18. 1959Hawaiian EyeSeries: Agent (1 episode)
  19. 1959BonanzaSeries: Cowboy (1 episode)
  20. 1959TightropeSeries: Young Man (1 episode)
  21. 1958The Last HurrahFilm: Votes Tallyman (uncredited)
  22. 1958Bat MastersonSeries: Willard Wynant (1 episode)
  23. 1958Peter GunnSeries (1 episode)
  24. 1958The Challenge of Rin Tin TinFilm
  25. 1958Jefferson DrumSeries: Ray Comstock (1 episode)
  26. 1957Tombstone TerritorySeries: Ed (1 episode)
  27. 1957The Real McCoysSeries: Mr. Foster (1 episode)
  28. 1957MaverickSeries: Second at Duel (uncredited), Jack Blair (1 episode)
  29. 1957Perry MasonSeries: Trainer, Ted Richert (1 episode)
  30. 1957M SquadSeries: Purser (1 episode)
  31. 1957Wagon TrainSeries: Thomas Pope (1 episode)
  32. 1956Dick Powell's Zane Grey TheatreSeries: Banker Wilson (1 episode)
  33. 1956The Man Called XSeries (1 episode)
  34. 1955Highway PatrolSeries: Bill Rinker (1 episode)
  35. 1955Sergeant Preston of the YukonSeries (1 episode)
  36. 1955GunsmokeSeries: Rand, Man (1 episode)
  37. 1955The Life and Legend of Wyatt EarpSeries: Sheriff Del Mathey (1 episode)
  38. 1955The MillionaireSeries: Allan Carter (1 episode)
  39. 1954The Wonderful World of DisneySeries: Baseball Coach (uncredited) (1 episode)
  40. 1954The Adventures of Rin Tin TinSeries: Cpl. Boone, Cpl. Boone (uncredited) (164 episodes)
  41. 1954Studio 57Series (1 episode)
  42. 1954LassieSeries: Bulldozer Operator (1 episode)
  43. 1954Crash of MoonsFilm: Andrews
  44. 1954Silver Needle in the SkyFilm: Ranger Andrews
  45. 1953City DetectiveSeries (1 episode)
  46. 1953Born to the SaddleFilm: John Grant
  47. 1952The MaverickFilm: Trooper Barnham
  48. 1952Behind Southern LinesFilm: Captain Loomis
  49. 1952Montana IncidentFilm: Dave Connors
  50. 1952Man from the Black HillsFilm: Fake Jimmy Fallon
  51. 1952WacoFilm: Al
  52. 1952The Cimarron KidFilm: Emmett Dalton (uncredited)
  53. 1952The Steel FistFilm: Captain Giorg Nicholoff
  54. 1952The GunmanFilm: Jud Calvert
  55. 1951The Roy Rogers ShowSeries (1 episode)
  56. 1951Schlitz Playhouse of StarsSeries (1 episode)
  57. 1951Boston BlackieSeries: Hutch (1 episode)
  58. 1951The Adventures of Kit CarsonSeries (4 episodes)
  59. 1951Yukon ManhuntFilm: Len Kaufman
  60. 1951The Adventures of Wild Bill HickokSeries: Capt. Loomis, Ed Chandler, Bob Purdy, Ben Webb, Ob Wilkins (1 episode)
  61. 1951Heart of the RockiesFilm: Jim Corley
  62. 1950Lux Video TheatreSeries: Uncle George (1 episode)
  63. 1950The Cisco KidSeries: Clint Riley (1 episode)
  64. 1950Bunco SquadFilm: Robert (uncredited)
  65. 1950The Gene Autry ShowSeries: Jeff Elwood, Young Deputy (1 episode)
  66. 1950Riding HighFilm: Henry Early
  67. 1950The Vanishing WesternerFilm: Sanderson's First Victim
  68. 1949Black MidnightFilm: Daniel Jordan
  69. 1949The Lone RangerSeries: Dick Larrabee, Deputy Jim Tyler, Marshal Roy Bell, Private Phillips, Private Jack Carey, Al Sommers, Express Rider, Lieutenant Tipton, Ben (1 episode)
  70. 1949The Wyoming BanditFilm: Jimmy Howard
  71. 1948Ladies of the ChorusFilm: Randy Carroll
  72. 1948Joan of ArcFilm: Jean d'Arc, Joan's older brother
  73. 1948Sundown in Santa FeFilm: Tom Wyatt
  74. 1948Strange GambleFilm: Lucky Jenkins
  75. 1948False ParadiseFilm: Lucky Jenkins
  76. 1948Borrowed TroubleFilm: Lucky Jenkins
  77. 1948Sinister JourneyFilm: Lucky Jenkins
  78. 1948The Dead Don't DreamFilm: Lucky Jenkins
  79. 1948Silent ConflictFilm: Lucky Jenkins
  80. 1947Kilroy Was HereFilm: Rodney Meadows

Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.