RB
Rand Brooks
Actor, Director, Producer, Additional Credits
Born September 21, 1918Died September 1, 2003 (84 years)
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). 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.
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). 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.
Movies & Shows on Plex
Filmography
| 1974 | The Sex Symbol · as Edward Kelly (voice) |
| 1974 | The Green Hornet · as Conway |
| 1973 | Double Indemnity · as Conductor |
| 1971 | Columbo (TV Series) · as Jerry - Wine Lab Assistant (uncredited) |
| 1971 | The Smith Family (TV Series) · as Bob Matson |
| 1968 | Adam-12 (TV Series) · as Mr. Marshall |
| 1967 | In Like Flint · as Missle Control Officer (uncredited) |
| 1966 | The Green Hornet (TV Series) · as Conway |
| 1965 | Requiem for a Gunfighter · as Abe Gentry |
| 1965 | Harlow · as Casting Director |
| 1964 | Twelve O'Clock High (TV Series) · as Finance Officer |
| 1964 | The Munsters (TV Series) · as The Man |
| 1963 | Petticoat Junction (TV Series) · as Ernest Belden |
| 1962 | Combat! (TV Series) · as G.i. Lieutenant |
| 1962 | Stagecoach to Dancers' Rock · as Quint Rucker |
| 1962 | The Virginian (TV Series) · as Henry |
| 1961 | Posse from Hell · as Townsman |
| 1960 | My Three Sons (TV Series) |
| 1960 | Checkmate (TV Series) · as Edgar Drummond |
| 1960 | Comanche Station · as Station Man |
| 1960 | Johnny Midnight (TV Series) · as Danny Barrett |
| 1959 | Hawaiian Eye (TV Series) |
| 1959 | Men into Space (TV Series) · as Major Canell |
| 1959 | Laramie (TV Series) · as Carr |
| 1959 | |
| 1959 | Tightrope (TV Series) · as Young Man |
| 1958 | The Last Hurrah · as Votes Tallyman (uncredited) |
| 1958 | Cimarron City (TV Series) · as Nate Pinker |
| 1958 | Bat Masterson (TV Series) · as Willard Wynant |
| 1958 | Mackenzie's Raiders (TV Series) · as Cpl. Brown |
| 1958 | Rescue 8 (TV Series) · as Tom Hickey |
| 1958 | Peter Gunn (TV Series) |
| 1958 | |
| 1957 | Tombstone Territory (TV Series) · as Ed |
| 1957 | The Real McCoys (TV Series) |
| 1957 | Maverick (TV Series) · as Second At Duel (uncredited) |
| 1957 | Perry Mason (TV Series) · as Trainer |
| 1957 | M Squad (TV Series) · as Purser |
| 1957 | Wagon Train (TV Series) · as Thomas Pope |
| 1957 | Tales of Wells Fargo (TV Series) · as Mr. Maguire |
| 1956 | Zane Grey Theater (TV Series) · as Banker Wilson |
| 1956 | Circus Boy (TV Series) · as Cal Jones |
| 1955 | To Hell and Back · as Lt. Harris |
| 1955 | Highway Patrol (1955) (TV Series) · as Bill Rinker |
| 1955 | Sergeant Preston of the Yukon (TV Series) |
| 1955 | Gunsmoke (TV Series) · as Rand |
| 1955 | The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (TV Series) · as Sheriff Del Mathey |
| 1955 | Tales of the Texas Rangers (TV Series) · as Steve Bradford |
| 1955 | The Millionaire (TV Series) · as Allan Carter |
| 1954 | Disneyland (TV Series) · as Baseball Coach (uncredited) |
| 1954 | The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (TV Series) · as Cpl. Boone |
| 1954 | Studio 57 (TV Series) |
| 1954 | Lassie (TV Series) |
| 1954 | Crash of Moons · as Andrews |
| 1954 | Silver Needle in the Sky · as Ranger Andrews |
| 1954 | Rocky Jones, Space Ranger (TV Series) · as Ranger Andrews |
| 1954 | Stories of the Century (TV Series) · as Railroad Detective Lassiter |
| 1953 | The Charge at Feather River · as Pvt. Adams |
| 1953 | Born to the Saddle · as John Grant |
| 1952 | Montana Incident · as Dave Connors |
| 1952 | The Gunman · as Jud Calvert |
| 1952 | Waco · as Al |
| 1952 | The Cimarron Kid · as Emmett Dalton |
| 1952 | The Steel Fist · as Captain Giorg Nicholoff |
| 1951 | The Roy Rogers Show (TV Series) |
| 1951 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1951 | Sky King (TV Series) · as Chief Petty Officer |
| 1951 | Boston Blackie (TV Series) · as Hutch |
| 1951 | The Adventures of Kit Carson (TV Series) |
| 1951 | Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (TV Series) |
| 1951 | The Range Rider (TV Series) · as Card Player |
| 1951 | Heart of the Rockies · as Jim Corley |
| 1951 | Front Page Detective (TV Series) · as John Talbot |
| 1950 | The Trouble with Father (TV Series) · as Mr. Evans - The Jeweler |
| 1950 | The Lux Video Theatre (TV Series) · as Uncle George |
| 1950 | Bunco Squad · as Robert (uncredited) |
| 1950 | The Gene Autry Show (TV Series) · as Young Deputy |
| 1950 | Riding High · as Henry Early |
| 1950 | Space Patrol (TV Series) · as Guard |
| 1950 | The Cisco Kid (TV Series) · as Clint Riley |
| 1949 | Black Midnight · as Daniel Jordan |
| 1949 | The Lone Ranger (TV Series) · as Deputy Jim Tyler |
| 1949 | The Wyoming Bandit · as Jimmy Howard |
| 1948 | Ladies of the Chorus · as Randy Carroll |
| 1948 | Joan of Arc · as Jean D'arc, Joan's Older Brother |
| 1948 | Sundown in Santa Fe · as Tom Wyatt |
| 1948 | Strange Gamble · as Lucky Jenkins |
| 1948 | False Paradise · as Lucky Jenkins |
| 1948 | Borrowed Trouble · as Lucky Jenkins |
| 1948 | Sinister Journey · as Lucky Jenkins |
| 1948 | The Dead Don't Dream · as Lucky Jenkins |
| 1948 | Silent Conflict · as Lucky Jenkins |
| 1947 | Kilroy Was Here · as Rodney Meadows |
| 1947 | Hoppy's Holiday · as Lucky Jenkins |
| 1947 | The Marauders · as Lucky Jenkins |
| 1947 | Dangerous Venture · as Lucky Jenkins |
| 1947 | Unexpected Guest · as Lucky Jenkins |
| 1946 | The Devil's Playground · as Lucky Jenkins |
| 1946 | Fool's Gold · as Lucky Jenkins |
| 1946 | The Harvey Girls · as Townsman At Saloon |
| 1946 | The Great Morgan · as Film Character (uncredited) |
| 1944 | Resisting Enemy Interrogation · as Pilot |
| 1944 | Lady in the Dark · as Ben |
| 1943 | High Explosive · as Jimmy Baker |
| 1943 | |
| 1942 | Fingers at the Window · as Young Reporter (uncredited) |
| 1942 | The Sombrero Kid · as Philip Martin |
| 1942 | |
| 1942 | Cowboy Serenade · as Jim Agnew |
| 1941 | Niagara Falls · as Honeymooner |
| 1941 | Lady Scarface · as James 'jimmy' Powell |
| 1941 | The People vs. Dr. Kildare · as Dr. George Young |
| 1941 | Cheers for Miss Bishop · as 'buzz' Wheelwright |
| 1940 | The Son of Monte Cristo · as Hans Mirbach |
| 1940 | Life with Henry · as Daniel Gordon (uncredited) |
| 1940 | Florian · as Victor |
| 1940 | And One Was Beautiful · as Joe Havens |
| 1940 | Northwest Passage · as Eben Towne |
| 1940 | Laddie · as Peter Dover |
| 1939 | Balalaika · as Crying Soldier (uncredited) |
| 1939 | Gone with the Wind · as Charles Hamilton |
| 1939 | Babes in Arms · as Jeff Steele |
| 1939 | Dancing Co-Ed · as Steve (uncredited) |
| 1939 | Thunder Afloat · as Listener (uncredited) |
| 1939 | The Old Maid · as Jim |
| 1938 | Dramatic School · as Pasquel Jr. |
| 1938 | Love Finds Andy Hardy · as Young Man On Bandstand (uncredited) |
| 1938 | Hold That Kiss · as Guitar Player In Band |