Rand Brooks
Arlington Rand Brooks Jr. was an American film and television actor.
Early life
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.
Career
Early career
After leaving school, Brooks was given a screen test at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and received a bit part in Love Finds Andy Hardy. His big break came when he was cast as Charles Hamilton in Gone with [the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind], a part which he later admitted he despised; he wanted to play more masculine roles. He was making $100 per week under contract at MGM, but when he was on loan to Selznick International Pictures for Gone with the Wind, he was paid $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 starring 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.
Military service
Brooks served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II, eventually reaching the rank of sergeant. He trained at Buckley Field in Colorado, in March 1943 and was stationed in Springfield, Missouri, as of May 1943. Brooks was for a time at San Antonio Air Field. He trained for flying, but did some theatre work under General Arnold. He was ill for a time during his service and in 1944 worked in recruitment in Louisiana.
Post-military film and television work
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.
Post-entertainment career
After he left show business, Brooks owned and operated a private ambulance company, Professional Ambulance, 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.
Personal life
Variety reported that Brooks married Clover Barrick on April 18, 1945. He married Lois Laurel, daughter of Stan Laurel, in 1949. Their son, Arlington Rand Brooks III, was born in September 1949. Their daughter Laurel was born in August 1950 in Santa Monica, California. He married Hermine Brooks in 1978.
Death
Brooks died in Santa Ynez, California on September 1, 2003, aged 84.
Partial filmography
Hold That Kiss – Guitar Player in Band Love Finds Andy Hardy – Young Man on Bandstand Dramatic School – Pasquel Jr.The Old Maid – JimBabes in Arms – Jeff SteeleThunder Afloat – Listener Dancing Co-Ed – Steve Balalaika – Crying Soldier Gone with the Wind – Charles HamiltonLaddie – Peter DoverNorthwest Passage – Peter DoverAnd One Was Beautiful – Joe HavensFlorian – VictorGirl from Avenue A – SteveLife with Henry – Daniel Gordon The Son of Monte Cristo – Hans MirbachJennie – Karl SchermerCheers for Miss Bishop – 'Buzz' WheelwrightDouble Date – Jerry BaldwinThe People vs. Dr. Kildare – Dr. George Young Lady Scarface – James 'Jimmy' PowellNiagara Falls – HoneymoonerCowboy Serenade – Jim AgnewThe Affairs of Jimmy Valentine Fingers at the Window – Young Reporter The Sombrero Kid – Philip MartinAir Force – Co-Pilot High Explosive – Jimmy BakerLady in the Dark – Ben Resisting Enemy Interrogation – Pilot The Harvey Girls – Townsman at Saloon The Devil's Playground – Lucky JenkinsThe Great Morgan – Film Character Fool's Gold – Lucky JenkinsUnexpected Guest – Lucky JenkinsDangerous Venture – Lucky JenkinsThe Marauders – Lucky JenkinsHoppy's Holiday – Lucky JenkinsKilroy Was Here – Rodney MeadowsSilent Conflict – Lucky JenkinsThe Dead Don't Dream – Lucky JenkinsSinister Journey – Lucky JenkinsBorrowed Trouble – Lucky JenkinsFalse Paradise – Lucky JenkinsStrange Gamble – Lucky JenkinsSundown in Santa Fe – Tom WyattJoan of Arc – Jean d'ArcLadies of the Chorus – Randy CarrollThe Wyoming Bandit – Jimmy HowardBlack Midnight – Daniel JordanThe Vanishing Westerner – Sanderson's First VictimRiding High – Henry EarlyBunco Squad – Robert Heart of the Rockies – Jim CorleyYukon Manhunt – Len KaufmanThe Steel Fist – Capt. Giorg NicholoffThe Cimarron Kid – Emmett Dalton Waco – Henchman AlMan from the Black Hills – Fake Jimmy FallonThe Gunman – Jud CalvertMontana Incident – Dave ConnorsThe Maverick – Trooper BarnhamBorn to the Saddle – John GrantThe Charge at Feather River – Pvt. Adams To Hell and Back – Lt. Harris Official Detective – McClellanThe Challenge of Rin Tin Tin The Last Hurrah – Votes Tallyman Stump Run – Wayne LawsonComanche Station – Station ManPosse from Hell – Townsman Stagecoach to Dancers' Rock – Quint RuckerThe Munsters – Harlow – Casting Director Requiem for a Gunfighter – Abe GentryCombat! – G.I. LieutenantLeather Narcissus In Like Flint – Missile Control Officer Double Indemnity – Conductor The Sex Symbol – Edward Kelly