Rand Brooks
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.
Known For
Credits
- 1991 · Rin-Tin-Tin: Hero of the West as Cpl. Boone
- 1974 · The Sex Symbol as Edward Kelly (voice)
- 1971 · Columbo as Jerry - Wine Lab Assistant (uncredited)
- 1968 · Adam-12 as Mr. Edwards
- 1968 · Adam-12 as Bus Driver
- 1968 · Adam-12 as Mr. Marshall
- 1967 · In Like Flint as Missle Control Officer (uncredited)
- 1966 · The Green Hornet as Conway
- 1964 · The Munsters as The Man
- 1963 · Petticoat Junction as Ernest Belden
- 1962 · Combat! as G.I. Lieutenant
- 1962 · Stagecoach to Dancers' Rock as Quint Rucker
- 1962 · The Virginian as Henry
- 1960 · My Three Sons as
- 1960 · Comanche Station as Station Man
- 1959 · Stump Run as
- 1959 · Hawaiian Eye as
- 1959 · Bonanza as Cowboy
- 1959 · Tightrope as Young Man
- 1958 · The Last Hurrah as Votes Tallyman (uncredited)
- 1958 · Bat Masterson as Willard Wynant
- 1958 · Peter Gunn as
- 1958 · The Challenge of Rin Tin Tin as
- 1958 · Jefferson Drum as Ray Comstock
- 1957 · The Real McCoys as
- 1957 · Maverick as Second at Duel (uncredited)
- 1957 · Maverick as Jack Blair
- 1957 · Perry Mason as Trainer
- 1957 · M Squad as Purser
- 1957 · Wagon Train as Thomas Pope
- 1956 · Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre as Banker Wilson
- 1956 · The Man Called X as
- 1955 · Sergeant Preston of the Yukon as
- 1955 · Gunsmoke as Rand
- 1955 · Gunsmoke as Man
- 1955 · The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp as Sheriff Del Mathey
- 1955 · The Millionaire as Allan Carter
- 1954 · The Wonderful World of Disney as Baseball Coach (uncredited)
- 1954 · The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin as
- 1954 · The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin as Cpl. Boone
- 1954 · Studio 57 as
- 1954 · Lassie as
- 1954 · Crash of Moons as Andrews
- 1954 · Silver Needle in the Sky as Ranger Andrews
- 1953 · City Detective as
- 1953 · Born to the Saddle as John Grant
- 1952 · The Maverick as Trooper Barnham
- 1952 · Behind Southern Lines as Captain Loomis
- 1952 · Montana Incident as Dave Connors
- 1952 · Man from the Black Hills as Fake Jimmy Fallon
- 1952 · Waco as Al
- 1952 · The Steel Fist as Captain Giorg Nicholoff
- 1952 · The Gunman as Jud Calvert
- 1951 · The Roy Rogers Show as
- 1951 · The Adventures of Kit Carson as
- 1951 · Yukon Manhunt as Len Kaufman
- 1951 · The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok as
- 1951 · Heart of the Rockies as Jim Corley
- 1950 · Lux Video Theatre as Uncle George
- 1950 · The Cisco Kid as Clint Riley
- 1950 · Bunco Squad as Robert (uncredited)
- 1950 · The Gene Autry Show as Young Deputy
- 1950 · The Gene Autry Show as Jeff Elwood
- 1950 · Riding High as Henry Early
- 1950 · The Vanishing Westerner as Sanderson's First Victim
- 1949 · Black Midnight as Daniel Jordan
- 1949 · The Lone Ranger as Dick Larrabee
- 1949 · The Lone Ranger as Deputy Jim Tyler
- 1949 · The Lone Ranger as Private Phillips
- 1949 · The Lone Ranger as Marshal Roy Bell
- 1949 · The Lone Ranger as Private Jack Carey
- 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
- 1945 · The Great Morgan as Film Character (uncredited)
- 1944 · Resisting Enemy Interrogation as Pilot
- 1944 · Lady in the Dark as Ben
- 1944 · Ditch and Live as T / Sgt. Ryan
- 1943 · High Explosive as Jimmy Baker
- 1943 · Air Force as Co-Pilot (uncredited)
- 1942 · The Sombrero Kid as Philip Martin
- 1942 · Fingers at the Window as Young Reporter (uncredited)
- 1942 · The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine as
- 1942 · Cowboy Serenade as Jim Agnew
- 1941 · Niagara Falls as Honeymooner
- 1941 · Lady Scarface as James 'Jimmy' Powell
- 1941 · Life with Henry as Daniel Gordon (uncredited)
- 1940 · The Son of Monte Cristo as Hans Mirbach
- 1940 · The Girl from Avenue A as Steve
- 1940 · Florian as Victor
- 1940 · And One Was Beautiful as Joe Havens
- 1940 · Northwest Passage as Eben Towne
- 1940 · Laddie as Peter Dover
- 1940 · Andy Hardy's Dilemma: A Lesson in Mathematics... and Other Things as Mechanic (uncredited)
- 1939 · Balalaika as Crying Soldier (uncredited)
- 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
- 1939 · Gone with the Wind as Charles Hamilton
- 1938 · Dramatic School as Pasquel Jr.
- 1938 · Love Finds Andy Hardy as Young Man on Bandstand (uncredited)