Rand Brooks
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- September 21, 1918
- Died
- September 1, 2003 (aged 84)
- Birthplace
- Wright City, Missouri, USA
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). 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
Photos
Filmography
Rin-Tin-Tin: Hero of the West
Movie · as Cpl. Boone
The Sex Symbol
Movie · as Edward Kelly (voice)
Columbo
TV · as Jerry - Wine Lab Assistant (uncredited) · 1 ep
Adam-12
TV · as Mr. Edwards, Bus Driver, Mr. Marshall · 1 ep
In Like Flint
Movie · as Missle Control Officer (uncredited)
The Green Hornet
TV · as Conway · 1 ep
Requiem for a Gunfighter
Movie · as Abe Gentry
The Munsters
TV · as The Man · 1 ep
12 O'Clock High
TV · as Finance Officer · 1 ep
Petticoat Junction
TV · as Ernest Belden · 1 ep
Stagecoach to Dancers' Rock
Movie · as Quint Rucker
Combat!
TV · as G.I. Lieutenant · 1 ep
The Virginian
TV · as Henry · 1 ep
Stump Run
Movie
Comanche Station
Movie · as Station Man
My Three Sons
TV · as Frank Walker, Ed Henson · 1 ep
Hawaiian Eye
TV · as Agent · 1 ep
Bonanza
TV · as Cowboy · 1 ep
Tightrope
TV · as Young Man · 1 ep
The Last Hurrah
Movie · as Votes Tallyman (uncredited)
The Challenge of Rin Tin Tin
Movie
Peter Gunn
TV · 1 ep
Bat Masterson
TV · as Willard Wynant · 1 ep
Jefferson Drum
TV · as Ray Comstock · 1 ep
Maverick
TV · as Second at Duel (uncredited), Jack Blair · 1 ep
Perry Mason
TV · as Trainer, Ted Richert · 1 ep
The Real McCoys
TV · as Mr. Foster · 1 ep
M Squad
TV · as Purser · 1 ep
Wagon Train
TV · as Thomas Pope · 1 ep
Tombstone Territory
TV · as Ed · 1 ep
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
TV · as Banker Wilson · 1 ep
The Man Called X
TV · 1 ep
Gunsmoke
TV · as Rand, Man · 1 ep
The Millionaire
TV · as Allan Carter · 1 ep
Sergeant Preston of the Yukon
TV · 1 ep
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
TV · as Sheriff Del Mathey · 1 ep
Highway Patrol
TV · as Bill Rinker · 1 ep
Silver Needle in the Sky
Movie · as Ranger Andrews
Crash of Moons
Movie · as Andrews
Lassie
TV · as Bulldozer Operator · 1 ep
The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin
TV · as Cpl. Boone, Cpl. Boone (uncredited) · 164 eps
Studio 57
TV · 1 ep
The Wonderful World of Disney
TV · as Baseball Coach (uncredited) · 1 ep
Born to the Saddle
Movie · as John Grant
City Detective
TV · 1 ep
Behind Southern Lines
Movie · as Captain Loomis
The Gunman
Movie · as Jud Calvert
The Steel Fist
Movie · as Captain Giorg Nicholoff
Montana Incident
Movie · as Dave Connors
Man from the Black Hills
Movie · as Fake Jimmy Fallon
The Maverick
Movie · as Trooper Barnham
Waco
Movie · as Al
The Cimarron Kid
Movie · as Emmett Dalton (uncredited)
Heart of the Rockies
Movie · as Jim Corley
Yukon Manhunt
Movie · as Len Kaufman
The Roy Rogers Show
TV · 1 ep
The Adventures of Kit Carson
TV · 4 eps
Boston Blackie
TV · as Hutch · 1 ep
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV · 1 ep
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
TV · as Capt. Loomis, Ed Chandler, Bob Purdy, Ben Webb, Ob Wilkins · 1 ep
Riding High
Movie · as Henry Early
The Vanishing Westerner
Movie · as Sanderson's First Victim
Bunco Squad
Movie · as Robert (uncredited)
The Gene Autry Show
TV · as Jeff Elwood, Young Deputy · 1 ep
The Cisco Kid
TV · as Clint Riley · 1 ep
Lux Video Theatre
TV · as Uncle George · 1 ep
The Wyoming Bandit
Movie · as Jimmy Howard
Black Midnight
Movie · as Daniel Jordan
The Lone Ranger
TV · as Dick Larrabee, Deputy Jim Tyler, Marshal Roy Bell, Private Phillips, Private Jack Carey, Al Sommers, Express Rider, Lieutenant Tipton, Ben · 1 ep
Joan of Arc
Movie · as Jean d'Arc, Joan's older brother
Ladies of the Chorus
Movie · as Randy Carroll
Borrowed Trouble
Movie · as Lucky Jenkins
Sinister Journey
Movie · as Lucky Jenkins
False Paradise
Movie · as Lucky Jenkins
The Dead Don't Dream
Movie · as Lucky Jenkins
Silent Conflict
Movie · as Lucky Jenkins
Strange Gamble
Movie · as Lucky Jenkins
Sundown in Santa Fe
Movie · as Tom Wyatt
Dangerous Venture
Movie · as Lucky Jenkins
Unexpected Guest
Movie · as Lucky Jenkins
Hoppy's Holiday
Movie · as Lucky Jenkins
The Marauders
Movie · as Lucky Jenkins
Kilroy Was Here
Movie · as Rodney Meadows
Fool's Gold
Movie · as Lucky Jenkins
The Devil's Playground
Movie · as Lucky Jenkins
The Harvey Girls
Movie · as Townsman at Saloon (uncredited)
The Great Morgan
Movie · as Film Character (uncredited)
Lady in the Dark
Movie · as Ben (uncredited)
Resisting Enemy Interrogation
Movie · as Pilot
Ditch and Live
Movie · as T / Sgt. Ryan
Air Force
Movie · as Co-Pilot (uncredited)
High Explosive
Movie · as Jimmy Baker
The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine
Movie
Cowboy Serenade
Movie · as Jim Agnew
The Sombrero Kid
Movie · as Philip Martin
Fingers at the Window
Movie · as Young Reporter (uncredited)
Lady Scarface
Movie · as James 'Jimmy' Powell
Life with Henry
Movie · as Daniel Gordon (uncredited)
Niagara Falls
Movie · as Honeymooner
Double Date
Movie · as Jerry Baldwin
And One Was Beautiful
Movie · as Joe Havens
Florian
Movie · as Victor
Laddie
Movie · as Peter Dover
Andy Hardy's Dilemma: A Lesson in Mathematics... and Other Things
Movie · as Mechanic (uncredited)
Northwest Passage
Movie · as Eben Towne
The Son of Monte Cristo
Movie · as Hans Mirbach
The Girl from Avenue A
Movie · as Steve
Jennie
Movie · as Karl Schermer
Gone with the Wind
Movie · as Charles Hamilton
The Old Maid
Movie · as Jim
Thunder Afloat
Movie · as Listener (uncredited)
Babes in Arms
Movie · as Jeff Steele
Dancing Co-Ed
Movie · as Steve (uncredited)
Balalaika
Movie · as Crying Soldier (uncredited)
Dramatic School
Movie · as Pasquel Jr.
Love Finds Andy Hardy
Movie · as Young Man on Bandstand (uncredited)