Rand Brooks

{{Lead too short|date=February 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Rand Brooks | image = Rand Brooks in Dramatic School trailer.JPG | caption = Brooks in the trailer for ''Dramatic School'', 1938 | birth_date = {{birth date|1918|9|21|mf=yes}} | birth_place = Wright City, Missouri, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2003|9|1|1918|9|21|mf=yes}} | death_place = Santa Ynez, California, U.S. | resting_place = | occupation = {{flatlist| * Actor * producer * rancher}} | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Lois Laurel|1949|1978|end=divorced}} * {{marriage|Hermine Brooks|1978}} }} | children = 2 }}

'''Arlington Rand Brooks Jr.''' <ref name=":2">{{Cite news|title=Marriages|date=1945-04-25|work=Variety|issue=7|volume=158|page=45}}</ref> (September 21, 1918 – September 1, 2003) was an American film and television actor.

== Early life == [[File:Gone with the Wind wedding.jpg|thumb|Thomas Mitchell, Barbara O'Neil, Vivien Leigh and Rand Brooks in ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939)]] Brooks was born in Wright City, Missouri. He was the son of Arlington Rand Brooks,<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|title=Rand Brooks Gets Big Movie Role|date=1939-02-03|work=Warrenton Banner|page=1|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> a farmer.<ref>[https://www.sos.mo.gov/images/archives/deathcerts/1950/1950_00043415.PDF Arlington Rand Brooks]. Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1969. Accessed 2020-03-27.</ref>{{Efn|Though his obituary in the Guardian mentions a traveling salesman father and birth in St. Louis, earlier newspaper reports in the Warrenton Bulletin state he was the son of a local farmer and left the area as a child; the 1920 census has him living in Wright City, Missouri.|name=|group=}} His mother and he moved to Los Angeles when he was four,<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=McClellan|first=Dennis|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-sep-04-me-brooks4-story.html|title=Rand Brooks, 84; Actor Had Roles in Westerns, 'Gone With the Wind'|date=2003-09-04|work=The Los Angeles Times|access-date=2020-02-12}}</ref> though he continued to spend summers in Wright City.<ref name=":3" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newspapers.com?product=newscomwc/clip/47532685/news-notes-rand-brooks-visits-father/|title=News Notes|date=1945-02-15|work=Warrenton Banner|access-date=2020-03-28|page=3|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newspapers.com/?product=newscomwc/clip/47528963/rand-brooks-in-wright-city-nov-1950/|title=Rand Brooks Featured on Freshman Program|date=1950-11-23|work=Warrenton Banner|access-date=2020-03-28|page=3|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newspapers.com?product=newscomwc/clip/47533050/rand-brooks-cub-scouts-meeting/|title=Cub Scout Meeting Held Friday, July 28|date=1953-08-06|work=Warrenton Banner|access-date=2020-03-28|page=1|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}}</ref> His mother and his grandfather were actors.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Neville|first=Lucie|title=Men Wanted|date=1939-08-20|work=Laredo Times|page=22|via=NewspaperArchive}}</ref>

==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'' (1938).<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newspapers.com?product=newscomwc/clip/47532285/plays-in-love-finds-andy-hardy/|title=Plays in "Love Finds Andy Hardy"|date=1938-08-12|work=Warrenton Banner|access-date=2020-03-28|page=5|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}}</ref> His big break came when he was cast as Charles Hamilton in ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939), a part which he later admitted he despised; he wanted to play more masculine roles.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Bergan|first=Ronald|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/oct/16/guardianobituaries.filmnews|title=Obituary: Rand Brooks|date=2003-10-16|work=The Guardian|access-date=2020-03-27|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news|last=Riggle|first=Michelle|title='GWTW' Stars Kick Off Gable Bash|date=1992-02-01|work=New Philadelphia Times Reporter|page=A5|via=NewspaperArchive}}</ref>

After ''Gone With the Wind'', he had relatively small parts in other movies including ''Babes in Arms,''<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hischak|first=Thomas S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TwNhr2FWhvEC&q=rand+brooks+babes+in+arms&pg=PA200|title=Through the Screen Door: What Happened to the Broadway Musical when it Went to Hollywood|date=2004|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-5018-7|language=en}}</ref> then a regular role as Lucky in the Hopalong Cassidy series of Westerns in the mid-1940s;<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Holland|first=Ted|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z8IdAAAAMAAJ&q=%22rand+brooks%22+adventures+of+rin+tin+tin|title=B Western Actors Encyclopedia: Facts, Photos, and Filmographies for More Than 250 Familiar Faces|date=1989|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=978-0-89950-306-6|language=en}}</ref> Brooks succeeded Russell Hayden in the role.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Brode|first=Douglas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CZGyDAAAQBAJ&q=rand+brooks+mackenzie%27s+raiders&pg=PA60|title=Shooting Stars of the Small Screen: Encyclopedia of TV Western Actors, 1946–Present|date=2009-10-15|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-71849-4|language=en}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{Cite news|title=Pictures: Film Reviews – Fool's Gold|date=1946-10-09|work=Variety|issue=5|volume=164|page=14}}</ref> In edited, half-hour versions of some of the films, he appeared in 12 of the 52 episodes of the ''Hopalong Cassidy'' television series.<ref name=":4" />

=== Military service === Brooks served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II, eventually reaching the rank of sergeant.<ref name=":2" /> He trained at Buckley Field in Colorado, in March 1943<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newspapers.com?product=newscomwc/clip/47532511/news-notes/|title=News Notes|date=1943-03-11|work=Warrenton Banner|access-date=2020-03-28|page=3|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}}</ref> and was stationed in Springfield, Missouri, as of May 1943.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newspapers.com?product=newscomwc/clip/47532141/news-notes-rand-brooks-1943/|title=News Notes|date=1943-05-13|work=Warrenton Banner|access-date=2020-03-20|page=3|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Brooks was for a time at San Antonio Air Field. He trained for flying, but did some theatre work under General Henry H. Arnold.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newspapers.com?product=newscomwc/clip/47530463/new-of-our-men-and-women-in-uniform/|title=News of Our Men and Women in Uniform|date=1943-07-01|work=Warrenton Banner|access-date=2020-03-28|page=1|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}}</ref> He was ill for a time during his service and in 1944 worked in recruitment in Louisiana.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newspapers.com?product=newscomwc/clip/47529632/rand-brooks-promoted-to-sergeant/|title=Rand Brooks Promoted to Sergeant|date=1944-03-30|work=Warrenton Banner|access-date=2020-03-28|page=5|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

=== 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.<ref name=":0" /> Filmed in just 10 days, the film was released soon after its completion.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Spoto|first=Donald|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r2W9SGUyRmgC&q=ladies+of+the+chorus+ten+days+monroe&pg=PA141|title=Marilyn Monroe: The Biography|date=2001|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-8154-1183-3|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Vogel|first=Michelle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rEVXAwAAQBAJ&q=rand+brooks+ladies+of+the+chorus&pg=PA37|title=Marilyn Monroe: Her Films, Her Life|date=2014|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-7086-0|language=en}}</ref>

''Variety'' called his performance in the 1952 film ''The Steel Fist'' "capable."<ref>{{Cite news|title=Pictures: The Steel Fist|date=1952-02-06|work=Variety|issue=9|volume=185|page=20}}</ref>

Television brought new opportunities, again often in Westerns. He played Cpl. Randy Boone in the 1950s television series ''The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin''.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Orlean|first=Susan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RVs0P_sqBs8C&q=%22rand+brooks%22&pg=PA290|title=Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend|date=2012-10-09|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-4391-9014-2|language=en}}</ref>

Brooks had guest roles in 1950s Western series, including ''Mackenzie's Raiders'',<ref name=":5" /> ''The Lone Ranger'', ''Maverick'', ''Gunsmoke'', and ''Bonanza''.<ref name=":1" /> He appeared twice on the syndicated adventure series, ''Rescue 8'',<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Yokley|first1=Richard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cixPyu5pCaUC&q=rand+brooks+rescue+eight&pg=PA139|title=Emergency!: Behind the Scene|last2=Sutherland|first2=Rozane|date=2007|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning|isbn=978-0-7637-4896-8|language=en}}</ref> as well as on CBS's ''Perry Mason'' courtroom drama series.<ref>{{Cite news|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/03/arts/rand-brooks-84-actor-known-for-role-in-gone-with-the-wind.html|title=Rand Brooks, 84, Actor Known For Role in 'Gone With the Wind'|date=2003-09-03|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-03-28|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

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.<ref name=":0" /> The film was finally released in 1978, under the title ''Legend of the Northwest''.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Goldrup|first1=Tom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9quzCgAAQBAJ&q=manns+chinese+theatre+%22rand+brooks%22&pg=PA341|title=Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Classic Film and Television|last2=Goldrup|first2=Jim|date=2002-05-06|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-1254-9|language=en}}</ref>

=== 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.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Actor Brooks "Died" in Films; Recovered in Ambulance Biz|date=1977-04-16|work=Orange County Register|page=24|via=NewspaperArchive}}</ref> Brooks sold the ambulance company in 1994, and retired to his ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley, where he bred champion Andalusian horses.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Gable Birthday Event to Feature Gone with the Wind Actors|date=1992-01-30|work=New Philadelphia Times Reporter|page=D-8|via=NewspaperArchive}}</ref><ref name=":6" />

== Personal life == ''Variety'' reported that Brooks married Clover Barrick on April 18, 1945.<ref name=":2" /> He married Lois Laurel (d. 2017),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lois-laurel-hawes-dead-stan-laurels-daughter-was-89-1025214|title=Lois Laurel Hawes, Daughter of Stan Laurel, Dies at 89|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=29 July 2017 |language=en|access-date=2020-03-29}}</ref> daughter of Stan Laurel, in 1949.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newspapers.com?product=newscomwc/clip/47529492/rand-brooks-married-in-hollywood/|title=Rand Brooks Married in Hollywood|date=1949-04-14|work=Warrenton Banner|access-date=2020-03-28|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Their son, Arlington Rand Brooks III, was born in September 1949.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newspapers.com?product=newscomwc/clip/47532927/arlington-rand-brooks-iii-birth-mention/|title=News Notes|date=1949-09-29|work=Warrenton Banner|access-date=2020-03-28|page=3|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Their daughter Laurel was born in August 1950 in Santa Monica, California.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/?product=newscomwc/clip/47585143/former-lois-laurel-has-second-child/|title=Former Lois Laurel Has Second Child|date=1950-09-17|website=Newspapers.com|publisher=Santa Cruz Sentine|page=4|language=en|access-date=2020-03-29}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> He married Hermine Brooks in 1978.{{cn|date=September 2025}}

==Death== Brooks died in Santa Ynez, California on September 1, 2003, aged 84.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rosefamilyfuneralhome.com/tribute/details/574/Arlington-Brooks-III/obituary.html|title=Obituary of Arlington Rand Brooks III {{!}} Rose Family Funeral Home|website=rosefamilyfuneralhome.com|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-29}}</ref>

==Partial filmography== {{div col}} * ''Hold That Kiss'' (1938) – Guitar Player in Band (uncredited) * ''Love Finds Andy Hardy'' (1938) – Young Man on Bandstand (uncredited) * ''Dramatic School'' (1938) – Pasquel Jr. * ''The Old Maid'' (1939) – Jim * ''Babes in Arms'' (1939) – Jeff Steele * ''Thunder Afloat'' (1939) – Listener (uncredited) * ''Dancing Co-Ed'' (1939) – Steve (uncredited) * ''Balalaika'' (1939) – Crying Soldier (uncredited) * ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939) – Charles Hamilton * ''Laddie'' (1940) – Peter Dover * ''Northwest Passage'' (1940) – Peter Dover * ''And One Was Beautiful'' (1940) – Joe Havens * ''Florian'' (1940) – Victor * ''Girl from Avenue A'' (1940) – Steve * ''Life with Henry'' (1940) – Daniel Gordon (uncredited) * ''The Son of Monte Cristo'' (1940) – Hans Mirbach * ''Jennie'' (1940) – Karl Schermer * ''Cheers for Miss Bishop'' (1941) – 'Buzz' Wheelwright * ''Double Date'' (1941) – Jerry Baldwin * ''The People vs. Dr. Kildare'' (1941) – Dr. George Young (uncredited) * ''Lady Scarface'' (1941) – James 'Jimmy' Powell * ''Niagara Falls'' (1941) – Honeymooner * ''Cowboy Serenade'' (1942) – Jim Agnew * ''The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine'' (1942) * ''Fingers at the Window'' (1942) – Young Reporter (uncredited) * ''The Sombrero Kid'' (1942) – Philip Martin * ''Air Force'' (1943) – Co-Pilot (uncredited) * ''High Explosive'' (1943) – Jimmy Baker * ''Lady in the Dark'' (1944) – Ben (uncredited) * ''Resisting Enemy Interrogation'' (1944) – Pilot (uncredited) * ''The Harvey Girls'' (1946) – Townsman at Saloon (uncredited) * ''The Devil's Playground'' (1946) – Lucky Jenkins * ''The Great Morgan'' (1946) – Film Character (uncredited) * ''Fool's Gold'' (1946) – Lucky Jenkins * ''Unexpected Guest'' (1947) – Lucky Jenkins * ''Dangerous Venture'' (1947) – Lucky Jenkins * ''The Marauders'' (1947) – Lucky Jenkins * ''Hoppy's Holiday'' (1947) – Lucky Jenkins * ''Kilroy Was Here'' (1947) – Rodney Meadows * ''Silent Conflict'' (1948) – Lucky Jenkins * ''The Dead Don't Dream'' (1948) – Lucky Jenkins * ''Sinister Journey'' (1948) – Lucky Jenkins * ''Borrowed Trouble'' (1948) – Lucky Jenkins * ''False Paradise'' (1948) – Lucky Jenkins * ''Strange Gamble'' (1948) – Lucky Jenkins * ''Sundown in Santa Fe'' (1948) – Tom Wyatt * ''Joan of Arc'' (1948) – Jean d'Arc * ''Ladies of the Chorus'' (1948) – Randy Carroll * ''The Wyoming Bandit'' (1949) – Jimmy Howard * ''Black Midnight'' (1949) – Daniel Jordan * ''The Vanishing Westerner'' (1950) – Sanderson's First Victim * ''Riding High'' (1950) – Henry Early * ''Bunco Squad'' (1950) – Robert (uncredited) * ''Heart of the Rockies'' (1951) – Jim Corley * ''Yukon Manhunt'' (1951) – Len Kaufman * ''The Steel Fist'' (1952) – Capt. Giorg Nicholoff * ''The Cimarron Kid'' (1952) – Emmett Dalton (uncredited) * ''Waco'' (1952) – Henchman Al * ''Man from the Black Hills'' (1952) – Fake Jimmy Fallon * ''The Gunman'' (1952) – Jud Calvert * ''Montana Incident'' (1952) – Dave Connors * ''The Maverick'' (1952) – Trooper Barnham * ''Born to the Saddle'' (1953) – John Grant * ''The Charge at Feather River'' (1953) – Pvt. Adams (uncredited) * ''To Hell and Back'' (1955) – Lt. Harris (uncredited) * ''Official Detective'' (1957, TV Series) – McClellan * ''The Challenge of Rin Tin Tin'' (1958) * ''The Last Hurrah'' (1958) – Votes Tallyman (uncredited) * ''Stump Run'' (1959) – Wayne Lawson * ''Comanche Station'' (1960) – Station Man * ''Posse from Hell'' (1961) – Townsman (uncredited) * ''Stagecoach to Dancers' Rock'' (1962) – Quint Rucker * ''The Munsters'' (Nov 1964) – (Tin-Can man) * ''Harlow'' (1965) – Casting Director (uncredited) * ''Requiem for a Gunfighter'' (1965) – Abe Gentry * ''Combat!'' (1965, TV Series) – G.I. Lieutenant * ''Leather Narcissus'' (1967) * ''In Like Flint'' (1967) – Missile Control Officer (uncredited) * ''Double Indemnity'' (1973, TV Movie) – Conductor (uncredited) * ''The Sex Symbol'' (1974, TV Movie) – Edward Kelly (final film role) {{div col end}}

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{IMDb name|0112203}} * [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7832354/rand-brooks Rand Brooks] at Find a Grave * [https://radiogoldin.library.umkc.edu/Home/RadioGoldin_Records?searchString=Brooks%2C%20Rand&type=Artists Rand Brooks] on the RadioGOLDINdex

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Rand}} Category:1918 births Category:2003 deaths Category:20th-century American male actors Category:Male actors from Missouri Category:American male film actors Category:American male television actors Category:Male Western (genre) film actors Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players Category:Military personnel from Missouri Category:People from Warren County, Missouri Category:Ranchers from California Category:United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Category:Western (genre) television actors