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Acting
Rand Brooks
Also known as: Arlington Rand Brooks Jr.
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.
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
September 21, 1918
Day of Death
September 1, 2003
Age at Death
84 years old
Place of Birth
Wright City, Missouri, USA
Popularity Score
0.8
Filmography
Rin-Tin-Tin: Hero of the West
Cpl. Boone
1991Movie
Legend of the Northwest
Director
1978Movie
Legend of the Northwest
Story
1978Movie
The Sex Symbol
Edward Kelly (voice)
1974Movie
Columbo
Jerry - Wine Lab Assistant (uncredited)
1971TV
Adam-12
Mr. Edwards
1968TV
In Like Flint
Missle Control Officer (uncredited)
1967Movie
The King's Pirate
Dialogue Coach
1967Movie
The Green Hornet
Conway
1966TV
Requiem for a Gunfighter
Abe Gentry
1965Movie
The Munsters
The Man
1964TV
12 O'Clock High
Finance Officer
1964TV
Petticoat Junction
Ernest Belden
1963TV
Stagecoach to Dancers' Rock
Quint Rucker
1962Movie
Combat!
G.I. Lieutenant
1962TV
The Virginian
Henry
1962TV
Stump Run
1960Movie
Comanche Station
Station Man
1960Movie
My Three Sons
Frank Walker
1960TV
Hawaiian Eye
Agent
1959TV
Bonanza
Cowboy
1959TV
Tightrope
Young Man
1959TV
The Last Hurrah
Votes Tallyman (uncredited)
1958Movie
The Challenge of Rin Tin Tin
1958Movie
Peter Gunn
1958TV
Bat Masterson
Willard Wynant
1958TV
Jefferson Drum
Ray Comstock
1958TV
Maverick
Second at Duel (uncredited)
1957TV
Perry Mason
Trainer
1957TV
The Real McCoys
Mr. Foster
1957TV
M Squad
Purser
1957TV
Wagon Train
Thomas Pope
1957TV
Tombstone Territory
Ed
1957TV
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Banker Wilson
1956TV
The Man Called X
1956TV
Gunsmoke
Rand
1955TV
The Millionaire
Allan Carter
1955TV
Sergeant Preston of the Yukon
1955TV
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
Sheriff Del Mathey
1955TV
Highway Patrol
Bill Rinker
1955TV
Silver Needle in the Sky
Ranger Andrews
1954Movie
Crash of Moons
Andrews
1954Movie
Lassie
Bulldozer Operator
1954TV
The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin
Cpl. Boone
1954TV
Studio 57
1954TV
The Wonderful World of Disney
Baseball Coach (uncredited)
1954TV
Born to the Saddle
John Grant
1953Movie
City Detective
1953TV
Behind Southern Lines
Captain Loomis
1952Movie
The Gunman
Jud Calvert
1952Movie
The Steel Fist
Captain Giorg Nicholoff
1952Movie
Montana Incident
Dave Connors
1952Movie
Man from the Black Hills
Fake Jimmy Fallon
1952Movie
The Maverick
Trooper Barnham
1952Movie
Waco
Al
1952Movie
The Cimarron Kid
Emmett Dalton (uncredited)
1952Movie
Heart of the Rockies
Jim Corley
1951Movie
Yukon Manhunt
Len Kaufman
1951Movie
The Roy Rogers Show
1951TV
The Adventures of Kit Carson
1951TV
Boston Blackie
Hutch
1951TV
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951TV
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
Capt. Loomis
1951TV
Riding High
Henry Early
1950Movie
The Vanishing Westerner
Sanderson's First Victim
1950Movie
Bunco Squad
Robert (uncredited)
1950Movie
The Gene Autry Show
Jeff Elwood
1950TV
The Cisco Kid
Clint Riley
1950TV
Lux Video Theatre
Uncle George
1950TV
The Wyoming Bandit
Jimmy Howard
1949Movie
Black Midnight
Daniel Jordan
1949Movie
The Lone Ranger
Dick Larrabee
1949TV
Joan of Arc
Jean d'Arc, Joan's older brother
1948Movie
Ladies of the Chorus
Randy Carroll
1948Movie
Borrowed Trouble
Lucky Jenkins
1948Movie
Sinister Journey
Lucky Jenkins
1948Movie
False Paradise
Lucky Jenkins
1948Movie
Strange Gamble
Lucky Jenkins
1948Movie
Silent Conflict
Lucky Jenkins
1948Movie
The Dead Don't Dream
Lucky Jenkins
1948Movie
Sundown in Santa Fe
Tom Wyatt
1948Movie
Dangerous Venture
Lucky Jenkins
1947Movie
Unexpected Guest
Lucky Jenkins
1947Movie
The Marauders
Lucky Jenkins
1947Movie
Hoppy's Holiday
Lucky Jenkins
1947Movie
Kilroy Was Here
Rodney Meadows
1947Movie
Fool's Gold
Lucky Jenkins
1946Movie
The Devil's Playground
Lucky Jenkins
1946Movie
The Harvey Girls
Townsman at Saloon (uncredited)
1946Movie
The Great Morgan
Film Character (uncredited)
1945Movie
Lady in the Dark
Ben (uncredited)
1944Movie
Resisting Enemy Interrogation
Pilot
1944Movie
Ditch and Live
T / Sgt. Ryan
1944Movie
Air Force
Co-Pilot (uncredited)
1943Movie
High Explosive
Jimmy Baker
1943Movie
The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine
1942Movie
Cowboy Serenade
Jim Agnew
1942Movie
The Sombrero Kid
Philip Martin
1942Movie
Fingers at the Window
Young Reporter (uncredited)
1942Movie
Lady Scarface
James 'Jimmy' Powell
1941Movie
Life with Henry
Daniel Gordon (uncredited)
1941Movie
Niagara Falls
Honeymooner
1941Movie
Double Date
Jerry Baldwin
1941Movie
And One Was Beautiful
Joe Havens
1940Movie
Florian
Victor
1940Movie
Laddie
Peter Dover
1940Movie
Andy Hardy's Dilemma: A Lesson in Mathematics... and Other Things
Mechanic (uncredited)
1940Movie
Northwest Passage
Eben Towne
1940Movie
The Son of Monte Cristo
Hans Mirbach
1940Movie
The Girl from Avenue A
Steve
1940Movie
Jennie
Karl Schermer
1940Movie
Gone with the Wind
Charles Hamilton
1939Movie
The Old Maid
Jim
1939Movie
Thunder Afloat
Listener (uncredited)
1939Movie
Babes in Arms
Jeff Steele
1939Movie
Dancing Co-Ed
Steve (uncredited)
1939Movie
Balalaika
Crying Soldier (uncredited)
1939Movie
Dramatic School
Pasquel Jr.
1938Movie
Love Finds Andy Hardy
Young Man on Bandstand (uncredited)
1938Movie