Rand Brooks
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 Acting
Most Rating 4.122
Birthday 1918-09-21
Place of Birth Wright City, Missouri, USA
Also Known As Arlington Rand Brooks Jr.,
Gone with the Wind
1939

Gone with the Wind

The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine
1942

The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine

In Like Flint
1967

In Like Flint

Joan of Arc
1948

Joan of Arc

Ladies of the Chorus
1948

Ladies of the Chorus

Fool's Gold
1946

Fool's Gold

Borrowed Trouble
1948

Borrowed Trouble

Dangerous Venture
1947

Dangerous Venture

The Devil's Playground
1946

The Devil's Playground

Sinister Journey
1948

Sinister Journey

False Paradise
1948

False Paradise

Unexpected Guest
1947

Unexpected Guest

The Dead Don't Dream
1948

The Dead Don't Dream

Silent Conflict
1948

Silent Conflict

Hoppy's Holiday
1947

Hoppy's Holiday

The Marauders
1947

The Marauders

Strange Gamble
1948

Strange Gamble

Rin-Tin-Tin: Hero of the West
1991

Rin-Tin-Tin: Hero of the West

Lady Scarface
1941

Lady Scarface

Lady in the Dark
1944

Lady in the Dark

Riding High
1950

Riding High

Resisting Enemy Interrogation
1944

Resisting Enemy Interrogation

Stagecoach to Dancers' Rock
1962

Stagecoach to Dancers' Rock

And One Was Beautiful
1940

And One Was Beautiful

Dramatic School
1938

Dramatic School

Sundown in Santa Fe
1948

Sundown in Santa Fe

Silver Needle in the Sky
1954

Silver Needle in the Sky

Florian
1940

Florian

Life with Henry
1941

Life with Henry

The Sex Symbol
1974

The Sex Symbol

Behind Southern Lines
1952

Behind Southern Lines

Laddie
1940

Laddie

Love Finds Andy Hardy
1938

Love Finds Andy Hardy

The Old Maid
1939

The Old Maid

Thunder Afloat
1939

Thunder Afloat

Babes in Arms
1939

Babes in Arms

Dancing Co-Ed
1939

Dancing Co-Ed

The Gunman
1952

The Gunman

Balalaika
1939

Balalaika

Born to the Saddle
1953

Born to the Saddle

The Steel Fist
1952

The Steel Fist

Stump Run
1959

Stump Run

The Last Hurrah
1958

The Last Hurrah

Andy Hardy's Dilemma: A Lesson in Mathematics... and Other Things
1940

Andy Hardy's Dilemma: A Lesson in Mathematics... and Other Things

Air Force
1943

Air Force

Heart of the Rockies
1951

Heart of the Rockies

Montana Incident
1952

Montana Incident

Crash of Moons
1954

Crash of Moons

Northwest Passage
1940

Northwest Passage

The Son of Monte Cristo
1940

The Son of Monte Cristo

The Wyoming Bandit
1949

The Wyoming Bandit

Yukon Manhunt
1951

Yukon Manhunt

Man from the Black Hills
1952

Man from the Black Hills

The Maverick
1952

The Maverick

Cowboy Serenade
1942

Cowboy Serenade

The Sombrero Kid
1942

The Sombrero Kid

Waco
1952

Waco

Black Midnight
1949

Black Midnight

The Vanishing Westerner
1950

The Vanishing Westerner

The Challenge of Rin Tin Tin
1958

The Challenge of Rin Tin Tin

Comanche Station
1960

Comanche Station

Niagara Falls
1941

Niagara Falls

The Great Morgan
1945

The Great Morgan

Kilroy Was Here
1947

Kilroy Was Here

Ditch and Live
1944

Ditch and Live

Bunco Squad
1950

Bunco Squad

Fingers at the Window
1942

Fingers at the Window

High Explosive
1943

High Explosive

The Girl from Avenue A
1940

The Girl from Avenue A