Hazel Brooks

Hazel Brooks (September 8, 1924 – September 18, 2002) was an American actress.

Hazel Brooks
Born(1924-09-08)September 8, 1924
Cape Town, South Africa
DiedSeptember 18, 2002(2002-09-18) (aged 78)
Other namesHazel Brooks Ross
Hazel Brooks Gibbons
OccupationActress
Years active1943-1955
Spouse(s)
(m. 1944; died 1960)

Rex Ross
(m. 1967; died 1999)

Early years

The daughter of a sea captain, Brooks was born in Cape Town, South Africa.[1] Her father died when she was three years old, and she moved with her mother to Brooklyn, New York. Her mother remarried and then divorced, resulting in custody battles over Brooks' half-brother. Brooks described her childhood as "very unhappy", noting that she attended 14 schools.[2]

Career

Brooks became a model for Harry Conover when she was 16. A talent scout picked her and five other models to appear in the MGM film Du Barry Was a Lady (1943).[2] She made a series of pictures at the studio during the 1940s, culminating with a supporting role in the 1947 film Body and Soul with John Garfield.

She had captured almost as much attention three years earlier in 1944 when, at age 19, she married the long-time head of her studio's fabled art department, Cedric Gibbons, then 51. The wedding occurred on October 25, 1944.[3] Although the age difference inspired a certain amount of winking in the gossip columns at the time, the marriage proved a strong one and lasted until Gibbons' death in 1960. Brooks subsequently married Dr. Rex Ross (1908-1999), a surgeon and founder of the Non-invasive Vascular Clinic at Hollywood Hospital.

According to long-time friend Maria Cooper Janis, Gary Cooper's daughter, Ross in the years after her retirement from films became a skilled still photographer. She also worked actively for a number of children's charities.

She had subsequent roles in Arch of Triumph and Sleep, My Love in 1948, as well as The Basketball Fix (1951) and The I Don't Care Girl (1953).

Death

Brooks died in 2002, aged 78, in the Bel Air residential district of Los Angeles.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1943Du Barry Was a Lady' Miss JuneUncredited
1943Girl CrazyShowgirlUncredited
1944RationingInformation GirlUncredited
1944Meet the PeopleShow GirlUncredited
1944Marriage Is a Private AffairBridesmaidUncredited
1944Thirty Seconds Over TokyoGirl in Officers' ClubUncredited
1945Without LoveGirl on ElevatorUncredited
1945Ziegfeld FolliesDancerUncredited
1946The Harvey GirlsDance-Hall GirlUncredited
1947Body and SoulAlice
1948Sleep, My LoveDaphne
1948Arch of TriumphSybilUncredited
1951The Basketball FixLily Courtney
1953The I Don't Care GirlStella Forrest

References

  1. Dighton, Ralph (June 22, 1947). "Man Who Invented 'Oomph' To Make Hazel Brooks a Star". The Courier-Journal. Kentucky, Louisville. Associated Press. p. 25. Retrieved October 11, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  2. Graham, Sheilah (March 2, 1947). "Watch the Smoke Of Hazel Brooks, A Sure-Fire Star". The Courier-Journal. Kentucky, Louisville. p. 28. Retrieved October 12, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  3. Hopper, Hedda (October 27, 1944). "Cedric Gibbons marries actress Hazel Brooks". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. p. 13. Retrieved October 11, 2019 via Newspapers.com.


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