Hazel Brooks (September 8, 1924 – September 18, 2002) was an American actress.
Early years
The daughter of a sea captain, Brooks was born in
Cape Town
Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
, South Africa. 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's half-brother. Brooks described her childhood as "very unhappy", noting that she attended 14 schools.
Career
Brooks became a model when she was 16 and was represented by Harry Conover and Walter Thornton. A talent scout picked her and five other models to appear in the MGM film '' Du Barry Was a Lady'' (1943). 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
John Garfield (born Jacob Julius Garfinkle; March 4, 1913 – May 21, 1952) was an American actor who played brooding, rebellious, working-class characters. He grew up in poverty in New York City. In the early 1930s, he became a member of ...
.
A photo of her by Durward Garyhill was voted "Most Provocative Still of 1947" by the International Society of Photographic Arts in January 1948.
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
Austin Cedric Gibbons (March 23, 1890 – July 26, 1960) was an American Art director#In film, art director for the film industry. He also made a significant contribution to motion picture theater architecture from the 1930s to 1950s. Gibbons de ...
, then 54. The wedding occurred on October 25, 1944.
She had subsequent roles in '' Arch of Triumph'' and ''
Sleep, My Love
''Sleep, My Love'' is a 1948 American Film noir, noir film directed by Douglas Sirk. It features Claudette Colbert, Robert Cummings and Don Ameche. It has been called "a gaslighting thriller."
Plot
Alison Courtland, a wealthy New Yorker, hasn't ...
The I Don't Care Girl
''The I Don't Care Girl'' is a 1953 American biographical film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Mitzi Gaynor. It is a biography of entertainer Eva Tanguay.Bel Air residential district of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...