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Hillary Brooke

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Hillary Brooke
Brooke inThe Woman in Green(1945)
Born
Beatrice Sofia Mathilda Peterson

(1914-09-08)September 8, 1914
Astoria, New York,U.S.
DiedMay 25, 1999(1999-05-25)(aged 84)
Bonsall, California,U.S.
Other namesHillary Brook
Alma materColumbia University
OccupationActress
Years active1937–1960
Spouses
Alan Shute
​
​
(m.1936;div.1940)​
Jack Voglin
​
​
(m.1941;div.1948)​
Raymond A. Klune
​
​
(m.1960; died 1988)​
Children3

Hillary Brooke(bornBeatrice Sofia Mathilda Peterson;[1]September 8, 1914 – May 25, 1999) was an American film actress.

Career[edit]

A 5′6″ blonde from the Astoria neighborhood of New York City's borough of Queens, Brooke, who was of Swedish ancestry,[2]started work as a model while attendingColumbia University.[2]She spent a year in the United Kingdom, mastering anRPaccent that she used in several of her films.[2]She frequently played English women in Hollywood films, and also had such a role in her only British-made film,The House Across the Lake.

With Paul Cavanagh inThe Woman in Green

Brooke began her acting career in movies, where she changed her name to Hillary Brooke because, as she put it, she thought her own name was “so long and so heavy".[3]She co-starred in threeSherlock Holmesfilms withBasil RathboneandNigel Bruce,Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror(1942),Sherlock Holmes Faces Death(1943) andThe Woman in Green(1945).

She was a regular on several television series of the early 1950s, playing Roberta Townsend, the glamorous love interest of Margie's father Vern Albright on the 1952–1955 TV seriesMy Little Margie.OnThe Abbott and Costello Show,produced in the early 1950s and syndicated for many years afterward, Brooke played the role of a straitlaced, classy tenant of the rooming house where the two main characters lived. She was treated with reverence by the duo and was not a target of pranks and slapstick. The love interest ofLou Costello,she always addressed him as "Louis". As with the other main characters, her character's name was her real name. She also appeared inAfrica Screams(1949) andAbbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd(1952) with the comedy team.

Brooke’s other movie credits includeJane Eyre(1943),The Enchanted Cottage(1945),Lucky Losers(1950) withThe Bowery Boys,theAlfred HitchcockthrillerThe Man Who Knew Too Much(1956), the3-D filmThe Maze(1953), andWilliam Cameron MenziesclassicInvaders from Mars(1953).

On September 28, 1957, she played Doris Cole in the second episode ofPerry Mason,titled "The Case of the Sleepwalker's Niece". Brooke also played Angela Randall inI Love Lucy's "The Fox Hunt", which aired February 6, 1956. She retired from television in 1960 following guest appearances onRichard Diamond, Private Detectiveas Laura Renault and inMichael Shayneas Greta Morgan.

Personal life[edit]

Brooke married Alan Shute in 1936, divorcing in 1940. Brooke then married assistant director Jack Voglin in 1941, and the couple had one child together, Donald, before divorcing in 1948.[4]Brooke was married to Raymond A. Klune, an executive atMGM,from 1960 until his death on September 24, 1988. Through Klune she had two stepchildren, Carol V. Klune and Donald C. Klune.[5][6]

Brooke was aDemocratwho supportedAdlai Stevenson's campaign in the1952 presidential election.[7]

On May 25, 1999, Brooke died from a blood clot in the lung at a hospital inBonsall, California.[8]She was cremated with her ashes scattered at sea.[9]Her brother, actorArthur Peterson Jr.,died in 1996.[8]

For her contribution to the television industry, Hillary Brooke has a star on theHollywood Walk of Fameat 6307 Hollywood Boulevard.

Quotes[edit]

She refused to play dumb blondes.
"Vacuity will never substitute for a glint of intelligence," she remarked. "However, anyone, man or woman, who is ostentatiously erudite, is lacking in something else or else is just a crashing bore."

"I never thought I was a great actress. Maybe I would have been better if I'd worked harder at it. But I really enjoyed my career and the wonderful people I worked with."[10]

Partial filmography[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Room, Adrian (2012).Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed.McFarland. p. 77.ISBN9780786457632.RetrievedMarch 6,2018.
  2. ^abcBergan, Ronald (June 10, 1999)."Hillary Brooke".The Guardian.RetrievedNovember 8,2019.
  3. ^Hoey, Michael A.Sherlock Holmes & the Fabulous Faces - The Universal Pictures Repertory CompanyBearManor Media (31 August 2011)
  4. ^"Hillary Brooke - The Private Life and Times of Hillary Brooke. Hillary Brooke Pictures".www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com.RetrievedFebruary 26,2018.
  5. ^"Hillary Brooke, 84; Actress in Movies".The New York Times.June 8, 1999.RetrievedFebruary 26,2018.
  6. ^"Obituary: Hillary Brooke".Independent.co.uk.June 3, 1999.RetrievedFebruary 26,2018.
  7. ^Motion Picture and Television Magazine,November 1952, page 33, Ideal Publishers
  8. ^ab"Hillary Brooke, 84; Actress in Movies".The New York Times.June 8, 1999.RetrievedFebruary 29,2008.
  9. ^Wilson, Scott (August 19, 2016).Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.McFarland.ISBN9781476625997– via Google Books.
  10. ^Bergan, Ronald (June 10, 1999)."Hillary Brooke".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.RetrievedFebruary 15,2023.

External links[edit]

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