Jean Brooks

Jean Brooks

Fluent in Spanish, Jean Brooks began professionally by singing with Enric Madriguera and Orchestra in New York. She had a small role in the New York City-filmed The Crime of Doctor Crespi (1935) and the second lead in a Broadway play, "Name Your Poison" (1938), with Lenore Ulric, all under her real name of Jeanne Kelly. She was signed by an independent film production company that had gone under by the time she got to Hollywood. She spent several years at Universal as a leading lady in "B" pictures, including several Johnny Mack Brown westerns, but her option was dropped in late 1941. By this time she had married writer (later director) Richard Brooks and, with a certain Broadway hoofer having just signed at MGM, dropped the Kelly and became Jean Brooks. She signed with RKO, where film buffs know her for her three appearances for cult producer Val Lewton, particularly her stunning performance as a haunted devil worshiper in The Seventh Victim (1943). Her clipped delivery and intense, forceful acting style made her a promising bet for stardom, but RKO lost interest in her by mid-'44 and her roles got gradually smaller until she was dropped in 1946. She and Brooks divorced (his later studio biographies omitted her name as one of his ex-wives). For many years she was listed as a "Lost Player" championed in several magazine articles by writer Doug McClelland. She was eventually located in San Francisco, where she had moved after her film career petered out, and was employed as a classified ad solicitor on the "San Francisco Examiner" newspaper. She had married a printer called Leddy. Her death at the Kaiser Hospital in Richmond, California, in 1963 was due to nutritional problems caused by alcoholism, a sad ending for a stylish and talented performer who didn't get the breaks she deserved, both personally and professionally. Date of Death 25 November 1963, Richmond, California  (extreme malnutrition & alcoholism)
    Known for
    Acting
    Place of birth
    Houston, Texas, USA
    Birthday
    12/23/1915
The Seventh Victim
The Seventh Victim
6.4
Women in the Night
Women in the Night
3.9
The Leopard Man
The Leopard Man
6.4
Two O'Clock Courage
Two O'Clock Courage
6.2
The Falcon in Danger
The Falcon in Danger
5.6
The Falcon in Hollywood
The Falcon in Hollywood
6
The Falcon and the Co-Eds
The Falcon and the Co-Eds
6.2
The Falcon's Alibi
The Falcon's Alibi
5.2
The Boss of Big Town
The Boss of Big Town
5
Youth Runs Wild
Youth Runs Wild
4.2
The Bamboo Blonde
The Bamboo Blonde
6
A Night of Adventure
A Night of Adventure
4.9
Miracle on Main Street
Miracle on Main Street
5.5
Man from Montana
Man from Montana
0
The Devil's Pipeline
The Devil's Pipeline
6
Frankie and Johnnie
Frankie and Johnnie
5
The Invisible Killer
The Invisible Killer
4
The Green Hornet Strikes Again!
The Green Hornet Strikes Again!
6.2
The Invisible Man Returns
The Invisible Man Returns
6.2
The Crime of Doctor Crespi
The Crime of Doctor Crespi
4.5
Riders of Death Valley
Riders of Death Valley
6.5
Meet the Chump
0
A Dangerous Game
A Dangerous Game
5
Buck Privates
Buck Privates
6.6
Son of Roaring Dan
Son of Roaring Dan
0
Junior G-Men
Junior G-Men
6.1
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe
5.6
Klondike Fury
Klondike Fury
3.9
Boot Hill Bandits
Boot Hill Bandits
5.8
Fighting Bill Fargo
Fighting Bill Fargo
6
Badlands Of Dakota
Badlands Of Dakota
5.6
Tango Bar
Tango Bar
7.8
Obeah
Obeah
0
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