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Hillary Brooke

 
Actor: Hillary Brooke
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: Sep 08, 1914 in Astoria, New York
  • Died: May 25, 1999 in Bonsall, California
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '40s-'50s
  • Major Genres: Comedy, Mystery
  • Career Highlights: The Fuller Brush Man, Road to Utopia, The Strange Woman
  • First Major Screen Credit: Counter-Espionage (1942)

Biography

Her cultured Mayfair accent notwithstanding, frosty blonde actress Hillary Brooke was born on Long Island. After attending Columbia University, Hillary launched a modelling career, which led to film work in 1937. Though a handful of her screen portrayals were sympathetic, Hillary's talents were best utilized in roles calling for sophisticated truculence: "other women," murderesses, wealthy divorcees and the like. She is also known for her extensive work with the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. First appearing with the team in 1949's Africa Screams, she was briefly nonplused by their ad-libs and prankishness, but soon learned to relax and enjoy their unorthodox working habits. Retiring in 1960 upon her marriage to MGM general manager Ray Klune, Hillary Brooke has devoted much of her time since to religious and charitable work. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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Wikipedia: Hillary Brooke
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Hillary Brooke
Born Beatrice Peterson
September 8, 1914(1914-09-08)
Astoria, New York, USA
Died May 25, 1999 (aged 84)
Bonsall, California, USA
Other name(s) Hillary Brook
Years active 1937–1960

Hillary Brooke (September 8, 1914 – May 25, 1999), was an American film actress best known for her work in Abbott and Costello and Sherlock Holmes films. She also played Lou Costello's love interest in the first season of the Abbott and Costello Show.

Contents

Career

A former model, the tall (5'6") blonde was born Beatrice Peterson in Astoria, New York but in films spoke with a cultured accent. Brooke developed this early in her career to separate herself from other sexy blonde actresses. She appeared in Africa Screams (1949) and Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952) with the comedy team, and was a regular on The Abbott and Costello Show. She also co-starred in three Sherlock Holmes movies with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, including The Woman in Green (1945).

Her other film credits include Jane Eyre (1944), The Enchanted Cottage (1945), the Alfred Hitchcock thriller, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), the 3-D film The Maze (1953), and the sci-fi B-movie classic Invaders from Mars (1953).

In The Abbott and Costello Show, which was broadcast in the early 1950s but syndicated for decades afterwards, Brooke played the role of a straitlaced, classy fellow tenant of the rooming house where the two main characters lived. She was treated with deference by the duo and was not a target of pranks and slapstick. As the love interest of Lou Costello, she always addressed him as "Louis". Like the other main characters, her character's name in the show was her real name.

On September 28, 1957, she played Doris Cole in the second episode of the Perry Mason TV show, titled "The Case of the Sleepwalker's Niece".

She was also a regular on the 1952-1955 TV series My Little Margie.

Marriages/Personal life

Hillary Brooke was married to Raymond A. Klune (an executive at MGM) from 1960 until his death on September 24, 1988. She had two children, a son Donald Klune and a stepdaughter, Carol Klune.

Brooke was also married to Jack Voglin.

Death

On May 25, 1999, Brooke died from undisclosed causes at a hospital in Fallbrook, California.[1] She was survived by her children, a brother Arthur Peterson; 17 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.[2]

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

References

  1. ^ "Hillary Brooke, 84; Actress in Movies". The New York Times. 1999-06-08. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B01EED71339F93BA35755C0A96F958260. Retrieved 2008-02-29. 
  2. ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B01EED71339F93BA35755C0A96F958260

External links



This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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