Phyllis Brooks

Phyllis Brooks
Phyllis Brooks
	Brooks in 1939
Born	July 18, 1915; Boise, Idaho, U.S.
Died	August 1, 1995 (aged 80); Cape Neddick, Maine, U.S.
Occupations	Actress; Model;
Years active	1934–1952
Known for	In Old Chicago; Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm; The Unseen; The Shanghai Gesture; Little Miss Broadway; Lady in the Dark; Charlie Chan in Reno;
Spouse	Torbert H. Macdonald (m. 1945; died 1976)
Children	4

Phyllis Brooks (July 18, 1915 – August 1, 1995) was an American actress and model. She was born in Boise, Idaho. Some sources have also inaccurately cited 1914 as her year of birth, but 1915 is the correct year according to Social Security records.

Career

Modeling

Brooks was a model for two years before progressing to a career in film. She stated, "I started posing for photographers as a lark, and it was a lot of fun."^[2]

She had been known as the "Ipana Toothpaste Girl", due to her work for that product.^[1]

Film

Initially known as Mary Brooks, she began her career in films in 1934^[1] at age 20, in I've Been Around.^[3] Brooks, who had about 30 performances in films, was a B-movie leading lady during the 1930s and 1940s, with roles in such films as In Old Chicago (1937), Little Miss Broadway (1938) and The Shanghai Gesture (1941).

She appeared in Sidney Toler's Charlie Chan series, in the Shirley Temple films Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and in Little Miss Broadway.^[4]

Stage

On Broadway, Brooks appeared in Stage Door (1936–37), Panama Hattie (1940–42), The Night Before Christmas (1941), and Round Trip (1945).^[5]

Wartime activities

Brooks was reported (UK Sunday Telegraph December 1942) as being president of Parties Unlimited Inc. in an article about Hollywood at war. Along with actress Una Merkel and accompanied by film star Gary Cooper, Brooks was the first civilian woman to travel to the Pacific theater of war during World War II on a USO tour.

Personal life

Brooks was engaged at one time to Cary Grant.^[6] She married Torbert Macdonald on June 23, 1945, in Tarrytown, New York.^[7] Macdonald, who had been John F. Kennedy's roommate at Harvard University, went on to become an 11-term Massachusetts Congressman.

Brooks moved east to Cambridge, Massachusetts with her new husband in 1945 so that he could complete his studies at Harvard Law School. He had been a Harvard football captain and a decorated PT boat captain in World War II. Macdonald died in office in 1976.^[8]^[9]

Death

Brooks died on August 1, 1995, in Cape Neddick, Maine, aged 80.^[3]

Partial filmography

One Exciting Adventure (1934) - Minor Role (uncredited)
Strange Wives (1934) - The Actress
The Man Who Reclaimed His Head (1934) - Secretary (uncredited)
I've Been Around (1935) - Gay Blackstone
McFadden's Flats (1935) - Mary Ellis Hall
Lady Tubbs (1935) - Debutante (uncredited)
Another Face (1935) - Sheila Barry
To Beat the Band (1935) - Rowena
Two in the Dark (1936) - Minor Role
Follow the Fleet (1936) - Minor Role (uncredited)
You Can't Have Everything (1937) - Evelyn Moore
Dangerously Yours (1937) - Valerie Barton
Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937) - Phyllis Brooks - at Premiere (uncredited)
In Old Chicago (1938) - Ann Colby
City Girl (1938) - Ellen Ward
Walking Down Broadway (1938) - Vicki Stone
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938) - Lola Lee
Little Miss Broadway (1938) - Barbara Shea
Straight Place and Show (1938) - Barbara 'Babs' Drake
Up the River (1938) - Helen Lindsay
Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938) - Judy Hayes
Charlie Chan in Reno (1939) - Vivian Wells
Lucky to Me (1939) - Pamela Stuart
Slightly Honorable (1939) - Sarilla Cushing
The Flying Squad (1940) - Ann Perryman
The Shanghai Gesture (1941) - The Chorus Girl
No Place for a Lady (1943) - Dolly Adair
Silver Spurs (1943) - Mary Hardigan
Hi'ya, Sailor (1943) - Nanette
Lady in the Dark (1944) - Allison DuBois
Wilson (1944) - Granddaughter (uncredited)
Dangerous Passage (1944) - Nita Paxton
High Powered (1945) - Marian Blair
The Unseen (1945) - Maxine

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Katz, Ephraim (1979). The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume. Perigee Books; ISBN 0-399-50601-2, pg. 170.
^ Keavy, Hubbard (August 31, 1935). "Their Modeling Days Are Over -- Phyllis and Marsha Play Leads". Altoona Tribune. p. 6. Retrieved October 18, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b "Phyllis Brooks; Model Acted on Stage, Screen". Los Angeles Times. August 5, 1995. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
^ "Phyllis Brooks, 80, Actress and Hostess". The New York Times. August 3, 1995. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
^ "Phyllis Brooks". Playbill Vault. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
^ "Phyllis Brooks, 80, Actress and Hostess". The New York Times. August 3, 1995. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
^ "Marriages". Billboard. July 28, 1945. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
^ "Phyllis Brooks, 80, Actress and Hostess". The New York Times. August 3, 1995. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
^ "Biographies of the Representatives of the 7th District of Massachusetts". Retrieved April 19, 2016.