Leslie Brooks

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This article is about the actress. For The Young and the Restless character, see Leslie Brooks.

Leslie Brooks
Brooks in Blonde Ice (1948)
Born
Virginia Leslie Gettman

(1922-07-13)July 13, 1922
Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
DiedJuly 1, 2011(2011-07-01) (aged 88)
Sherman Oaks, California, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, California
Other namesLorraine Gettman
Occupations
  • Actress
  • model
  • dancer
Years active1941–1948; 1971
Spouses
Donald Anthony Shay
​
​
(m. 1945; div. 1948)​
Russ Vincent
​
(m. 1950)​
Children4
Parent(s)Violet Fern Clark, Paul M. Gettman

Leslie Brooks (born Virginia Leslie Gettman; July 13, 1922 – July 1, 2011) was an American film actress, model and dancer.

Early life[edit]

Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, her parents brought her to Southern California at an early age, where around 1940 she started work as a photographic model. At the beginning of her career in show business she appeared as Lorraine Gettman.[1]

Career[edit]

(L-R): Doris Dudley, Linda Darnell, Margaret Hamilton, Glenda Farrell and Leslie Brooks in City Without Men (1943)

As Leslie Brooks, she began appearing in movie bit roles for Columbia in 1941. Brooks started landing more sizable parts in such movies as Nine Girls (1944), Cover Girl (1944), and the lead in the film noir classic Blonde Ice (1948). She retired from films in 1949, but returned to make one last film in 1971.

Personal life[edit]

Brooks was born in Lincoln, Nebraska on July 13, 1922, the daughter of Paul and Fern Clark Gettman. She spent much of her childhood with her paternal grandparents who ran a hotel in Crofton, and attended high school in Omaha.[2] Brooks was married twice and had four daughters. She wed her first husband, actor Donald Anthony Shay, on January 6, 1945, in Beverly Hills, California.[3] They had a daughter, Leslie Victoria (b. 1945), and divorced in 1948.[4] In 1950, she married Russ Vincent,[5] an actor[6] and, later, a successful Hollywood land developer.[7] She had appeared with him in the 1948 film Blonde Ice.[8] They remained married until his death 51 years later. Brooks and Vincent had three daughters together; Dorena Marla (b. 1954), Gina L. (b. 1956) and Darla R. (b. 1960).[4]

Death[edit]

Brooks died on July 1, 2011, at the age of 88 in Sherman Oaks, California and was buried at the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.[9]

Selected filmography[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Todd, John (May 29, 1945). "Behind the Scenes in Hollywood". The Tipton Daily Tribune. Indiana, Tipton. International News Service. p. 2. Retrieved July 25, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ "Nebraska State Journal, pg D6". Nebraska State Journal. January 28, 1945.
  3. ^ "Actress Leslie Brooks And Donald Shay Wed". Cumberland Evening Times. Maryland, Cumberland. Associated Press. January 8, 1945. p. 2. Retrieved July 25, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ a b "Leslie Brooks - The Private Life and Times of Leslie Brooks. Leslie Brooks Pictures". www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com.
  5. ^ "Leslie Brooks (1922 - 2011) ليزلي بروكس". elcinema.com. Damlag S.A.E. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  6. ^ "Russ Vincent". tcm.com. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  7. ^ Chien, Ginny (September 1, 2002). "Modernist Oasis". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  8. ^ "Blonde Ice". tcm.com. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  9. ^ Wilson, Scott (August 19, 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. ISBN 9781476625997 – via Google Books.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leslie Brooks.


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