Biography

After passing his screen test, Rand Brooks played a bit role in the 1938 film Love Finds a Way. He then found several other roles before landing the part of Charles Hamilton in Gone with the Wind. He went on to play small roles in films such as Laddie, And One was Beautiful, The Son of Monte Cristo, Jennie, Niagara Falls, among others. Beginning in 1946, he took over the role of Hopalong Cassidy's youthful sidekick, Lucky, and played in twelve of the feature films. Among these, which starred William Boyd as Hoppy, were The Devil's Playground, Fool's Gold, Unexpected Guest, Dangerous Venture, and Hoppy's Holiday. Brooks continued playing roles in films throughout the 1940s and into the 1950s, which also started his television career. He made co-starring appearances on series such as The Roy Rogers Show, Highway Patrol, Lassie, Wagon Train, Maverick, The Real McCoys, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Bat Masterson, Laramie, Gunsmoke, The Munsters, Perry Mason, Columbo, and Bonanza, as well as nine episodes of The Lone Ranger, where he began a friendship with Clayton Moore. In 1966, Rand Brooks started Professional Ambulance Service in Glendale, California, with two used ambulances and a credit card. By 1977 his company had become the largest private ambulance 9-1-1 paramedic provider in Los Angeles County. During his ownership the company received dozens of awards and commendations and was widely recognized as one of the finest ambulance services in the country. In 1995 Brooks sold it to corporate giant American Medical Response. He lived at his ranch in Santa Barbara County with second wife Hermine, a former executive with his company, until his death in 2003. Brooks has two children; a daughter and a son, Rand Brooks Jr., who owns a trucking company in Los Angeles. Brooks can be seen portraying a police officer in the two-hour premier episode of the television series Emergency! (1972), which was first aired in January of 1972 on NBC. Rand Brooks' acting career spanned over 140 films and television series, as well as writing, producing, and directing one film called Legend of the Northwest.
- IMDb mini biography by: Louis C. Farah

[about Clayton Moore] We both signed with MGM. I came in on September 6th and he showed up on the 21st. I worked my way down from Metro to Republic--where he joined me.

[on Clayton Moore] He didn't get rich being The Lone Ranger. His bosses weren't too sympathetic . . . and he made them a lot of money . . . and Clayton, well, Clayton worked awfully hard to take care of his family.

[After Clayton Moore's death] I miss him. I sort of expected this and I didn't think I'd miss him so much, but I do. We were closer than most people.

[in an interview with the Toronto Star in 1986] I loved to work, loved to act, but acting doesn't make for a secure, happy life. You may not work for six months, then you get three offers at the same time. You pick one and as sure as shootin', it's the wrong one!