A Birthday Tribute to Geraldine Brooks

The lovely, unique Geraldine Brooks was born in New York City on October 29, 1925.

She only appeared in a handful of classic Hollywood movies in the late '40s before moving on to foreign films and steady work in television. I've seen her in every one of those '40s films, most recently revisiting her in THE RECKLESS MOMENT (1949) at the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival, and wish she'd made more.

Here's a photographic look at her early acting career, starting with POSSESSED (1947) with Joan Crawford:

CRY WOLF (1947) with Barbara Stanwyck:

She costarred in EMBRACEABLE YOU (1948) with Dane Clark. Her performance touched me deeply.

AN ACT OF MURDER (1948) with Fredric March...

...and Edmond O'Brien:

THE YOUNGER BROTHERS (1949) with Bruce Bennett:

THE RECKLESS MOMENT (1949) with Joan Bennett:

CHALLENGE TO LASSIE (1949) with Lassie and Ross Ford:

Brooks worked steadily in television, with one notable role coming in the BONANZA episode "Elizabeth, My Love" (1961), in which she played the first wife of Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene), the mother of his son Adam (Pernell Roberts).

I recently learned that Brooks' sister, Gloria Stroock, was an actress, who among other things played Rock Hudson's secretary Maggie on MACMILLAND AND WIFE (1974-77).

Brooks was married to screenwriter Budd Schulberg from 1964 until her untimely passing. She was only 51 when she died in New York in 1977; she was fighting cancer and succumbed to a heart attack.

Geraldine Brooks films reviewed at Laura's Miscellaneous Musings: POSSESSED (1947), CRY WOLF (1947) (also here), EMBRACEABLE YOU (1948), AN ACT OF MURDER (1948), THE YOUNGER BROTHERS (1949), THE RECKLESS MOMENT (1949), CHALLENGE TO LASSIE (1949).

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