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Hazel Brooks Profile
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| 8 September 24 | is born in Capetown, South Africa, to A. and Catherine Brooks |
| 5 May 27 | sailing from Cape Town, South Africa, aboard the Eastern Glen, she arrives with her mother in Boston, Massachusetts, at the age of 2 years and 6 months |
| ? | becomes a model for Harry Conover |
| April 41 | is a Walter Thornton model in New York |
| ? | MGM producer Arthur Freed spots her during a nationwide hunt for talent |
| October 42 | pinup painter Alberto Vargas uses her legs when drawing the perfect MGM glamour girl. The other features are Inez Cooper’s hands, Mary Jane French’s hair, Thea Coffman’s feet, Ruth Ownbey’s hips, Aileen Haley’s bust, Eve Whitney's’ waist, Kay Williams’ arms, Kay Aldridge’s profile, Natalie Draper’s lips, Marilyn Maxwell’s ankles, and Georgia Carroll’s eyes. |
| December 42 | columnist Dorothy Kilgallen tells that Hazel and Cedric Gibbons are "sniffing orange blossoms..." |
| 4 February 43 | announces her engagement to Gibbons in Los Angeles Superior Court, where her $150-a-week MGM contract has to be approved by Judge Joseph W. Vickers because she's under legal age. He stipulates that one-tenth of her earnings be in vested in War Bonds. |
| Parsons notes her and Gibbons dining nightly together |
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| she and Gibbons are seen at the House of Murphy |
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| April 43 | she and fellow New York models Joan Thorsen and Kay Williams are reported eating lunch off the lot because they are afraid to face the stares. They have to wear drab Russian peasant costumes and no makeup filming Russia at MGM. |
| May 43 | she and Gibbons are at Ciro's together with the Gary Coopers |
| June 43 | Parsons knows: "Hazel Brooks, MGM beauty, and Cedric Gibbons obtained their marriage license in Santa Monica three months ago, but so far it hasn't been used..." |
| August 43 | columnist Jimmy Fidler tells that she and Cedric Gibbons are "denying their secret marriage, but they are toting a license..." |
| c. 26 October 44 | marries Austin Cedric Gibbons in Hollywood in a ceremony performed by a Beverly Hills justice of the peace. He's 49; she's 19. The press tells that they used a license "they took out nearly two months ago." Gibbons is the long-time head of MGM's art department and the designer of the Academy Award Oscar statue. He was previously married to Gwendolyn Walker of New York and to actress Dolores Del Rio. |
| May 45 | obtains her release from MGM and tests for Selznick. "The test, which shows her a siren, was made with Rory Calhoun, the new Selznick leading man." |
| February 47 | will be groomed as a star by Enterprise, the new Hollywood studio |
| May 47 | is reported vacationing in Hawaii. She "took with her for the edification of the islanders, all of the top-revealing dresses and swim-suits that the Johnston Office prevented her wearing in Body and Soul..." |
| End June 47 | will star in Enterprise's upcoming The Cairo Incident |
| October 47 | Fidler tells: "FBI agents are trying to find out what became of a $5,000 sable jacket belonging to Hazel Brooks. Alimented by a New York furrier it accidentally disappeared somewhere en route. It was protected by a scant $50 insurance policy..." |
| George Raft tries to get her for his leading lady in Morocco |
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| January 48 | a photograph of her by Durward Grayhill is voted "Most Provocative Still of 1947" by the International Society of Photographic Arts |
| she and Gibbons vacation at Port Antonio, Jamaica. They are guests of the Titchfield Hotel and visit their friend, Errol Flynn, at Navy Island, purchased by Flynn some time ago. |
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| Early February 48 | she and Gibbons are reported on the stork list for mid-summer |
| Mid-February 48 | columnist Erskine Johnson thinks she might inherit the title of "The Body," which dropped by Mary McDonald |
| August 48 | the press tells that Selznick talks to Harry Cohn about borrowing her for Born Yesterday |
| March 49 | columnist Erskine Johnson tells. "Hazel Brooks is discouraged. Her contract with David O. Selznick has six more months to go and she hasn't had a film role since Sleep, My Love. Remember? She was the body in Body and Soul. The way things are going in Hollywood, I don't think the "soul" is doing much better..." |
| February 52 | she and Rocky Cooper are noted "two of the best dressed girls" at Henry Hathaway's party for Henry Ford II |
| July 53 | her husband is reported ailing at home |
| 26 July 60 | becomes the widow of Gibbons, who dies at age 65 in his Hollywood home after a long illness. Gibbons had been art director with MGM for 32 years. |
| August 60 | as Mrs. Hazel Brooks Gibbons of Bel Air, she is named sole beneficiary and executrix of Gibbon's estate, the value of which was listed at "only more than $10,000" |
| 11 June 67 | marries Rex L. Ross, Jr., a socially prominent Beverly Hills surgeon and founder of the Non-invasive Vascular Clinic at Hollywood Hospital. He's 58; she's 40. Formerly Ross was married to Minnewa Bell, California real restate heiress (her father founded the residential district Bel Air), who caused some news by leaving him to marry Elliott Roosevelt, the ex of actress Faye Emerson, in 1951. Ross and Minnewa had a son, Rexie L. Ross III. In 1952 Ross was expected to marry actress Merle Oberon. |
| July 74 | as Mrs. Rex Ross, she attends an evening of medieval music at UCLA to celebrate the seventh centenary of the death of St. Thomas Aquinas |
| ? | becomes a skilled still photographer and works for a number of child charities |
| 24 February 99 | becomes the widow of Ross, who dies at age 90 in Los Angeles |
| September / October 02 | as Hazel Brooks Ross, she dies at age 78 after a long illness of natural causes at her Bel Air, California, home |
| Sources: Syracuse Herald-Journal, The Portsmouth Herald, The Lowell Sun, Nevada State Journal, The Frederick Post, The Fresno Bee, Joplin Globe, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, Indiana Evening Gazette, Pottstown Mercury, The Daily Gleaner, The Newark Advocate and American Tribune, The Daily Review, Van Nuys News, Screen Romances, AMPAS Website, www.Ancestry.com | |
| Recommended Books: | |
| Links: Filmography Hazel Brooks- The Human Heatwave | |