Hillary Brooke facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hillary Brooke
Brooke in The Woman in Green (1945)
Born	Beatrice Sofia Mathilda Peterson (1914-09-08)September 8, 1914 Astoria, New York, U.S.
Died	May 25, 1999(1999-05-25) (aged 84) Bonsall, California, U.S.
Other names	Hillary Brook
Alma mater	Columbia University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1937–1960
Spouse(s)	Alan Shute ​ ​ (m. 1936; div. 1940)​ Jack Voglin ​ ​ (m. 1941; div. 1948)​ Raymond A. Klune ​ ​ (m. 1960; died 1988)​
Children	3

Hillary Brooke (born Beatrice Sofia Mathilda Peterson; September 8, 1914 – May 25, 1999) was an American actress. She was famous for her roles in movies and TV shows.

Hillary Brooke's Acting Career

Hillary Brooke was a tall, blonde actress from Astoria, New York. Her family came from Sweden. Before she became an actress, she worked as a model. She also studied at Columbia University.

Brooke spent a year in the United Kingdom. There, she learned to speak with a special British accent. This accent is called RP. She used this accent in many of her Hollywood movies. She often played characters who were English women. She even played an English woman in her only British film, The House Across the Lake.

With Paul Cavanagh in Woman in Green

Hillary Brooke started her acting career in movies. She appeared in two Sherlock Holmes films. In these movies, she acted alongside Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. The films were Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943) and The Woman in Green (1945).

Television Roles and Comedy

In the early 1950s, Brooke was a regular on several TV shows. She played Roberta Townsend on the TV series My Little Margie (1952–1955). Her character was the stylish love interest of Margie's father.

She also had a big role on The Abbott and Costello Show. This show was popular in the 1950s. Brooke played a refined and classy tenant in the house where the main characters lived. The comedy duo treated her with respect. She was never a target of their jokes or slapstick humor. She was the love interest of Lou Costello and always called him "Louis." Her character on the show had her real name. Brooke also worked with Abbott and Costello in the movies Africa Screams (1949) and Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952).

Other Notable Films

Hillary Brooke acted in many other movies. These include Jane Eyre (1943) and The Enchanted Cottage (1945). She also appeared in Lucky Losers (1950) with The Bowery Boys.

She was in the exciting Alfred Hitchcock movie The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956). She also starred in the 3-D film The Maze (1953). Another famous movie she was in was the science fiction film Invaders from Mars (1953).

On September 28, 1957, she played Doris Cole in an episode of Perry Mason. The episode was called "The Case of the Sleepwalker's Niece." Brooke also appeared in an I Love Lucy episode called "The Fox Hunt" on February 6, 1956. She stopped acting in television in 1960. Her last TV roles were guest appearances on Richard Diamond, Private Detective and Michael Shayne.

Hillary Brooke's Personal Life

Hillary Brooke was married three times. Her first marriage was to Alan Shute in 1936. They divorced in 1940. She then married assistant director Jack Voglin in 1941. They had one child together, a son named Donald. They divorced in 1948.

In 1960, Brooke married Raymond A. Klune. He was an important executive at MGM, a big movie studio. They stayed married until his death in 1988. Through this marriage, she gained two stepchildren, Carol and Donald.

Brooke was a member of the Democratic Party. She supported Adlai Stevenson in the 1952 presidential election.

Hillary Brooke passed away on May 25, 1999. She died from a blood clot in her lung at a hospital in Bonsall, California. Her body was cremated, and her ashes were scattered at sea. For her important work in television, Hillary Brooke has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. You can find it at 6307 Hollywood Boulevard.

Hillary Brooke's Thoughts on Acting

Hillary Brooke did not like to play characters who seemed silly or unintelligent. She believed that being empty-headed was not a good substitute for being smart. She also felt that people who showed off how smart they were could be boring.

She once said, "I never thought I was a great actress." She added that maybe she would have been better if she had worked harder. But she truly enjoyed her career and the wonderful people she worked with.

Partial filmography

See also

In Spanish: Hillary Brooke para niños