Rand Brooks achieved fame for his role in Gone With the Wind, playing the pivotal role of Charles Hamilton, brother to the character of Melanie’s brother and first husband of Scarlett O’Hara. The victim of battle in the Civil War, his scenes are confined to the beginning of the film. Rand went on to star in more than 100 various roles in both films and television until he retired from acting. He passed away in 2003.
Although I never met him, he has meant more to me than the average character actor due to the fact that for a while, he was Stan Laurel’s son-in-law, having married Stan’s daughter Lois in the early 1950’s. The above photo is a rather rare one, taken of Laurel and Hardy visiting Rand at the opening a clothing store that he owned. Today I am not only friends with Stan’s daughter Lois, but her and Rand’s granddaughter Cassidy, who I recently saw at the Amsterdam Sons of the Desert convention.
Also recently, while visiting Clark Gable’s birth home in Cadiz, Ohio, on Wednesday, July 30, 2008, I ran across their own ‘walk of fame’ that included handprints of some of Gable’s family and fellow co-stars, including Rand’s.
Rand’s hands
I sent the photo below to Rand Brooks in character from Gone With the Wind on September 26, 1997, and he quickly autographed it and returned it with two signed notecards on October 9.
Autographs from 1997 will continue…
Interesting. Do you know why they divorced? I’d like to hear it was nothing ugly; every one of his co-workers seems to mention what a nice guy Brooks was, and he always seems to come across that way on screen.
Cathy
December 16th, 2010
I ask the same question that Cathy framed so well.
Curt
October 19th, 2015
I KNEW he had a clothing store. I met Rand in about 1952 (me age 6) as he was at his clothing store in the Lake Mead Marina, where my folks bought me a “Hoppy” gun and holster.
Steven Schlah
March 10th, 2018