Foster Brooks

Foster Murrell Brooks (May 11, 1912 – December 20, 2001) was an American actor and comedian best known for his portrayal of a lovable drunk in nightclub performances and television programs.

Early life Brooks was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 11, 1912, to Edna (née Megowan) and Pleasant M. Brooks. He had seven brothers. His career started in radio, notably with station WHAS in Louisville. He was a staff announcer, and his deep baritone voice was also well-suited for singing. Brooks gained fame for his reporting of the Ohio River flood of 1937, where he was featured on emergency broadcasts by WHAS and also WSM from Nashville, Tennessee. In 1952, Brooks appeared on local TV in a short-lived spoof of Gene Autry and his "Singing Cowboys".

He later worked in local broadcasting as a radio and TV personality at WHAM in Rochester, New York, and at WGR & WKBW in Buffalo, where he hosted "The Musical Clock" and "Million Dollar Ballroom". In Buffalo, Brooks also performed with a country and western vocal group known as the Hi-Hatters. Moving to the West Coast, he launched a career as a stand-up comic and character actor.

In 1960, Brooks moved with his family to Los Angeles to seek more professional opportunities. During this time, he appeared on television comedies such as The Munsters, The Monkees and Bewitched. Brooks also delivered Christmas mail and phone books, and managed an apartment building in North Hollywood. In addition, he worked as a security guard for the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.

In 1969, game show icon and television personality Dennis James took his friend Brooks to a North Carolina charity golf tournament to tell some jokes, and then introduced Brooks to good friend, singer Perry Como, who in turn gave the comedian his major break. Como chose Brooks to open for him at a Las Vegas hotel. When the hotel's owners balked at Como's choice due to Brooks' age and lack of fame, Como insisted and the owners acquiesced. Brooks was an instant hit. He made his first appearance soon thereafter on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

Career Brooks regularly appeared on The Dean Martin Show television program in the 1970s (for which he garnered an Emmy Award nomination in 1974) as well as many situation comedies and talk shows, (including The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson). Mr. Brooks appeared many times on the Bill Cosby variety show in 1972.

His signature routine was the basis of a hit comedy album titled Foster Brooks, The Lovable Lush, released in the early 1970s. As his "Lovable Lush" character, Brooks usually portrayed a conventioneer who had had a few too many drinks—not falling-down drunk, but inebriated enough to mix up his words and burp to comedic delight. Brooks is best remembered for his appearances on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast during the 1970s, where he roasted other comedians, such as Don Rickles, Johnny Carson and Lucille Ball, and serious public figures such as writer Truman Capote, consumer activist Ralph Nader, and former vice president Hubert Humphrey.

During his period of greatest fame, Brooks rarely drank. Of giving up drinking to win a bet in 1964, Brooks said, "A fellow made me a $10 bet I couldn't quit, and I haven't had a drink since. At the time I needed the $10."

Brooks' last performance was at a celebrity roast in Las Vegas for Zsa Zsa Gabor. He is also referenced on an episode of Get a Life called "Paperboy 2000". On the March 1, 2010, episode of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart referred to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse's mispronunciation of a constituent's name by saying, "It's not supposed to end on a Foster Brooks hiccup." He was mentioned in the lyrics of a Loudon Wainwright song, "Drinks Before Dinner."

Personal life Brooks was first married to Loretta Brooks, with whom he had a son and three daughters; one daughter died in infancy. Foster and Loretta divorced in 1950. That same year, he married Teri Brooks, with whom he had two daughters.

Death Brooks died on December 20, 2001, at his home in Encino, California, from heart failure. He was 89 years old.

Filmography Film

Television Year Title Role Notes1962 Gunsmoke Ed S8:E3, "Quint Asper Comes Home"1967 The Monkees Conventioneer S1:E30, "Monkees in Manhattan"1969 The Beverly Hillbillies Fiddlin Sam Dingle S6:E25, "The Clampetts Fiddle Around"1973 Here's Lucy Episode "Tipsy through the Tulips"1982 Mork & Mindy Miles Sternhagen 3 episodes Madame's Place Self Episode: "Who Laughs Last?"1987 Murder, She Wrote Simon Thane Episode: "Simon Says, Color Me Dead"