Background
A former model, the 5"6" blonde was born Beatrice Sofia Mathilda Peterson in Astoria, New New York
A former model, the 5"6" blonde was born Beatrice Sofia Mathilda Peterson in Astoria, New New York
Though American-born, she began cultivating a sophisticated English accent to get more film parts early in her career. lieutenant eventually became second nature to her, and she was cast as a British woman in most of her films, including one that was produced in the United Kingdom. She was a regular on several television series of the early 50s.
On My Little Margie, she was Roberta Townsend, girlfriend to Margie"s dad.
On The Abbott and Costello Show, which was broadcast in the early 1950s but syndicated for decades afterwards, Brooke played the role of a straitlaced, classy tenant of the rooming house where the two main characters lived. She was treated with reverence by the duo and was not a target of pranks and slapstick.
As the love interest of Lou Costello, he worshipped her and she always addressed him as "Louis". Like the other main characters, her character"s name in the show was her real name.
She also appeared in and with the comedy team
She co-starred in three Sherlock Holmes movies with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, including. Her other film credits include,, with The Bowery Boys, the Alfred Hitchcock thriller, the 3-Doctorate film, and the sci-fi B-movie classic Invaders from Mars (1953). On September 28, 1957, she played Doris Cole in the second episode of the Perry Mason television show, titled "The Case of the Sleepwalker"s Niece".
Brooke also played Angela Randall in an episode of I Love Lucy, entitled "The Fox Hunt", which aired February 6, 1956.
She retired from television in 1960 with guest appearances on Richard Diamond, Private Detective as Laura Renault and Michael Shayne as Greta Morgan. She was also a regular on the 1952–1955 Gale Storm television series My Little Margie, playing Roberta Townsend, the glamorous love interest of Margie"s father Vern Albright (Charles Farrell).
On May 25, 1999, Brooke died from undisclosed causes at a hospital in Fallbrook, California. Foreign her contribution to the television industry, Hillary Brooke has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6307 Hollywood Boulevard.