Joel Brooks (born December 17, 1949) is an American
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
, known for his roles in ''
Stir Crazy'', ''
My Sister Sam
''My Sister Sam'' is an American television sitcom starring Pam Dawber and Rebecca Schaeffer that aired on CBS from October 6, 1986, to April 12, 1988.
Synopsis
The sitcom follows the lives of a 29-year-old San Francisco freelance photographer ...
'', ''
Six Feet Under'', ''
The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green
''The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green'' is a syndicated comic strip drawn by Eric Orner. Appearing in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender publications, the strip's title character is Ethan Green, a young gay man trying to balance ...
'' and ''
Phil of the Future
''Phil of the Future'' is an American science fiction sitcom that originally aired on Disney Channel from June 18, 2004, to August 19, 2006, for two seasons. The series was created by Douglas Tuber and Tim Maile and produced by 2121 Productions ...
''. Brooks also had a recurring role as a psychologist in ''
Ally McBeal''.
Brooks was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
. Brooks had a successful career as a character actor in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1976, he won $10,000 on ''
Pyramid
A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
''; his celebrity partner was
Lucie Arnaz
Lucie Désirée Arnaz (born July 17, 1951) is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of actors Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
Early life
Arnaz was born at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of acto ...
. Twelve years later, in 1988, Arnaz and Brooks were both featured as the week's celebrities.
Brooks appeared in an episode of ''
M*A*S*H
''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker.
Th ...
'' as a wounded Italian soldier who fell in love with Margaret and refused to be shipped back to his unit because of his undying love for her. He appeared as a movie director in ''
The Dukes Of Hazzard
''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television serie ...
'' seventh-season episode "The Dukes in Hollywood". He appeared in an episode in the second season of ''
Night Court
''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan municipal court presided over by a young, unorthodox judge, Harold "Harry" T. Stone (portray ...
'' as a representative of a
cat
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
food and accessories company that wished to reclaim their ostensibly stolen feline mascot. He also appeared in two episodes of ''
Three's Company
''Three's Company'' is an American sitcom television series that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. It is based on the British sitcom ''Man About the House''.
The story revolves around three single roomma ...
'' as Dr. Prescott, a psychologist Jack sees to build his self-confidence.
In 1980, he played
Gene Wilder
Jerome Silberman (June 11, 1933 – August 29, 2016), known professionally as Gene Wilder, was an American actor, comedian, writer and filmmaker. He is known mainly for his comedic roles, but also for his portrayal of Willy Wonka in ''Willy Won ...
and
Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...
's lawyer in the movie ''
Stir Crazy''. He played gay Secret Service Agent Randy in the short run of ''
Hail To The Chief
"Hail to the Chief" is the personal anthem of the president of the United States, adapted by James Sanderson from an original Scottish Gaelic melody.
The song's playing accompanies the appearance of the president of the United States at many ...
''. Brooks was featured in two episodes of ''
The Facts of Life'' as Edna Garrett's son Raymond and reprised that role in the 2001 reunion film.
In the 1990s, his career continued in such hit shows as ''
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', where he played Falow in the episode "
Move Along Home
"Move Along Home" is the tenth episode of the first season of the American syndicated science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. It was originally aired on American television in syndication on March 14, 1993.
Set in th ...
". In 1998, Brooks played Emperor Larry, the cousin of
Sabrina Spellman
Sabrina Victoria Spellman is the eponymous character of the Archie Comics series ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch.'' Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and she first appeared in ''Archie's Mad House'' #22 in October 19 ...
on the television series ''
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appeared ...
''.
In the early 2000s, he appeared in seven episodes of HBO's hit series ''
Six Feet Under'' as Robbie, Ruth Fisher's caustic gay co-worker who offers advice on how to accept her son David's homosexuality. In 2008 he appeared in an episode of ''
The Big Bang Theory
''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on CBS ...
'' as a Jewish professor from whom Sheldon seeks advice in the episode "
The Jerusalem Duality".
In 2020, he appeared twice in the ''
Full House
''Full House'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for ABC. The show is about widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend Joey Gladstone to help raise his three dau ...
'' revival series ''
Fuller House'' on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
as an FBI Agent in the episode "Five Dates with Kimmy Gibbler" and Agent Cooper in the finale episode "Our Very Last Show, Again".
Brooks is currently involved in teaching an audition techniques class, Auditions LA. In 2014, he guest-starred on ''
The Young and the Restless
''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...
'' as the judge in the trial of Ian Ward v.
Nikki Newman
Nikki Newman is a fictional character from the American CBS daytime soap opera, ''The Young and the Restless''. Created and introduced by William J. Bell in 1978, the role was portrayed by Erica Hope, before Melody Thomas Scott took over in 19 ...
.
Film
Television
External links
*
*
1949 births
Living people
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American male television actors
Contestants on American game shows
Male actors from New York City
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