Mary Brooks; Daughter of Will Rogers

Mary Rogers Brooks, colorful daughter of the late humorist Will Rogers, died Wednesday at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica after a brief illness. She was 76.

Brooks was born May 18, 1913, at the home of her maternal grandparents in Rogers, Ark., while her father was traveling with a vaudeville show. She grew up on Long Island in New York and at the family ranch in Santa Monica, now the Will Rogers State Park.

Brooks had her own brief career as an actress on stage and in films, making her Broadway debut in 1932 in a minor role in the comedy “On to Fortune.”

But she made far more headlines in her personal life, including stormy fights during her short marriage and arrests for traffic violations.

In 1940, Brooks helped organize a Hollywood group called “One Husband Inc.” for women who pledged to marry only once. She honored her pledge, even though her marriage lasted less than two years.

She married Walter Brooks III, stepson of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, in Las Vegas on Sept. 28, 1950, and divorced him in Santa Monica March 5, 1952. In between, the couple traveled on their boat, and lived in Washington, D.C., Palm Beach, Fla., New York City and Beverly Hills.

They also fought publicly, and her husband was once arrested for beating her in a car parked on New York’s Park Avenue. Her scalp was bleeding and she said Brooks had struck her with his fists, but she refused to press charges.

In 1954, the humorist’s daughter was jailed briefly and fined $150 for drunk driving in Santa Monica. A probation report showed that she had received more than 20 traffic citations between 1940 and 1954.

After the divorce, Mrs. Brooks spent most of her life abroad in Italy, Spain, Morocco and Greece, painting and writing poetry.

She is survived by two brothers, Will Rogers Jr., of Tubac, Ariz., and James B. Rogers, of Bakersfield, a niece and four nephews.

Mrs. Brooks will be interred at the Will Rogers Memorial in Claremore, Okla., along with her brother, Fred, and her parents.