How strange that a handsome actor with a great voice would be remembered as a slurring, stumbling, word-mangling drunk; but that was Foster Brooks's claim on celebrity.
Brooks, born in Kentucky, began his entertainment career doing stand-up comedy. His drunk act first appeared, in the 1960s, on the Steve Allen show and reappeared on singer Perry Como's show. It was "The Dean Martin Show," however, that cemented Brooks' claim to at least modest celebrity.
Oddly, Brooks no longer drank during the part of his life wehn he was successful in show biz.
After his frequent appearances in the 1970s with Dean Martin, whose TV persona also was built around love of strong drink, Brooks had a part in the zany series "Mork & Mindy," the show that propelled comic Robin Williams into major stardom.
Brooks died in 2001 at age 89.
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