Dr. Dean Brooks, M.D., was born in 1916. He was the head of the Oregon State Hospital in 1975 when the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) was filmed there. He starred, surprising enough, as the head of the psychiatric hospital in the film, "Dr. John Spivey, M.D.", who performed the intake interview with Randle McMurphy, played by Jack Nicholson.
Brooks went into the U.S. Navy in 1943 and served as a triage officer on ships taking part in the invasions of several islands in the South Pacific, including Iwo Jima, his daughter said. During World War II, he spent 26 months at sea.
After the war, while Dean Brooks served at a military hospital outside Medford, Ore., his commanding officer counseled him to become a psychiatrist.
Dr. Brooks passed away peacefully in his apartment at Willson House surrounded by family, including his three daughters, five grandchildren and two great grandchildren. His wife, Ulista Jean Moser Brooks, died in 2006. In addition to Dennie Brooks, he is survived by two other daughters, Ulista Jean Brooks and India Brooks Civey; a brother, Robert; five grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
He attended the University of Kansas Medical School in Kansas City, Kansas, and graduated from there on June 1, 1942. He was first licensed in Oregon to practice psychiatry on January 21, 1950. He retired from the practice of Psychiatric Medicine on December 31, 1999.
Brooks was the superintendent at the State Hospital from 1955 to 1981, and although he did much to improve patient care during his tenure, he is best known for inviting the makers of "Cuckoo's Nest" into the hospital in 1974-75.
During the filming of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), he diagnosed actor William Redfield (who played psychiatric hospital patient "Harding") with Leukemia (this was long before the days of bone marrow transplants), and gave Mr. Redfield 18 months to live (he died 18 months later, pretty much to the day).
He never had a single complaint filed against him in his long and distinguished career as a psychiatrist.
A memorial service for Brooks will be held in the coming weeks at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Salem. The family is still working out the details.
Governor Kitzhaber released the following statement on the passing of Dr. Brooks:
"Dr. Brooks left a legacy of hope and recovery for the patients of Oregon State Hospital and their families. During his tenure, he worked tirelessly to help people across the state understand the challenges facing those who live with mental illness. He was an agent of change, committed to helping others make their lives better, and he will be greatly missed."
Brooks went into the U.S. Navy in 1943 and served as a triage officer on ships taking part in the invasions of several islands in the South Pacific, including Iwo Jima, his daughter said. During World War II, he spent 26 months at sea.
After the war, while Dean Brooks served at a military hospital outside Medford, Ore., his commanding officer counseled him to become a psychiatrist.
Dr. Brooks passed away peacefully in his apartment at Willson House surrounded by family, including his three daughters, five grandchildren and two great grandchildren. His wife, Ulista Jean Moser Brooks, died in 2006. In addition to Dennie Brooks, he is survived by two other daughters, Ulista Jean Brooks and India Brooks Civey; a brother, Robert; five grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
He attended the University of Kansas Medical School in Kansas City, Kansas, and graduated from there on June 1, 1942. He was first licensed in Oregon to practice psychiatry on January 21, 1950. He retired from the practice of Psychiatric Medicine on December 31, 1999.
Brooks was the superintendent at the State Hospital from 1955 to 1981, and although he did much to improve patient care during his tenure, he is best known for inviting the makers of "Cuckoo's Nest" into the hospital in 1974-75.
During the filming of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), he diagnosed actor William Redfield (who played psychiatric hospital patient "Harding") with Leukemia (this was long before the days of bone marrow transplants), and gave Mr. Redfield 18 months to live (he died 18 months later, pretty much to the day).
He never had a single complaint filed against him in his long and distinguished career as a psychiatrist.
A memorial service for Brooks will be held in the coming weeks at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Salem. The family is still working out the details.
Governor Kitzhaber released the following statement on the passing of Dr. Brooks:
"Dr. Brooks left a legacy of hope and recovery for the patients of Oregon State Hospital and their families. During his tenure, he worked tirelessly to help people across the state understand the challenges facing those who live with mental illness. He was an agent of change, committed to helping others make their lives better, and he will be greatly missed."
Dr. Dean Brooks, M.D., was born in 1916. He was the head of the Oregon State Hospital in 1975 when the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) was filmed there. He starred, surprising enough, as the head of the psychiatric hospital in the film, "Dr. John Spivey, M.D.", who performed the intake interview with Randle McMurphy, played by Jack Nicholson.
Brooks went into the U.S. Navy in 1943 and served as a triage officer on ships taking part in the invasions of several islands in the South Pacific, including Iwo Jima, his daughter said. During World War II, he spent 26 months at sea.
After the war, while Dean Brooks served at a military hospital outside Medford, Ore., his commanding officer counseled him to become a psychiatrist.
Dr. Brooks passed away peacefully in his apartment at Willson House surrounded by family, including his three daughters, five grandchildren and two great grandchildren. His wife, Ulista Jean Moser Brooks, died in 2006. In addition to Dennie Brooks, he is survived by two other daughters, Ulista Jean Brooks and India Brooks Civey; a brother, Robert; five grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
He attended the University of Kansas Medical School in Kansas City, Kansas, and graduated from there on June 1, 1942. He was first licensed in Oregon to practice psychiatry on January 21, 1950. He retired from the practice of Psychiatric Medicine on December 31, 1999.
Brooks was the superintendent at the State Hospital from 1955 to 1981, and although he did much to improve patient care during his tenure, he is best known for inviting the makers of "Cuckoo's Nest" into the hospital in 1974-75.
During the filming of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), he diagnosed actor William Redfield (who played psychiatric hospital patient "Harding") with Leukemia (this was long before the days of bone marrow transplants), and gave Mr. Redfield 18 months to live (he died 18 months later, pretty much to the day).
He never had a single complaint filed against him in his long and distinguished career as a psychiatrist.
A memorial service for Brooks will be held in the coming weeks at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Salem. The family is still working out the details.
Governor Kitzhaber released the following statement on the passing of Dr. Brooks:
"Dr. Brooks left a legacy of hope and recovery for the patients of Oregon State Hospital and their families. During his tenure, he worked tirelessly to help people across the state understand the challenges facing those who live with mental illness. He was an agent of change, committed to helping others make their lives better, and he will be greatly missed."
Brooks went into the U.S. Navy in 1943 and served as a triage officer on ships taking part in the invasions of several islands in the South Pacific, including Iwo Jima, his daughter said. During World War II, he spent 26 months at sea.
After the war, while Dean Brooks served at a military hospital outside Medford, Ore., his commanding officer counseled him to become a psychiatrist.
Dr. Brooks passed away peacefully in his apartment at Willson House surrounded by family, including his three daughters, five grandchildren and two great grandchildren. His wife, Ulista Jean Moser Brooks, died in 2006. In addition to Dennie Brooks, he is survived by two other daughters, Ulista Jean Brooks and India Brooks Civey; a brother, Robert; five grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
He attended the University of Kansas Medical School in Kansas City, Kansas, and graduated from there on June 1, 1942. He was first licensed in Oregon to practice psychiatry on January 21, 1950. He retired from the practice of Psychiatric Medicine on December 31, 1999.
Brooks was the superintendent at the State Hospital from 1955 to 1981, and although he did much to improve patient care during his tenure, he is best known for inviting the makers of "Cuckoo's Nest" into the hospital in 1974-75.
During the filming of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), he diagnosed actor William Redfield (who played psychiatric hospital patient "Harding") with Leukemia (this was long before the days of bone marrow transplants), and gave Mr. Redfield 18 months to live (he died 18 months later, pretty much to the day).
He never had a single complaint filed against him in his long and distinguished career as a psychiatrist.
A memorial service for Brooks will be held in the coming weeks at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Salem. The family is still working out the details.
Governor Kitzhaber released the following statement on the passing of Dr. Brooks:
"Dr. Brooks left a legacy of hope and recovery for the patients of Oregon State Hospital and their families. During his tenure, he worked tirelessly to help people across the state understand the challenges facing those who live with mental illness. He was an agent of change, committed to helping others make their lives better, and he will be greatly missed."
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