Roy Brooks was well-educated, witty, bald and an imposing six-foot four
- and never made much of an effort to hide the fact he was gay. In 1919
he followed his childhood friend,
Mildred Davis from Tacoma to Hollywood who
was chosen by
Harold Lloyd as a replacement for his previous co-star (and
ex-lover),
Bebe Daniels. Brooks appreciated working for Lloyd, who displayed
a rare tolerance toward homosexuals. Roy and Harold became good friends
and this led to him becoming Lloyd's social secretary, along with
appearances in several of his early films. From 1921-1930 Harold Lloyd
arguably ranked as the most popular comedy star in the world and as his
secretary, Brooks wrote nearly all of his correspondence, occasionally
tasked with dealing with his fan mail (although a function largely
assigned to Lloyd's father
J. Darcie 'Foxy' Lloyd). When Harold
married Mildred and enforced her retirement from films, Roy moved in
with them and often kept Mildred company while Harold was on location.
He lived in an apartment over the garage on Lloyd's lavish estate,
Greenacres for nearly 30 years. With the Lloyd children grown, Harold
often in Europe and Mildred consumed by alcoholism (she died in 1969),
Brooks moved to Santa Monica in 1967 and spent the remainder of his
days living on a small family inheritance.
