Tanya Brooks, 86, socialite, model, columnist dies
wazzzy
Tanya Brooks, one of the last of the post-World War II socialites who
made their reputation on beauty and wit, died Thursday, Feb. 1, 2006,
at her home. Mrs. Brooks, 86, was a resident of Palm Beach for nearly
60 years.
Born in San Francisco, she was the daughter of Mark and Ella (Foote)
Widrin. An excellent student, she graduated from high school at age 16
and moved to Los Angeles, where her dark good looks led to jobs as a
print model.
In Los Angeles, Louis B. Mayer asked her to take a screen test. She
refused, and he hired her anyway. She quit and returned to modeling
after Mayer told her that her high-pitched voice would limit her to B-
movies.
She enlisted in the Women's Air Raid Defense - WARDs - in Oahu in
1942. After the war, and a "Grand Tour" auto trip through Europe with
her friend Barbara Shields, she worked with the Lacandone Indians in
the Mexican jungle.
Mrs. Brooks moved to Palm Beach in 1947, when she married - after his
seventh proposal - Edmund Sheedy of New York and Palm Beach, moving to
Palm Beach in 1947. That marriage ended in divorce.
In 1953, Mrs. Brooks married Walter Booth Brooks III, a member of the
Stotesbury family and stepson of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. They made
their home in Palm Beach, where she originated a local television
show, interviewing Palm Beach and visiting celebrities.
"She never pushed herself; she didn't have to," said Frank Quigley of
Palm Beach, her friend of 49 years. "Everyone who met her loved her.
She was beautiful. Gary Cooper and Rudy Vallee both wanted to marry
her. And she was so kind. If a panhandler approached her on the
street, she'd buy him a sandwich."
Mrs. Brooks also was a society columnist for the Palm Beach Daily
News, Palm Beach Illustrated, Palm Beach Sun, Palm Beach Weekly Guide
and the Chicago American, and served as editor of both Palm Beach
Illustrated and the Sun.
She started a photography business, Palm Beach Candid, and covered the
Palm Beach social scene in the 1960s and '70s.
She was an artist's represenative and owned Gallerie Montmartre and
Tanya Brooks Mini-Galerie.
Mrs. Brooks also was a real estate investor in Palm Beach and
chairwoman of the 1979 Palm Beach Heart Auction.
She is survived by her daughter, Laurelle Sheedy Mathis of Chevy
Chase, Md.; her son, Walter Brooks IV of Boynton Beach; granddaughters
Liliana, Bronwyn and Kane; and her longtime companion, Grenville
Walker of New York and Southampton.
She was the mother of Tatiana Mathis, who died in infancy.
A memorial service will be held March 2 at The Episcopal Church of
Bethesda-by-the-Sea.