Dr. Dean Kent Brooks, M.D., was born in the city of Everett, Washington, in the year 1916, marking the beginning of his remarkable journey.
As the head of the Oregon State Hospital in 1975, he played a pivotal role in the filming of the iconic movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, where he surprisingly took on the role of Dr. John Spivey, M.D., the head of the psychiatric hospital.
Dr. Brooks attended the prestigious University of Kansas Medical School in Kansas City, Kansas, and graduated on June 1, 1942, setting the stage for his illustrious career.
On January 21, 1950, he was first licensed to practice psychiatry in Oregon, a testament to his dedication and expertise in the field.
After a long and distinguished career spanning nearly five decades, Dr. Brooks retired from the practice of Psychiatric Medicine on December 31, 1999.
During the filming of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Dr. Brooks demonstrated his exceptional skills as a psychiatrist by diagnosing actor William Redfield, who played the role of psychiatric hospital patient "Harding", with Leukemia, a diagnosis that was made long before the advent of bone marrow transplants.
Dr. Brooks gave Mr. Redfield a prognosis of 18 months to live, and tragically, the actor passed away exactly 18 months later, on the very day.
Throughout his long and storied career, Dr. Brooks never had a single complaint filed against him, a remarkable achievement that speaks to his exceptional professionalism and dedication to his craft.
