Brooks was born in
New York City,
New York. Brooks had a successful career as a character actor in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1976, he won $10,000 on
Pyramid; his celebrity partner was
Lucie Arnaz. Twelve years later, in 1988, Arnaz and Brooks were both featured as the week's celebrities. Brooks appeared in an episode of
M*A*S*H as a wounded Italian soldier who fell in love with Margaret and refused to be shipped back to his unit because of his undying love for her. He also appeared in two episodes of ''
Three's Company'' as Dr. Prescott, a psychologist Jack sees to build his self-confidence. In 1980, he played
Gene Wilder and
Richard Pryor's lawyer in the movie
Stir Crazy. Brooks was then featured in two episodes of
The Facts of Life as Edna Garrett's son Raymond and reprised that role in the 2001 reunion film. In 1984, he appeared as a movie director in
The Dukes Of Hazzard seventh-season episode "The Dukes in Hollywood" and also appeared in an episode in the second season of
Night Court as a representative of a
cat food and accessories company that wished to reclaim their ostensibly stolen feline mascot. He played gay Secret Service Agent Randy in the short run of
Hail To The Chief. In the 1990s, his career continued in such hit shows as
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, where he played Falow in the episode "
Move Along Home". In 1998, Brooks played Emperor Larry, the cousin of
Sabrina Spellman on the television series
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. In the early 2000s, he appeared in seven episodes of HBO's hit series
Six Feet Under as Robbie, Ruth Fisher's caustic gay co-worker who offers advice on how to accept her son David's homosexuality. In 2008 he appeared in an episode of
The Big Bang Theory as a Jewish professor from whom Sheldon seeks advice in the episode "
The Jerusalem Duality". In 2014, he guest-starred on
The Young and the Restless as the judge in the trial of Ian Ward v.
Nikki Newman. In 2020, he appeared twice in the
Full House revival series
Fuller House on
Netflix as an FBI Agent in the episode "Five Dates with Kimmy Gibbler" and Agent Cooper in the finale episode "Our Very Last Show, Again". In 2023, Brooks began working on
Good Trouble as Morty, a Jewish comedy writer who begins to come out as a gay man. == Personal life ==