The former Oregon State Hospital superintendent who allowed the filming of ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ has died.
Dean Brooks had a small role in the 1975 movie, filmed on location in Salem. The film won the Oscar for best picture.
In an interview last fall, Brooks said some colleagues criticized his decision to allow the filmmakers into the hospital but he didn’t regret it. "They wanted to make a movie where real people had lived and died. I was quite ready to say 'yes, let's do that, and do that here.’ And we did."
Brooks was 97.
Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber issued a statement, saying “Brooks left a legacy of hope and recovery for the patients of Oregon State Hospital and their families.”