One of the most durable star of Hollywood, that has been shining for more than eight decades since the 20s, whom was rumoured that the famous mouse was named after him - the imcomparable, versatile, dimunitive and cuddly real life teddy bear, Mickey Rooney!!!
The pint-sized (5' 2") bundle of energy, Rooney was born Joseph Yule Jr. in 23rd S
eptember 1920 in Brooklyn, New York to a pair of vaudevillians. He was not even two, when he was participating in his parents' act. His Mom took him to Hollywood when she split from Yule Sr., finding him work in children's stage revues. The tyke was given roles as midgets (in "Not To Be Trusted 1926 - he was a midget with a moustache!!! and "Orchids And Ermine" (1927).
The pint-sized (5' 2") bundle of energy, Rooney was born Joseph Yule Jr. in 23rd S
eptember 1920 in Brooklyn, New York to a pair of vaudevillians. He was not even two, when he was participating in his parents' act. His Mom took him to Hollywood when she split from Yule Sr., finding him work in children's stage revues. The tyke was given roles as midgets (in "Not To Be Trusted 1926 - he was a midget with a moustache!!! and "Orchids And Ermine" (1927). A producer in F.B.O Studios, Larry Darmour was impressed by the little imp and made him a star of a series of two-reelers derived from a popular com
ic strip about an irrepressible kid named Mickey Maguire (which became Mickey's off screen name as well for the run of the series which was released between August 1927 (starting with "Mickey's Circus", the only time he was billed as Mickey Yule) and March 1934).
For copyright reasons, he could not continue to use the name of Mickey Maguire when he resumed work in features in 1932. So someone came up with "Rooney" as an option for him while playing an orphan kid in Universal's "Fast Companions" (1932). Now an all-purpose child actor, he played the king of a mythical country in the Tom Mix vehicle, "My Pal The King" (1932); a dancing vaudevillian who grows up to be Eddie Quillan in "Broadway To Hollywood" (1933); young John Boles in "Beloved" (1934) and young Clark Gable in "Manhattan Melodrama" (1934). The latter showed just how effortlessly he could make an impression in a brief period of time and MGM decided to put him under contract.
In "Chained" (1934), he was glimpsed briefly in a swimming pool with Clark Gable and Joan Crawford. He stole scenes in "Hide-Out" (1934) as Maureen O' Sullivan's rambunctious kid brother. Being as verstile as he is, MGM loaned his services to other studios - Columbia as Ann Sothern's sibling in "Blind Date" (1934); Fox playing a small town boy named Freckles in "The Country Chairman" (1935) and most importantly, to Warner Bros. for their lavish rendering of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1935) giving him a no-holds barred interpretation of Puck. It made him more famous than ever.
Back to his studio, MGM gave him a thankless role in "Ah, Wilderness!" (1935) starring Wallace Berry, then again loaned him to David Sleznick for "Little Lord Fauntleroy" (1936) which marked the first time he would play tough opposite the more delicate Freddie Bartholomew as Freddie'sloyal friend when the latter moves to England. The studio decided that this pairing really clicked and put them along side a third child star, Jackie Cooper, in "The Devil Is A Sissy" (1936). Then in one of the top productions of
1937, "Captains Courageous", Rooney very much in support of Bartholomew, appeared as a cabin boy who takes some of the pomp out of stuck-up rich kid Freddie.
His first of several teaming with the glorious Judy Garland back in his homelot is in "Thoroughbreds Don't Cry" in 1937. Garland's more restrained persona perfectly complimented his often undisciplined exuberance. There was another fairly minor entry in 1937, but it would be a milestone on his career: "A Family Affair", a pleasant drama-comedy about the smalltown Hardy family, persided over by judge Lionel Barrymore and mom Spring Byington. The picture did so nicely at the box office that there was a demand for another, resulting in "You're Only Young Once" (1937) with Lewis Stone and Fay Holden now playing the parents
and Ann Rutherford replacing Margaret Marquis in the role of Polly Benedict, Andy's love interest.
Now officially a box-office name, Rooney made another with Bartholomew in "Lord Jeff" (1938). "Boys Town" in 1938, Rooney played the incorrigible, stogie smoking punk and does a turnabout for the better through the guidance of Father Flanagan as played by Spencer Tracy. Judy Garland and Lana Turner were in "Love Finds Andy Hardy". Nonetheless MGM knew they had a hot property and starred him in rambunctious "Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn" (1939), and the "lets-
put-on-a-show" plot with Garland again in the musical "Babes In Arms" (1939) which he did impersonations and danced with gusto and won an Oscar nomination. They were teamed again in "Strike Up The Band" (1940) dueting in "Our Love Affair"; "Babes On Broadway" (1941) in which the pair had a charming moment introducing another hit song, "How About You?" and "Girl Crazy" (1943) with a batch of great Gershwin tunes. Kathryn Grayson made her movie debut in 1941's "Andy Hardy's Private Secretary" and Rooney had a swim with Esther Williams in "Andy Hardy's Double Life" (1942).
ic strip about an irrepressible kid named Mickey Maguire (which became Mickey's off screen name as well for the run of the series which was released between August 1927 (starting with "Mickey's Circus", the only time he was billed as Mickey Yule) and March 1934).For copyright reasons, he could not continue to use the name of Mickey Maguire when he resumed work in features in 1932. So someone came up with "Rooney" as an option for him while playing an orphan kid in Universal's "Fast Companions" (1932). Now an all-purpose child actor, he played the king of a mythical country in the Tom Mix vehicle, "My Pal The King" (1932); a dancing vaudevillian who grows up to be Eddie Quillan in "Broadway To Hollywood" (1933); young John Boles in "Beloved" (1934) and young Clark Gable in "Manhattan Melodrama" (1934). The latter showed just how effortlessly he could make an impression in a brief period of time and MGM decided to put him under contract.
In "Chained" (1934), he was glimpsed briefly in a swimming pool with Clark Gable and Joan Crawford. He stole scenes in "Hide-Out" (1934) as Maureen O' Sullivan's rambunctious kid brother. Being as verstile as he is, MGM loaned his services to other studios - Columbia as Ann Sothern's sibling in "Blind Date" (1934); Fox playing a small town boy named Freckles in "The Country Chairman" (1935) and most importantly, to Warner Bros. for their lavish rendering of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1935) giving him a no-holds barred interpretation of Puck. It made him more famous than ever.
Back to his studio, MGM gave him a thankless role in "Ah, Wilderness!" (1935) starring Wallace Berry, then again loaned him to David Sleznick for "Little Lord Fauntleroy" (1936) which marked the first time he would play tough opposite the more delicate Freddie Bartholomew as Freddie'sloyal friend when the latter moves to England. The studio decided that this pairing really clicked and put them along side a third child star, Jackie Cooper, in "The Devil Is A Sissy" (1936). Then in one of the top productions of
1937, "Captains Courageous", Rooney very much in support of Bartholomew, appeared as a cabin boy who takes some of the pomp out of stuck-up rich kid Freddie.His first of several teaming with the glorious Judy Garland back in his homelot is in "Thoroughbreds Don't Cry" in 1937. Garland's more restrained persona perfectly complimented his often undisciplined exuberance. There was another fairly minor entry in 1937, but it would be a milestone on his career: "A Family Affair", a pleasant drama-comedy about the smalltown Hardy family, persided over by judge Lionel Barrymore and mom Spring Byington. The picture did so nicely at the box office that there was a demand for another, resulting in "You're Only Young Once" (1937) with Lewis Stone and Fay Holden now playing the parents
and Ann Rutherford replacing Margaret Marquis in the role of Polly Benedict, Andy's love interest.Now officially a box-office name, Rooney made another with Bartholomew in "Lord Jeff" (1938). "Boys Town" in 1938, Rooney played the incorrigible, stogie smoking punk and does a turnabout for the better through the guidance of Father Flanagan as played by Spencer Tracy. Judy Garland and Lana Turner were in "Love Finds Andy Hardy". Nonetheless MGM knew they had a hot property and starred him in rambunctious "Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn" (1939), and the "lets-
put-on-a-show" plot with Garland again in the musical "Babes In Arms" (1939) which he did impersonations and danced with gusto and won an Oscar nomination. They were teamed again in "Strike Up The Band" (1940) dueting in "Our Love Affair"; "Babes On Broadway" (1941) in which the pair had a charming moment introducing another hit song, "How About You?" and "Girl Crazy" (1943) with a batch of great Gershwin tunes. Kathryn Grayson made her movie debut in 1941's "Andy Hardy's Private Secretary" and Rooney had a swim with Esther Williams in "Andy Hardy's Double Life" (1942). He guest starred as an Emcee in "Thousands Cheer" (1943) starring Kathryn Grayson and Gene Kelly. In "Human Comedy" (1943) won him another Oscar nomination playing the young telegraph messenger and before going to
the war, he costarred with the young Elizabeth Taylor in "National Velvet" (1944).
the war, he costarred with the young Elizabeth Taylor in "National Velvet" (1944). He took the boxing circuit in "Killer McCoy" (1947), Rueben Mamoulin's musical "Summer Holiday" (1948), as Lorenz Hart in the fictionalized story of Hart and Richard Rogers "Words And Music" (1948). "A Slight Case Of Lacerny" (1953), found him at his most obnoxious, as the opportunistic owner of a gas station. Rooney produced and starred in some of his movies for his own production company. He was a the helicopter pilot who goes down for the count with buddy William Holden in "Bridges Of Toko-Ri"(1954) and Rooney was at his best in "The Bold And The Brave" a war drama that won him another nomination in the supporting role in 1956.
He was blamed for the failure of "The Private Lives Of Adam And Eve" (1960), as the Devil himself as he took the credit as a co-director. There was a good movie, "Breakfast At Tiffany's", in which his gooney Jap
anese impersonation was its one major drawback. He had a good role in the all-star hit "It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World" (1963), partnering Buddy Hackett. After a stint in Europe, he had a nice part as a crossed-eyed silent movie comedian who remains a close friend to fading star Dick Van Dyke in the underrated "The Comic" (1969).
He had a funny role as a n aging actor hiring Michael Caine to ghost his memoir in "Pulp" (1972) and as Helen Reddy's boozy dad in the fu
n Disney fantasy, "Pete's Dragon" (1977). He appeared as one of the host in MGM's "That's Entertainment" (1974). His career took a highnote in the late 1970s as he made his Broadway debut in "Sugar Babies" with another great legend, Ann Miller. It had a long run. He also won an Emmy for television's "Bill" (1981). He was seen in many more movies, even in "Babe : Pig In The City" (1998) and television media. He was also in "Night At The Museum" (2006) with Dick Van Dyke.With movie appearances stretching from 1926 to 2007, totaling 81 years, his is the longest career in cinema history, surpassing that of Lillian Gish. Nothing can keep him down, even till date, he is still making movies!!!
anese impersonation was its one major drawback. He had a good role in the all-star hit "It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World" (1963), partnering Buddy Hackett. After a stint in Europe, he had a nice part as a crossed-eyed silent movie comedian who remains a close friend to fading star Dick Van Dyke in the underrated "The Comic" (1969).
He had a funny role as a n aging actor hiring Michael Caine to ghost his memoir in "Pulp" (1972) and as Helen Reddy's boozy dad in the fu
n Disney fantasy, "Pete's Dragon" (1977). He appeared as one of the host in MGM's "That's Entertainment" (1974). His career took a highnote in the late 1970s as he made his Broadway debut in "Sugar Babies" with another great legend, Ann Miller. It had a long run. He also won an Emmy for television's "Bill" (1981). He was seen in many more movies, even in "Babe : Pig In The City" (1998) and television media. He was also in "Night At The Museum" (2006) with Dick Van Dyke.With movie appearances stretching from 1926 to 2007, totaling 81 years, his is the longest career in cinema history, surpassing that of Lillian Gish. Nothing can keep him down, even till date, he is still making movies!!!
He was married eight times, among them, the luscious Ava Gardner. His life was plagued with many personal problems, including a murder-suicide of fifth wife, Carolyn Mitchell..
Happy Birthday, Mickey!!!
(Scanned autographed photo - property of author)
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