Posted on 09/23/2005 1:00:59 PM PDT by M. Espinola
On this day in 1920 actor Joe Yule Jr - better known as Mickey Rooney - was born in Brooklyn, New York to Scottish-born vaudevillain/actor Joe Yule and Nell Carter. Mickey was best known in his youth for playing Andy Hardy with Judy Garland in cheerfully naïve musicals that usually ended up in an impromptu musical show. Joe Yule Jr legally changed his name in 1932 to Mickey Rooney.
Making his stage debut with his parents at the age of 15 months, it may not be a surprise that he ended up an actor. He was taught to sing, dance, play piano and drums and troupe with the older, experienced thespians. By the time he was seven, he had already made his movie debut as a smoking midget in "Orchids and Ermine", and between 1927 and 1934 he starred as "Mickey McGuire" in about fifty two-reel comedy shots, based on the "Toonerville Trolley" comic strip as well as featuring in a handful of movies, such as "My Pal the King" and "Death on the Diamond". In 1934 he was signed to MGM.
In 1935 he played the mischievous Puck in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", as well as "The Devil is a Sissy" and "Captains Courageous" before starring with Judy Garland in "A Family Affair" as Andy Hardy, where he starred alongside Judy Garland (that he had met at Mrs Lawlor's School for Professional Children) between 1938 and 1946.
Mick and Judy were cast together again in the musicals "Babes in Arms" (for which he was Oscar nominated), "Strike Up The Band", "Babes on Broadway" and "Girl Crazy". He reached the peak of his career during World War II, named American's top box-office draw over Shirley Temple, starred in "The Human Comedy" in 1943 (where he got a second Oscar nomination) and "National Velvet" in 1944 with Elizabeth Taylor.
He was drafted and upon his return his Hollywood fame has somewhat decreased.
Not unlike other child actors, he didn't have an easy time making it as an adult, and with the 50s came a string of unsuccessful movies - including a poor Hardy family reunion in 1958. Having said that, his role in "The Bold and the Brave" in 1956 got him yet another Oscar nomination.
He kicked off the 60s with movies like "Platinum High School" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's", toured nightclubs and theatres throughout the decade and finally filmed "The Comic" in 1969 where he starred as Dick Van Dyke's comedy sidekick. He starred in a number of movies in the early 70s, like "Pulp" and "Rachel's Man", went on to playing Gus in "The Magic of Lassie" and finally he landed the role as horse trainer Henry Dailey in "The Black Stallion", spawning another Oscar nomination. In the late 70s he was signed along with Ann Miller to star in "Sugar Babies", a surprise hit that he toured with across the country and on Broadway.
For his role the 80s film in "Bill" and its sequel "Bill: On His Own" earned him an Emmy, and in 1983 he won an honorary Oscar after 60 years in the business. In recent years he's provided voice-overs for several animated features, including "The Fox and the Hound" and "Outlaws" which he also wrote. Mickey Rooney has made movie appearances for a total of 79 years - his latest appearance being as David McCord in the upcoming "Strike The Tent" - making his career the longest in cinema history.
"When I say I do, the Justice of the Peace replies, 'I know, I know.' I'm the only man in the world whose marriage license reads, 'To Whom it May Concern'." - on being married eight(!) times, including to the love of Frank Sinatra's life, Ava Gardner.
-Dan
He is definitely a class act and a reminder of a more genteel and less septic time.
also: the late Ray Charles was born on this day in 1930
I'll second that and also say, Mickey if your watching. a big ..
..and many more!
I'm not sure, but Andy Hardy sure lined 'em up and knocked t'em down. Those were great movies. My favorites were the "Blondie" series, but I can't find them on a decently mastered DVD. I've started calling my youngest girl "Baby Dumpling" ;)
I was unaware Ray Charles was born on the same date. We shall miss him but his music lives on.
You can get Blondie on VHS.
Hopefully they will release them over to DVD soon.
A couple of other late 1930's & early 1940's series you would really like is the Edgar Kennedy & his loafing brother-in-law.
Leon Errol is another hilarious shtick artist - a laugh a second.
" Lemme tell ya, this guy, with his talent, wow, if he were only a few inches taller,"
The name is Grady , five-feet short in stockings and boots , a slightly distorted offshoot of a goof breed of human beings who race horses . He happens to be one of the rotten apples , bruised and yellowing by dealing in dirt , a short man with a short memory who's forgotten that he's worked for the sport of kings and helped turn it into a cesspool , used and mis-used by the two-legged animals who've hung around sporting events since the days of the Coliseum . So this is Grady on his last night as a jockey . Behind him are Haileah , Hollywood Park and Saratoga . Rounding the turn and coming up fast on the rail - is The Twilight Zone ...
How can Warren Beatty be honored by the Kennedy Center, but not Mickey?
I heard he's set to make a semi-autobiographical film which has him leaving Hollywood and running a dairy processing plant. It's tentatively titled...get ready for it....Mickey Rooney and Cheese...
Actually, I've already admired Mickey on the screen, and especially liked him in "The Black Stallion".
Since Mickey is a conservative and those deciding on which P/C quests will preform at the Kennedy Center are not, Mickey is far better.
Friday evening Mickey celebrated his 85th birthday at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, Mass for he & his wife's weekend engagement of ''Let's Put on a Show,". The Boston Globe reported Mickey stating "The best things that ever happened to me are winning a bronze star and Jan," .
"He's a total psychotic. He's very adorable, but there isn't enough Ritalin in the world for him." -- Nathan Lane on Mickey Rooney
Wild stuff! Thanks for the photo of Mickey.
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