Posted on 10/21/2015 9:15:48 AM PDT by Signalman
He was one of Hollywood's greatest actors, someone whose estate could have been worth hundreds of millions when he died in summer 2014. Instead, he endured beatings, humiliation and poverty at the hands of his eighth wife and one of her sons, both accused today of elder abuse and destroying a legend.
Mickey Rooney shrieks in pain. Is he OK? "No, I'm not," he says, choking back tears. It's July 2010, inside The Grill on the Alley in Thousand Oaks, and in the midst of an interview with one of the authors of this piece, the diminutive 89-year-old has been kicked under the table by his eighth wife, Jan, as confirmed by his stepson, Chris Aber, who also is at the table. "She kicked him real hard," says Chris with a laugh. Rooney's offense? Rambling in his answers.
This meeting took place because the interviewer (who, as a then-freelance writer, was gathering material for a book) agreed to requirements set forth by Jan and Chris and conveyed to him over the phone by Kevin Pawley, Rooney's Kentucky-based manager: Bring a check for $200 and slip it to Chris when Rooney wasn't paying attention (ostensibly because financial transactions make him uncomfortable) and treat the three of them to lunch at the restaurant (Jan later ordered dinners to go for each of them).
A flip cam at the end of the table rolls as Jan, theatrically seeking the source of what caused her husband's pain, peers under the table for a moment and then turns to Chris and scolds him for confirming, in part, what the general public only would learn later: In his final years, Rooney was the victim of ongoing elder abuse.
(Excerpt) Read more at hollywoodreporter.com ...
Never saw The Black Stallion. Yes, he got work in a lot tv episodes, but except for a movie here and there, his star until Sugar Babies was mostly declining. Didn’t dislike him...just never much of a fan.
Should have stopped at #7.
No, he had an amazing decades long career. Every great star has down periods but Mickey worked consistently through the 50s and 60s - check out IMDB. I’ll never forget his brilliance in Sugar Babies - an honor to see he and Ann Miller live. As my brother just reminded me, Laurence Olivier called him a great actor. Not too shabby.
. . . git yourself a Wookie Woman for a wife?
We saw Sugar Babies in Nashville years ago. It was sorta
raunchy as I remember it. We spent the night in the city
for our anniversary.
I’d have to warn that the woman who projects a lot of sex appeal is less likely to have virtue
Truer words than these have seldom been spoken, unfortunately.
Look everyone who has ever been in a dating situation, and I think that includes all or nearly all of us, knows that there is a certain calculus in the relationships between men and women...a certain level of attractiveness in a woman means she will only settle for a man who is at least at attractive as her...similarly for the man, who, traditionally, was willing to 'trade down' economically, sometimes, in order to win a good-looking woman. The difference today, however, is that women want men with looks and money; men, while interested in what a woman brings to a relationship economically, is much more interested in how she looks. Sorry ladies, that's just the way it is, don't kill the messenger!
I know the negotiations of which you speak—for a deal which should last a lifetime. That’s why I shake my head at so much of what I read here, sometimes—the “not guilty” hot female criminal. (Yes, I have a sense of humor.)Through the Internet, however, and the explosion of porn I wonder if any negotiations can be normal or wise any more. Even if the woman is super-hot and the man is super rich—age and familiarity take away beauty and the IRS can take your wealth!
The ‘not guilty’ banter of which you speak is generally referring to an attractive thirtysomething teacher who seduces a younger boy; something I too have trouble believing is a crime; similarly with young girls who allow themselves to be seduced by older men teachers and whatnot...truly the age of consent should be lowered somewhat; these days girls of 15 are not nearly as naïve as in years past. Why should the sexual choices (barring physical force, of course) result in someone going to prison, man or woman?
Well, the age of consent in Mexico is 12. That really saves on prison time.
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