Biography for
Mickey Rooney (I) More at IMDb Pro »

Date of Birth

23 September 1920, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Birth Name

Joe Yule Jr.

Nickname

The Mick
The Mickster

Height

5' 2" (1.57 m)

Mini Biography

With parents who were actors, it comes as no surprise that the young Joe Yule Jr. made his debut on the stage at the age of only 15 months. He became part of the family act. He became well known for a series of some 50 silent comedies between 1927 and 1933 in which he played Mickey McGuire, a comic-strip character. In 1934 he was signed to MGM. At Mrs. Lawlor's School for Professional Children he first met Judy Garland , whom he would play against in several movies in the future, including some of the 15 "Andy Hardy" films. He gave a memorable performance as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935). With movies like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939) and National Velvet (1944) he reached the peak of his career during WWII. He was drafted during the war, and when he returned to Hollywood his fame and box-office draw had significantly decreased. Just like other child stars, he found it difficult to get a break as an adult actor. After Summer Holiday (1948) his career went downhill and the 1950s for him became a string of not-so-successful movies. He got his own TV show, "The Mickey Rooney Show" (1954) and toured nightclubs and theatres again in the 1960s. In 1983, following 60 years as an actor, he received the "Lifetime Achievement" Oscar."

IMDb Mini Biography By: Mattias Thuresson

Spouse

Jan Rooney	(28 July 1978 - present)
Carolyn Hockett	(27 May 1969 - 1974) (divorced) 2 children
Marge Lane	(10 September 1966 - 1967) (divorced)
Carolyn Mitchell	(1 December 1958 - 31 January 1966) (her death) 4 children
Elaine Devry	(18 November 1952 - 18 May 1958) (divorced)
Martha Vickers	(3 June 1949 - 25 September 1952) (divorced) 1 child
Betty Jane Rase	(30 September 1944 - 3 June 1948) (divorced) 2 children
Ava Gardner	(10 January 1942 - 21 May 1943) (divorced)

Trade Mark

Best known in his youth for playing Andy Hardy with Judy Garland as the female lead in cheerfully naive musicals that usually ended with the characters putting on an impromptu musical show. In his senior years, he often played an cheerful old mentor with a youthful spirit.

Trivia

Mickey's son Teddy Rooney appeared with him in Andy Hardy Comes Home (1958), portraying - who else? - Andy Hardy Jr.

Son of Scottish-born vaudevillian/actor Joe Yule.

Loves golf and the ponies.

Was considered for the role of Archie Bunker on "All in the Family" (1971).

Father of Tim Rooney and Mickey Rooney Jr., from his marriage to Betty Jane Rase.

Father of Jimmy Rooney and Jonelle Rooney, from his marriage to Carolyn Hockett.

Liza Minnelli wanted Rooney to do the eulogy at the funeral for her mother, Judy Garland in June of 1969, but decided against it because she felt that Rooney might not be able to get through it, given his and Garland's long and close friendship.

Was co-owner for many years of the Mickey Rooney Tabas Hotel in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.

In his autobiography, he made a passing reference to a brothel called "The T&M Studio," where the ladies were look-alikes for Hollywood starlets. There were rumors of such a brothel, but before Rooney's book no one would ever admit to ever having been there, or even verify its existence. He wrote that Groucho Marx had taken him there (only once), and Groucho appeared to be on a first-name basis with many of the ladies.

Originally came to Hollywood to audition for "Our Gang" (aka "The Little Rascals" (1955)), but didn't get in.

Stepfather of Christopher Aber and Mark Aber Rooney.

According to one story, Mickey Mouse was named for Rooney. Walt Disney saw a young Rooney while he was working on the first drawings of what was to become Mickey Mouse. He asked the child actor what he thought of the drawings and also asked what his name was. This later proved to be false.

Was nominated for Broadway's 1980 Tony Award as Best Actor (Musical) for "Sugar Babies."

His third child, Teddy Rooney, was born weighing 7 lb. 3 oz. on April 13, 1950, to Martha Vickers.

With movie appearances stretching from 1926 to 2007, totaling 81 years, his is the longest career in cinema history, surpassing that of Lillian Gish.

Underwent double heart bypass surgery in 2000.

Was number 7 on the World Poker Tour Invitational even though he had never played Texas Hold 'Em poker before.

Is portrayed by Moosie Drier in Rainbow (1978) (TV) and by Dwayne Adams in Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows (2001) (TV)

Father of Kelly Ann Rooney, Kerry Yule Rooney, Michael Joseph Kyle Rooney and Kimmy Sue Rooney, from his marriage to Carolyn Mitchell.

At age nineteen became the first teenager to be Oscar-nominated in a leading role for Babes in Arms (1939).

Former roommate of Blake Edwards.

His first of eight marriages was to Ava Gardner but has been married to current wife Jan Rooney longer than all of the other seven wives combined.

Has two grandchildren (Shannon Rooney and Dominique Rooney) and two great-grandchildren (Kaitlyn Rooney and Hunter Rooney).

He is most proud of his film The Black Stallion (1979).

Attended the 2006 Twilight Zone Convention at the Hilton Hasbrouck Heights, Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, August 12-13, 2006.

As of 2007, he is the only surviving screen actor to appear in silent films and still continue to act in movies into the 21st century. His film debut was in the movie Not to Be Trusted (1926) in 1926 at the age of four.

Attended the state funeral of former President Ronald Reagan. (11 June 2004).

Is of Scotch ancestry.

He was a close friend of the Reverend Jerry Falwell.

In 1938, he was severely reprimanded by MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer for having a torrid affair with Norma Shearer. The affair was causing quite a commotion on the set of her film Marie Antoinette (1938), where the two would hole up in her trailer. Mickey was 18 at the time. Norma was 38 and had recently been widowed by MGM studio exec Irving Thalberg. Mayer managed to avoid the story becoming public and it was not revealed until many years later, when Rooney gave the explicit details in his autobiography.

Personal Quotes

"I'm in pretty good shape for the shape I'm in." - Mickey Rooney at 58

Would he marry all those women again? "Absolutely. I loved every one of them."

My partners weren't what we call in horse racing parlance routers. They were sprinters; they went out of the gate, but then they stopped. They couldn't go the distance.

People say, 'How can you be married eight times?' But I played the hand dealt me the way I was supposed to. I was friendly with most of my ex-wives. My God, there's a Mickey Rooney's Former Wives Marching Band!

On his marriages: "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.' But to have been married eight times is not normal. That's only half-way intelligent."

You've got to recognize, there will never be another you. It has nothing to do with ego; it happens to be the truth. There will never be another person the same. There'll never be another you. There'll never be another me... And there'll never be another show like this!

The audience and I are friends. They allowed me to grow up with them. I've let them down several times. They've let me down several times. But we're all family.

Had I been brighter, the ladies been gentler, the Scotch weaker, the gods kinder, the dice hotter - it might have all ended up in a one-sentence story.

Love wears off too quickly.

I don't regret anything I've ever done. I only wish I could have done more.

I was a 14-year-old boy for 30 years.

Upon winning his lifetime achievement Oscar, 1983: "Tonight, I could even kiss Louis B. Mayer!"

On his life-long friend and frequent co-star, Judy Garland: "Judy turned to drugs because she was in pain and because drugs made her feel good. As one of the MGM kids, she'd been treated for most of her life to magical, instant, solutions to everything...She could never accept herself so she was always on the run."

I didn't ask to be short. I didn't want to be short. I've tried to pretend that being a short guy didn't matter.

The guys with the power in Hollywood today, the guys with their names above the title, are thieves. They don't make movies, they make deals. Their major function is to cut themselves in for ten per cent of the gross - off the top, of course - which is why they make movies that cost fifty million dollars.

Clinton was a Rhodes Scholar. Do you know who the scholars were? Marxists!

I just want to be a professional. I couldn't live without acting.

There may be a little snow on the mountain, but there's a lot of fire in the furnace.

All the muddy waters of my life cleared up when I gave myself to Christ.

I've been through four publics. I've been coming back like a rubber ball for years.

[On his Feud with Ernest Borgnine]: All the Oscars in the world can't buy him dignity, class, and talent. I don't know why he is famous and why he is a star. Talk about a lucky jerk.

If it's immorally wrong, it's not normal. Jesus Christ said the effeminate are an abomination to me. Are you aware of that? I don't watch the Ellen show. I wish her all kinds of luck. Except that I'm not a fan. But there are a lot of people who aren't fans of Mickey Rooney and you can't please everyone.

I think the family pictures are what people really want to see - and musicals, of course. (2007)

Salary

How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965)	$5,000
"Mickey" (1964)	$5,000/episode
The Secret Invasion (1964)	$50,000
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)	$100,000
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)	$25,000
Andy Hardy Comes Home (1958)	$35,000
Baby Face Nelson (1957)	$35,000
The Comedian (1957) (TV)	$10,000
Drive a Crooked Road (1954)	$75,000
A Slight Case of Larceny (1953)	$75,000
All Ashore (1953)	$75,000
Sound Off (1952)	$75,000
Quicksand (1950)	$25,000
The Big Wheel (1949)	$25,000
National Velvet (1944)	$2,500/week
Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble (1944)	$2,500/week
Girl Crazy (1943)	$68,000
Thousands Cheer (1943)	$2,500/week
The Human Comedy (1943)	$2,500/week
Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942)	$2,500/week
A Yank at Eton (1942)	$2,500
The Courtship of Andy Hardy (1942)	$2,500/week
Babes in Arms (1939)	$23,000
Out West with the Hardys (1938)	$5,000
Stablemates (1938)	$5,000
Boys Town (1938)	$5,000
Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938)	$5,000
Lord Jeff (1938)	$5,000
Hold That Kiss (1938)	$5,000
Judge Hardy's Children (1938)	$5,000
Love Is a Headache (1938)	$5,000
You're Only Young Once (1937)	$5,000
Thoroughbreds Don't Cry (1937)	$500/week
Live, Love and Learn (1937)	$500/week
Hoosier Schoolboy (1937)	$500/week
Slave Ship (1937)	$500/week
Captains Courageous (1937)	$500/week
The Devil Is a Sissy (1936)	$500/week
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)	$500/week
Ah, Wilderness! (1935)	$500/week
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)	$500/week
Mickey the Detective (1928)	$250/week
Mickey's Rivals (1928)	$250/week
Mickey's Movies (1928)	$250/week
Mickey's Triumph (1928)	$250/week
Mickey's Wild West (1928)	$250/week
Mickey's Nine (1928)	$250/week
Mickey's Parade (1928)	$250/week
Mickey's Battle (1927)	$250/week
Mickey's Eleven (1927)	$250/week
Mickey's Pals (1927)	$250/week
Mickey's Circus (1927)	$250/week
Not to Be Trusted (1926)	$200

Where Are They Now

26 November 1999: Undergoes surgery in Sydney, Australia, for perforated colon.

(September 2007) Together with his wife he is touring the UK, appearing in selected theatres performing songs and telling stories about his career.

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