Mickey Rooney Biography
Summary
"Mickey Rooney" (born "Joseph Yule, Jr." on September 23, 1920), is an American film actor and musician whose eighty-five year career in entertainment began in 1922 and continues through 2007.
Biography
Early life
Rooney was born in Brooklyn, New York to a vaudeville family. His father, Joseph Yule, was from Scotland, and his mother, Nellie W. Carter, was from Kansas City, Missouri. Both parents were in vaudeville, and appearing in a Brooklyn production of "A Gaiety Girl" when Joseph, Jr. was born. He began performing at the age of fifteen months as part of his parents' routine, wearing a specially tailored tuxedo.
Mickey McGuire
The Yules separated in 1924 during a slump in vaudeville, and in 1925, Nell Yule moved with her son to Hollywood, where she managed a tourist home. Fontaine Fox had placed a newspaper ad for a dark haired child to play the role of 'Mickey McGuire' in a series of short films, and, lacking the money to have her son's hair dyed, Mrs. Yule took her son to the audition after applying burnt cork to his scalp. Joe got the role and became 'Mickey' for 78 of the comedies, running from 1927 to 1936, starting with "Mickey's Circus", released September 4, 1927.
These had been adapted from the "Toonerville Trolley" comic strip.
Rooney later claimed that, during his Mickey McGuire days, he met cartoonist Walt Disney at the Warner Brothers studio, and that Disney was inspired to name after him. , although Disney always said that he had changed the name from 'Mortimer Mouse' on the suggestion of his wife. Rooney also took credit for giving rising starlet Norma Jean Mortenson the stage name Marilyn Monroe, his co-star in the 1950 film 'The Fireball', although she had been so billed as early as 1947.During an interruption in the series in 1932, Mrs. Yule made plans to take her son on a ten week vaudeville tour as McGuire, and Fox sued successfully to keep him from using the name. Mrs. Yule suggested the stage name of 'Mickey Looney' for her comedian son, which he altered slightly to a less frivolous version. Rooney did other films, including a few more of the McGuire films, in his adolescence, and signed with MGM in 1934. MGM cast Rooney as the teenage son of a judge in 1937's 'A Family Affair', setting Rooney on the way to another successful film series.== Andy Hardy and Judy Garland ==In 1937, Rooney was selected to portray in "A Family Affair" (1937), which MGM had planned as a . Rooney provided comic relief as the son of Judge James K. Hardy, portrayed by (although would play the role of Judge Hardy in later films). The film was an unexpected success, and led to thirteen more 'Andy Hardy' films between 1937 and 1944, and then one final 'Andy Hardy' film in 1958. Rooney received top-billing in a feature film as Shockey Carter in "Hoosier Schoolboy" (1937). The same year, he made his first film alongside with ". His breakthrough role as a dramatic actor came in 1938's " opposite as Whitey Marsh, which opened shortly before his 18th birthday. Garland and Rooney became a successful song and dance team. Besides three of the Andy Hardy films (where she portrayed a younger girl with a crush on Andy, Betsy Booth), Garland appeared with Rooney in a string of successful musicals, including the Oscar nominated " (1939).== Later Career ==In 1944, Rooney entered military service for 21 months during , during which time he was a radio personality on the . After his return to civilian life, his career slumped. He appeared in a number of films, including "Words and Music" in 1948, which paired him for the last time with Garland on film (he appeared with her on one episode as a guest on her variety series in 1963). "The Mickey Rooney Show," also known as "Hey Mulligan," appeared on television for 39 episodes during 1954 and 1955. In 1951, he directed a feature film for , "My True Story" starring . Rooney also starred as a ragingly egomaniacal television comedian in the live 90-minute television drama ", written by and directed by , on the evening of in 1957. In 1960, he directed and starred in "The Private Lives of Adam and Eve," an ambitious comedy known for its multiple flashbacks and many cameos. In the 1960s, Rooney returned to theatrical entertainment. He still accepted film roles in undistinguished movies, but occasionally would appear in better works, such as " () and " (1979). On , , he appeared on television's " and mentioned that he had already started enrolling students in the MRSE (Mickey Rooney School of Entertainment). His school venture never came to fruition, but for several years he was a spokesman/partner in Pennsylvania's Downingtown Inn, a country club and golf resort.In 1966, while Mickey was working on a film in , his wife Barbara (aka Carolyn Mitchell), who had been a pin-up model and aspiring actress, was found dead in their bed. Beside her was her lover, an actor friend of Rooney's. Detectives ruled it murder-suicide, which was accomplished with Mickey's own gun. The lover, , was also a and was connected to , bodyguard of French star . Markovic was also found dead in mysterious circumstances in two years later.Grief-stricken and not in his right frame of mind, Rooney quickly married Barbara's friend, Marge Lane. The union lasted about one hundred days. He was awarded an in 1938, and in 1983 the voted him their for his lifetime of achievement. called Rooney 'the single best film actor America ever produced', a sentiment echoed by actor . stated that Rooney was 'the world's greatest talent.' As a result of the Andy Hardy series, Rooney was the highest paid actor in Hollywood in the late 1930s.Rooney did the voices for three TV animated/stop action specials: " (1970), " (1974), and "—always playing . In 1970, he was approached by television producer to consider taking on the role of Archie Bunker in the upcoming series, ". Like before him, Mickey rejected the project as too controversial. The role ultimately went to . Rooney continued to be busy in stage and television work through the 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the acclaimed stage play " with beginning in 1979; starring in the long-running TV series "The ", reprising his role as Henry Daily from "The Black Stallion" film; touring in a production of "The Mind with the Naughty Man" in the mid-1990s; and playing The Wizard in a stage production of " with at . Kitt was later replaced by . He also appeared in the documentary ".Rooney voiced Mr. Cherrywood in " (), and starred as the Movie Mason in a family film, 2000's ". He played himself in the " episode " of 1995. In 1996-97, Mickey played Talbut on the TV series, produced by . He co-starred in in 2006 with and .Rooney has also been appearing in television commercials for in 1999, alongside his wife Jan. In current commercials (2007), Rooney can be seen in the background washing imaginary dishes.Rooney continues to work in film, and tours with his wife, in a multi-media live stage production called "Let's Put On a Show!" Chamberlin met Mickey through his son, Mickey Jr., whom she had been dating at the time. On May 26, 2007 he was Grand Marshal at the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival. It has recently been announced that Rooney will be making his British debut, playing Baron Hardup in , at the over the 2007 Christmas period. He appeared in dressed in a fetching pair of shorts and socks.Currently, he and his wife live in .==Accomplishments=====Feature films======Short subjects======Television=====Honors==Mickey Rooney was dubbed the fifth greatest actor of all time by The Academy of Film Arts and Science, just above Henry Fonda and John Wayne. ==Marriages====References==== External links ==*** *
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Mickey Rooney.
