Mickey Rooney
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor, vaudevillian, comedian, producer, and radio personality. In a career spanning nine decades and continuing until shortly before his death, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the silent film era. At the height of a career that was marked by declines and comebacks, Rooney performed the role of Andy Hardy in a series of 16 films in the 1930s and 1940s that epitomized American family values. A versatile performer, he became a celebrated character actor later in his career. Laurence Olivier once said he considered Rooney "the best there has ever been". Clarence Brown, who directed him in two of his earliest dramatic roles, National Velvet and The Human Comedy, said he was "the closest thing to a genius I ever worked with". Rooney first performed in vaudeville as a child and made his film debut at the age of six. At 14, he played Puck in the play and later the 1935 film adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Critic David Thomson hailed his performance as "one of the cinema's most arresting pieces of magic". In 1938, he co-starred in Boys Town. At 19, he was the first teenager to be nominated for an Oscar for his leading role in Babes in Arms, and he was awarded a special Academy Juvenile Award in 1939. At the peak of his career between the ages of 15 and 25, he made 43 films, which made him one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's most consistently successful actors and a favorite of MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer. Rooney was the top box-office attraction from 1939 to 1941 and one of the best-paid actors of that era, but his career would never again rise to such heights. Drafted into the Army during World War II, he served nearly two years entertaining over two million troops on stage and radio and was awarded a Bronze Star for performing in combat zones. Returning from the war in 1945, he was too old for juvenile roles but too short to be an adult movie star, and was unable to get as many starring roles. Nevertheless, Rooney's popularity was renewed with well-received supporting roles in films such as Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962), It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), and The Black Stallion (1979). In the early 1980s, he returned to Broadway in Sugar Babies and again became a celebrated star. Rooney made hundreds of appearances on TV, including dramas, variety programs, and talk shows, and won an Emmy in 1982 plus a Golden Globe for his role in Bill (1981).
Known For
Mr. Yunioshi
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Gus
Night at the Museum
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
Tod (voice)
The Fox and the Hound
Lampie
Pete's Dragon
Mr. Cherrywood (voice)
The Care Bears Movie
Ding 'Dingy' Bell
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Dick Tipton
Little Lord Fauntleroy
J. Dennis 'Denny' O'Moore
My Outlaw Brother
Daniel 'Dan' Brady
Quicksand
Flip (voice)
リトル・ニモ
Erik's Grandfather
Erik the Viking
Spiventa
The Domino Principle
Nelson L. Stool
Evil Roy Slade
Sammy Hogarth
The Comedian
Fugly Floom, the Speechless Man in Hotel
Babe: Pig in the City
Mickey Moran
Babes in Arms
Movie Mason
Phantom of the Megaplex
George 'Blue Chips' Packard
Skidoo
Savy
The Thirsting
Kris Kringle aka Santa Claus (voice)
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
Santa Claus (voice)
The Year Without a Santa Claus
Eddie Shannon
Drive a Crooked Road
Self
Hollywood Legenden
Preston Gilbert
Pulp
Blackie as a Boy
Manhattan Melodrama
Santa Claus (voice)
Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July
Santa Claus
The Happy Elf
Mike Forney
The Bridges at Toko-Ri
Danny Churchill, Jr.
Girl Crazy
Lester M. 'Baby Face Nelson' Gillis
Baby Face Nelson
Terence Scanlon
The Secret Invasion
Bill Sackter
Bill: On His Own
Whitey Marsh
Boys Town
Bill Sackter
Bill
Self
Silent Hollywood: Cult, Stars, Scandals
Self
Marilyn Monroe - Ich möchte geliebt werden
Buddy Whipple (uncredited)
High Speed
MSgt. Yancy Skibo
Operation Mad Ball
Johnny Burke
King of the Roaring 20's – The Story of Arnold Rothstein
Andy Hardy
Andy Hardy's Double Life
Richard Miller
Summer Holiday
Lorenz Hart
Words and Music
Andy Hardy
Love Laughs at Andy Hardy
Himself - Emcee at the Show
Thousands Cheer
Andy Hardy
Andy Hardy's Private Secretary
Andy Hardy
Life Begins for Andy Hardy
Tommy Williams
Babes on Broadway
Andy Hardy
Andy Hardy Meets Debutante
Jimmy Connors
Strike Up the Band
Andy Hardy
Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever
Andy Hardy
Love Finds Andy Hardy
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (voice) (uncredited)
The Hunter
Self (archive footage)
The Our Gang Story
William 'Willie' Miller
Hide-Out
Dan Troop
Captains Courageous
Self (archive footage)
Marilyn and I
Michael 'Mi' Taylor
National Velvet
Homer Macauley
The Human Comedy
Henry Dailey
The Black Stallion
Self (archive footage)
Trifles of Importance
Freckles (uncredited)
The Life of Jimmy Dolan
Sparky (voice)
Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure
(archive footage)
Showbiz Goes to War
Mickey Silver
Meurtres à l'Empire State Building
Himself
Hollywood Handicap
Mike Halligan
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
B.J. Lang
The Manipulator
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Whirlwinds
Joe Petto
Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker
Daad El Shur
Arabian Adventure
Andy Hardy
The Courtship of Andy Hardy
John Mears
The Last Mile
Army
Requiem for a Heavyweight
Grandpa
A Christmas Too Many
Griffith
Michael Kael contre la World News Company
Thomas Alva 'Tom' Edison
Young Tom Edison
Cockeye
The Comic
Andy Hardy
Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble
Professor Mort Sang
Killing Midnight
Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Hollywood Blue
Stanley Maxton
The Strip
Johnny Casar
The Fireball
Billy Coy
The Big Wheel
Tommy McCoy / Killer McCoy
Killer McCoy
Timmie Donovan
Thoroughbreds Don't Cry
David McCord
The Last Confederate: The Story of Robert Adams
Ted Hackett III as Child
Broadway to Hollywood
Gus
The Magic of Lassie
David Prescott
Francis in the Haunted House
Mike Donnelly
Sound Off
Francis 'Moby' Dickerson
All Ashore
Cook 3 / C W.J. Oglethorpe
The Extraordinary Seaman
Sgt. Ernest Wartell
Ambush Bay
Andy Hardy
Out West with the Hardys
Tommy Miller
Ah, Wilderness!
Andy Hardy
Judge Hardy and Son
Country Boy (uncredited)
Rendezvous
Jimmy
Riffraff
Terry O'Mulvaney
Lord Jeff
Whitey Marsh
Men of Boys Town
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Herbert Tuttle
Off Limits
Junion
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Gus Harris
A Nice Little Bank That Should Be Robbed
Andy Hardy
Judge Hardy's Children
Narrator
Creole
Barnaby 'Blix' Waterberry
The Atomic Kid
Jack Bergan
The Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer
The Executioner / Noah
Fol-de-Rol
Andy Hardy
A Family Affair
Andy Hardy
The Hardys Ride High
Andy Hardy
Andy Hardy Comes Home
Andy Hardy
You're Only Young Once
Himself
Cinema Circus
Indian Tom
The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County
Grandpa Spencer
Revenge of the Red Baron
Buddy Malone
Officer Thirteen
Steven Conway
Platinum High School
Kermit 'Beetle' McKay
Everything's Ducky
Freddie Frisby
He's a Cockeyed Wonder
Willie Dooley
The Bold and the Brave
Arthur Wilson
The Big Chance
Rev. William Macklin II
The Twinkle In God's Eye
Boss Ed
The First of May
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Race
Jimmy
The Healer
Sage
Sinbad: The Battle of the Dark Knights
Swifty
Slave Ship
Self (archive footage)
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
Augustus "Geechy" Cheevers
A Slight Case of Larceny
Jerry Crump
Live, Love and Learn
Adramelek
L'arcidiavolo
Mr. Broadway
(archive footage)
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood
Tollkeeper
Animals with the Tollkeeper
Mickey
Stablemates
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Luck
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Ape Man
Snapper Sinclair
Down the Stretch
Otto Peterson as a Child
The World Changes
Elmer
Home for Christmas
Mickey McGuire
Mickey in School
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Eleven
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Great Idea
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Northwest Mounted
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Pals
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Surprise
Mickey McGuire
Mickey the Detective
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Big Game Hunt
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Mix-Up
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Movies
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Explorers
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Warriors
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Thrill Hunters
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Big Moment
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Stampede
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Champs
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Rebellion
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Wildcats
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Covered Wagon
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Touchdown
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Minstrels
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Medicine Man
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Tent Show
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Rescue
Mickey McGuire
Mickey the Great
Wilfred Bashford
80 Steps to Jonah
The Voice of Hollywood No. 8
Nick Lewis / The Devil
The Private Lives of Adam and Eve
Mike O'Toole
Love Is a Headache
Hedy Lamarr: Secrets of a Hollywood Star
Little Joe Braun
The Big Operator
Shockey Carter
Hoosier Schoolboy
Jack Thum
Leave 'Em Laughing
Chick Evans
Hold That Kiss
Self
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Rivals
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Midnite Follies
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Menagerie
Eddie
Reckless
Puck
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Barney Ingram
Lightning, the White Stallion
Gus
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
Gabriel
Making Waves
Norman Jones
Twenty-Four Hours to Kill
Self
The Dawn of Sound: How Movies Learned to Talk
Willie
The Chief
Freddie Taylor
Blind Date
Peachy Keane
How to Stuff a Wild Bikini
Gas Station Attendant
Thunder County
Chubby Dennis
Sin's Pay Day
'Gig' Stevens
The Devil Is a Sissy
King Charles V
My Pal, the King
Wellington
Boys Will Be Boys
Zeke
Sweet Justice
Pat Jensen
The Legend of Wolf Mountain
Father Flanagan
Brothers' Destiny
Laban
Rachel's Man
Self (archive footage)
Mr. Yunioshi: An Asian Perspective
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (voice)
The Hare Mail
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (voice)
The Fisherman
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (voice)
Radio Rhythm
John Paul Jones
Bluegrass
Andy Hardy
Loews Christmas Greeting (The Hardy Family)
Mike Zampini
Who Killed Julie Greer?
Timothy Dennis
A Yank at Eton
Oswald (voice) (uncredited)
Hot Feet
Guardian Angel
Richard
Chief
Lost Stallions: The Journey Home
Self - Host / Narrator
That's Entertainment!
Self
Private Screenings: Mickey Rooney
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Circus
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Brown Derby
Self (archive footage)
Anthony Quinn: An Original
Chief of Police
Maximum Force
Mr. Cohen
Driving Me Crazy
Mickey Rooney
Rodeo Dough
The Maker
My Kidnapper, My Love
Trigger
Find the Lady
Self
Internet Love
James Turner
Little Spies
Himself (uncredited)
There Must Be a Pony
Andy Hardy
Andy Hardy's Dilemma: A Lesson in Mathematics... and Other Things
Vienna
(archive footage)
That's Entertainment, Part II
Johnny O'Hara
The Voices from Beyond
Jimmy O'Hara
The Big Cage
Barry Reilly
La vida láctea
Andy Hardy (archive footage)
Alone. Life Wastes Andy Hardy
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Disguises
Lead Boy at Circus
The Lost Jungle
Self (archive footage)
Ava Gardner, la vie est plus belle que le cinéma
O.B. Taggart
Outlaws: The Legend of O.B. Taggart
The Engineer
L'empereur du Pérou
Mickey Fitzpatrick (uncredited)
The Beast of the City
Cinema Stars - No. 15
Self - Co-Host / Narrator
That's Entertainment! III
Jerry Sherman
Night Club
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Little Eva
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Battle
Self (archive footage)
Judy Garland Duets
Mr. Louis
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Frank Sommers
Magnificent Roughnecks
Capt. Jenkins
The Intruder
Max
To Kill a Mockumentary
Pinocchio
Pinocchio
Mickey
Death on the Diamond
Puck (archive footage) (uncredited)
A Dream Comes True
Mickey Rooney
Pirate Party on Catalina Isle
Self
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History
Self
Show-Business at War
Self
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
Self - Actor (voice)
Judy Garland: By Myself
Self (archive footage)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Self
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
Henry Dailey
Adventures of the Black Stallion
Papa Joe
Juego sucio en Panamá
Midge
Fast Companions
Self (archive footage)
Something a Little Less Serious: A Tribute to 'It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World'
Self
From the Ends of the Earth
Self
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
Self
The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn
Paradise Cab Company cabbie
From Raquel with Love
Gladwyn Tootle
Love Birds
Bailey
Donovan's Kid
Self
The Outrageous Sophie Tucker
Freckles
The County Chairman
Boy Shipboard Swimmer (uncredited)
Chained
Mickey (segment "Sugar Babies")
Broadway's Lost Treasures
Willie Clark
Half a Sinner
Rocky Mastrasso
The Godmothers
Self
Senior Trip
Self (uncredited)
Another Romance of Celluloid
Self (archive footage)
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Wild West
Self (archive footage)
It's Showtime
Self
Mickey's 50
Santa Claus (voice)
A Miser Brothers' Christmas
Self (archive footage)
Sid & Judy
Andy Hardy (screen test footage) (uncredited)
Personalities
Simon / Henry, Sr.
Illusion Infinity
Mickey McGuire
Orchids and Ermine
Self (archive footage)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic
Scarecrow (voice)
Journey Back to Oz
Smalltown Resident
The Muppets
Mickey Rooney
Screen Snapshots Series 18, No. 8
Mickey Rooney (uncredited)
Mooch Goes to Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood’s Children
Marty
Bons baisers de Hong Kong
Himself
Screen Snapshots: Mickey Rooney, Then and Now
Self (archive footage)
Liberation
Tommy, a Violin Student
Beloved
Self
Errol Flynn: Portrait of a Swashbuckler
Self (uncredited)
The Lion Roars Again
Mickey
March of Dimes
Archive Footage (from March of Dimes)
The Polio Crusade
Messenger Boy
I Like it That Way
Self
Night of 100 Stars
(archive footage)
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1940s: Stars, Stripes and Singing
Self - Actor
Sunset Boulevard - 27 Meilen Amerika
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Busy Day
Treasure Train
Narrator
Hooray for Hollywood
The Director
The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw
Mickey O’Malley
O’Malley
Self
When We Were Young: Growing Up on the Silver Screen
Lionpower from MGM
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
310
Gender
Male
Birthday
1920-09-23
Place of Birth
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Also Known As
Joseph Yule Jr.