Mickey Rooney was born on September 23, 1920, in Brooklyn, New York, as Joseph Yule Jr., to parents Joe Yule Sr., a comic, and Nell Carter, a chorus girl; both parents were also vaudeville (variety show) performers on the road. Rooney hit the road with his parents at just two weeks old, and by the time he was about a year and a half in 1922, he was already performing.
Rooney first broke into film acting in 1926 with the title role in the Mickey McGuire shorts series, comprising over forty silent comedies in which he starred for a full decade. Rooney also had the privilege of meeting the famous Walt Disney during this time, and later claimed Disney named Mickey Mouse after him. Rooney also claimed he was responsible for changing Norma Jean Mortenson’s name to Marilyn Monroe, with whom he later co-starred in the 1950 film The Fireball.
Rooney signed on to MGM Studios and studied at their School for Professional Children beginning in 1934, when he was a young teenager. From 1937 until 1958, Rooney portrayed one of his popular early characters, Andy Hardy, in fifteen different films, starting with 1937’s A Family Affair. A year later, he wowed audiences in Boys Town (1938), in which he starred alongside Spencer Tracy. During the Second World War, Rooney rose to fame and critical acclaim with a succession of great roles in several major films, including a string of musicals opposite famous actress Judy Garland, including 1944’s National Velvet, after which he served in the military for almost two years.
Upon his return to show business, Rooney faced a slump in his acting career, but nonetheless appeared in a few films, including a final one with Garland and his final Andy Hardy film, Andy Hardy Comes Home, in 1958. He also starred in the mildly successful The Mickey Rooney Show in 1954 and 1955.
Rooney faced a personal crisis and tragedy in 1958 when his wife Barbara was found dead in their bed beside her lover in a murder-suicide situation, after which Rooney attempted to escape his pain by marrying Barbara’s friend Marge Lane—a marriage lasting only a few months.
Into the 1960s and 70s, Rooney attempted to start over again, and directed and starred in The Private Lives of Adam and Eve in 1960, became a spokesperson for Pennsylvania’s Downingtown Inn, voiced Santa Claus for various Christmas specials, and appeared in a few good films—most notably 1962’s Requiem for a Heavyweight, alongside Anthony Quinn and Julie Harris, as well as 1979’s The Black Stallion, opposite Teri Garr.
Rooney, though obviously getting older, continued to be quite active as an actor both on stage and on TV, and occasionally on commercials and on film, throughout the 1980s and 90s. Some of his more notable works during this time include Sugar Babies, alongside Ann Miller; The Adventures of the Black Stallion; The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, with Eartha Kitt; and voice work on The Care Bears Movie; Kleo the Misfit Unicorn; and an episode of the Simpsons. His most recent major film role was a leading role in 2006’s Night at the Museum, starring Ben Stiller, Carla Gugino, Dick Van Dyke, Bill Cobbs, and Robin Williams.
Rooney is currently married to Jan Chamberlain (now Jan Rooney), his eighth wife, and with whom he shares his longest relationship. The couple lives in California.
YUDDY
