Mickey Rooney: biography, awards, personal life

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

April 6, 2014, American actor Mickey Rooney died at the age of 94. His biography is actually the history of Hollywood.

Born on September 23, 1920 in Brooklyn, Mickey Rooney first appeared on stage as an actor in his parents' vaudeville, and in 1937 he played Andy Hardy in the first of 15 films featuring the character. He starred with Judy Garland in a series of successful musicals, including Babes in Arms ("Children in Armor"), was awarded a special commemorative Academy Award in 1938. Rooney continued to work even after his ninetieth birthday.

Young star

The actual name of the famous actor was Joseph Yule Jr. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. Rooney first appeared on stage as a toddler in his parents' acting group. He first appeared in films in 1926, playing a child. The following year, he played the title character in the first short film, Mickey Maguire. It was during the filming of a series of short films that he adopted the stage name Mickey Rooney.

The actor reached new heights in 1937 in a film that introduced Andy Hardy, an American teenager. This beloved character has appeared in nearly twenty films and helped make him the highest-grossing actor. It was followed by other films that also helped develop the career of a young star, including Boys Town ("Boys' City", 1938) and Babes in Arms ("Children in Armor", 1939). In 1938, Rooney received an Oscar for "bringing the spirit of youth to the screen and portraying teenagers."

He also appeared with Judy Garland in a number of musicals, including Babes in Arms (1939) and Girl Crazy (1943). For the first time they worked together in the film "Andy Hardy", since that time they have become good friends. He also appeared with Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet (1944).

Challenge and Triumphs

After serving in the army during World War II, the actor played various roles. He appeared in musicals such as Summer Holiday (1948) and the dramas Killer McCoy (1947) and The Big Wheel (1949), but none of these pictures brought to him the same success as earlier work.

In 1952, another film with Mickey Rooney was released - “Silence” (Sound Off). It was a musical comedy. The film was shot in August 1951. Mickey Rooney played a major role in the film "Silence". It was the first contract of three between Colombian actor and producer Jony Taps, and he was paid $75,000 for each of the three films.

Due to declining popularity incinematography, he decided to turn to television. However, The Mickey Rooney Show only ran from 1954 to 1955. Nevertheless, the consummate artist has been able to make a name for himself by appearing as a guest on TV shows, performing in nightclubs and playing in several films. One of his most notable roles at this time was the war drama The Bold and the Brave ("The Bold and the Bold", 1956), which showed that he could play serious roles brilliantly.

Rooney also appeared in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard. Rooney's portrayal of Hepburn's Japanese neighbor Mr. Yunioshi drew criticism as it was seen as an offensive racial stereotype. Later, the actor himself said that he played a comic role and never intended to offend anyone.

A year later, he played a dramatic role as a boxing trainer in Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962) with Anthony Quinn and Jackie Gleason. Although he experienced a career downturn in the late 1960s and 1970s, the actor showed audiences and critics alike why he was one of Hollywood's most enduring stars. In 1979, the film "Black Horse" brought him an Oscar in the nomination "Best Supporting Actor". Around this time, he also wowed audiences with a theatrical role in Sugar Babies with Ann Miller on Broadway. The couple also took part in the series.

The number of films Mickey Rooney is amazing: he starred in more than 190 films, not counting short films, participated in 27 television projects.

In 1981, the actor received an Emmy Award for his role as a mentally handicapped person in the film Billet. Critical acclaim didn't stop there: in 1982, he received an honorary Academy Award for Distinguished Service.

Later years

Mickey Rooney continued acting after he turned 90. He has appeared in films such as Night at the Museum (2006) with Ben Stiller and The Muppets (2011). Outside of filming, he performed with tales of elder abuse. In 2011, he spoke on this issue before Congress.

The actor knew firsthand about the victimization of the elderly. Rooney filed a lawsuit against his stepson Chris Aber, the son of his eighth wife, alleging that Aber and his wife verbally and financially abused him. The actor stated that the couple misled him about their finances, they used his funds to cover their expenses and did not buy food and medicine for him. In 2013, the lawsuit was settled in favor of the actor, who received $2.8 million.

Marriages

Mickey Rooney was known for his personal life and numerous marriages. He was married eight times, including a brief union with Hollywood beauty Ava Gardner in 1942. The stars were married for only a year and did not have time to have children. In 1944, Rooney remarried, to beauty queen Betty Jane Race, and the couple had two sons, Mickey Jr. and Timothy. Rooney and Reis divorced in 1949. Just six hours after the completion of the divorce proceedings, he married his third wife, actress Martha Vickers. They had one son in marriage -Theodore.

After his divorce from Vickers, he headed to Las Vegas to marry actress and model Elaine Meinken Devry. They were married until 1958, and immediately after the divorce, Rooney remarried, marrying model and actress Barbara Ann Thomason, with whom he has four common children - Kelly, Kerry, Michael and Kimmy. Their marriage ended tragically when Barbara's family friend and lover killed her and committed suicide.

Shortly after the tragic event, Rooney married Thomason's girlfriend, Margaret Lane, but the relationship only lasted 100 days. In 1969 he married Carolyn Hockett and they had two children, Jimmy and Jonel. They divorced in 1975, and three years later the actor married his eighth and last wife, singer Jan Chamberlin.

Death

Mickey Rooney, whose career spanned nine decades, died at his home in Los Angeles on April 6, 2014 at the age of 93. In his autobiography, Life is Too Short, he wrote that if he were brighter, ladies were gentler, scotch was weaker, gods were kinder, dice was hotter, then perhaps it would all end up in a one-sentence story.