Here’s a look at the life of actor Mickey Rooney.
Personal:
Birth date: September 23, 1920
Death date: April 6, 2014
Birth place: Brooklyn, New York
Birth name: Joseph Yule Jr.
Father: Joseph Yule Sr., vaudeville performer
Mother: Nell (Carter) Yule, vaudeville performer
Marriages: Janice Chamberlain (1978-2014 his death); Carolyn Hockett, (1969-1974, divorced); Margie Lane (1966-1967, divorced); Barbara Ann Thompson (1958-1966, her death); Elaine Mahnken (1952-1958, divorced); Martha Vickers (1949-1951, divorced); Betty Jane Rase (1944-1949, divorced); Ava Gardner (1942-1943, divorced)
Children: Two stepchildren with Janice Chamberlain: Christopher and Mark; with Carolyn Hockett: Jonell and Jimmy (both adopted, Carolyn’s from a previous marriage); with Barbara Ann Thompson: Kelly, Kerry, Michael and Kimmy; with Martha Vickers: Teddy; with Betty Jane Rase: Mickey Jr. (also known as Joseph Yule III) and Tim
Education: Pacific Military Academy, Culver City, California; Attended studio school at MGM Studios
Military: US Army, 1944-1946
Other Facts:
American actor, singer, dancer, composer, writer and director.
Rooney was awarded a Bronze Star in World War II for entertaining troops.
Has been in show business for over 90 years, since his start in vaudeville at age one.
Has appeared in more than 300 film and television roles.
Nominated for five Emmys, four Academy Awards and one Tony. Recipient of one Emmy and two special Academy Awards.
Timeline:
1920s – Makes his first theatrical appearance at age one, and then regularly appears as part of his parents’ vaudeville act.
1926 – Appears in his first movie, “Not to be Trusted.”
1927 – Is cast as the lead in the Mickey McGuire movies.
1932 – Legally changes his name to Mickey Rooney.
1934 – Is cast in “Manhattan Melodrama.” This leads to a long-term contract with MGM.
1937 – “A Family Affair,” first of the popular “Andy Hardy” series, in which Rooney stars as the title character, is released.
1939 – Receives a special Academy Award for his contribution as a juvenile actor.
1944 – Enters the service for 21 months to entertain troops during World War II.
1954 – “The Mickey Rooney Show” premieres on television, and lasts one season.
1982 – Wins an Emmy Award for Outstanding Leading Actor in a Limited Series or Special for “Bill.”
1983 – Receives an honorary Academy Award for recognition of 60 years in motion pictures.
2003 – Is made honorary mayor for life of Boys Town. In the movie, “Boys Town,” Rooney’s character, Whitey Marsh, is elected mayor.
February 16, 2011 – Takes out a restraining order against stepson Chris Aber and Chris’s wife Christina. Rooney claims elder abuse and financial mismanagement at the hands of the Abers.
March 2, 2011 – Testifies before the Senate Special Committee on Aging about elder abuse.
March 25, 2011 – Financial affairs are put in conservatorship after $400,000 is found missing from Rooney’s accounts. The Abers agree to stay away from Rooney and his home without admitting to any wrongdoing.
September 2011 – Rooney files a lawsuit against stepson Chris Aber and Aber’s wife, Christina, for elder abuse.
June 2012 – Rooney and his wife, Janice, separate after more than thirty years together.
April 6, 2014 – Rooney dies at home, in his sleep, at the age of 93.