RIP Mickey Rooney

I woke up this morning to hear the devastating news that Hollywood Legend Mickey Rooney had died yesterday at the age of 93.
This is a very personal blow to me, of all the great talents to have passed away in the last 6 months or so Mickey Rooney's passing moved me the most. Since the age of 16 I have been in awe of Mickey, such a small stature (reaching only 5 foot 2") but full to the brim with energy and magnetism. His work with Judy Garland has been cemented in my mind as some of the greatest entertainment ever created.
We have lost yet another connection to Hollywood's Golden Age of the 1930's and 40's. I am sad to say they are a rare breed now, many having died years ago. We are humbled to have had Mickey Rooney entertaining and delighting audiences for 93 years. His work is his legacy, stating his motto as; "Never retire, Inspire" and boy did he live up to that.

Mickey Rooney was born Joseph Yule Jr in 1920 New York City, it could be said that he was a performer from birth having his stage début at 18 months in his parents vaudeville act. When his parents split he moved with his mother to California and it wasn't long before he was working professionally in the short film Mickey Maguire series at just 7 years old, they ran for seven years. Mickey's name was changed to his titular role on the series but eventually landed on Mickey Rooney. Mickey got his face known in films like A Midsummer Nights Dream (1935) and Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936). Mickey then began working for the legendary star studio MGM and had his big break playing Andy Hardy in the film A Family Affair (1937) the series was extremely successful spawning 16 titles in the course of 9 years, for many Mickey will always be remembered as the loveable Judge Hardy's son, forever getting into scrapes and trying to grow up too fast. In 1958 one more Andy Hardy film was made Andy Hardy Comes Home in which the older Andy becomes the head of the Hardy family.

After the success of the first Andy Hardy film, Mickey rose up the ranks with films like Captains Courageous (1937) alongside Spencer Tracy and Lionel Barrymore and then his first introduction to his greatest on-screen partner Judy Garland in 2 films Thoroughbreds Don't Cry (1937) and Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938) (Garland would feature as Betsy Booth in 2 other Andy Hardy pictures). But it was Boys Town (1938) again alongside Spencer Tracy which really cemented Mickey Rooney in Hollywood as an upcoming star. He plays Whitey Marsh a young man sent to Boys Town a place thought up by Tracy's real life incarnation of Father Flanagan for delinquent boys, giving them the chance to get on the right path. After Boys Town Mickey was chosen to play Huckleberry Finn in the classic adaptation of Mark Twain's novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939) and his other work that year earned him a Juvenile Oscar which he shares with Deanna Durbin for their 'significant contribution in bringing to the screen the spirit and personification of youth, and as juvenile players setting a high standard of ability and achievement'.

In 1939 Mickey partnered with Judy Garland for a series of backyard musicals, the result made the pair mega-stars in the film industry and created one of the greatest partnerships in Hollywood history, I personally would place them in the ranks of Tracy and Hepburn and Astaire and Rogers. Babes In Arms (1939) was the first of the 4 pictures directed with extravagant choreography and musical numbers by Busby Berkeley, it also earned Mickey his first Academy Award Nomination for Best Actor. Strike Up the Band (1940), Babes on Broadway (1941) and Girl Crazy (1943) followed in between the now expected annual Andy Hardy features. All the musicals had a similar pattern, young kids wanting to be famous and with some difficulty put on a show (well beyond their means) which inevitably leads them to Broadway. With young up-and-coming co-stars and a leading romance blossoming in the final reel they were booming successes in the early 1940's, post depression era.

In 1943 Mickey joined the army and spent most of his service entertaining troops. When he came back to Hollywood the following year as the war ended he was 24 years old and despite his youthful looks needed to make a solid transition from juvenile to adult roles. His first attempt at this was National Velvet (1944) the film remembered for making Elizabeth Taylor famous. In 1944 Mickey was nominated for his second Academy Award for Best Actor for the film The Human Comedy (1943) a film focused on those left behind during the war. MGM continued to place Mickey in big productions surrounded by well known stars; Summer Holiday (1948), Words and Music (1948) (in which he re-teamed for a musical number with Judy Garland) but his star power was waning. His energetic and sometimes cocky attitude did not sit well in his mature roles. As the 50's began and then turned into the 60's Mickey Rooney was left behind, the decade being rather disappointing in comparison to the last. He can be seen yelling at Audrey Hepburn in the classic Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) disguised as Mr Yunioshi her Japanese neighbour. But his performance has since been considered racist.

In the late 50's and early 60's Mickey could often be seen as a guest on television, his memorable reunion on the Judy Garland show in 1963 was a highlight of this era (Garland insisted that Rooney was her first guest). In 1962 Mickey filed for bankruptcy his high fuelled lifestyle and his countless marriages had taken their toll on his finances, (Mickey was married 8 times, his first most famous match with MGM starlet Ava Gardner). Mickey saw a resurgence in his career in the 1970's after appearing in the musical Pete's Dragon (1977) and appearing on Broadway in Sugar Babies. As well as 2 more Oscar nominations, both for Supporting Actor for The Bold and the Brave (1956) and The Black Stallion (1979). Mickey was also nominated for 5 Primetime Emmy's winning one in 1982 for his performance in the TV movie Bill (1981). He also received an Honorary Oscar in 1983 'in recognition of his 50 years of versatility in a variety of memorable film performances'.

In recent years Mickey can be heard doing a number of voice work roles, he had a small but memorable role in Night at the Museum (2006) and was one of many star cameos in The Muppets (2011). He had just finished filming Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with Margaret O'Brien another Hollywood child-star of the Golden Era. The film should be released later this year. Director Shawn Levy has also confirmed that only last month Mickey completed scenes for Night at the Museum 3 due for release at christmas.

The consummate entertainer, Mickey Rooney worked until the very end, making him one of the only people to truly state they worked their whole lives. For that reason alone he will be remembered as one of the Hollywood greats. His body of work spans 9 decades and stars some of the greatest actors in existence.
All that remains to be said is that Mickey Rooney was a class act, he was a truly amazing entertainer and he will be greatly missed.

RIP Mickey Rooney.