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Engraved portrait of Mickey Rooney
Film & Screen · 1940s

Mickey Rooney

In memoriam 1920–2014

“A pint-sized dynamo whose career spanned vaudeville stages to the digital age.”

Joseph Yule Jr.Real Name
September 23, 1920, Brooklyn, New YorkBorn
April 6, 2014, Studio City, CaliforniaDied
Nearly nine decades, 300+ filmsCareer Span
Eight, including to Ava GardnerMarriages
The Turning Point

In 1937, the teenage Rooney first played Andy Hardy in A Family Affair, launching a 16-film series that turned him into America's most beloved boy-next-door. By 1939 he was the top box-office star in the world, a position he held for three years.

Mickey Rooney in a studio publicity still
Mickey Rooney in a studio publicity still

Born to Perform

Joseph Yule Jr. came into the world in 1920 to a vaudeville family and was on stage before he could talk. He starred in dozens of Mickey McGuire shorts as a child, eventually adopting Mickey Rooney as his screen name.

Mickey Rooney during the Armed Forces Radio Service era
Mickey Rooney during the Armed Forces Radio Service era

King of Hollywood

As Andy Hardy and in musicals with Judy Garland, Rooney became the biggest box-office draw in the world from 1939 to 1941. His boundless energy and versatility made him a defining star of MGM's golden age.

Falls and Comebacks

Financial troubles and eight marriages marked his turbulent adult life, but Rooney repeatedly reinvented himself. His 1979 triumphs in The Black Stallion and Broadway's Sugar Babies sealed his status as a show-business survivor.

Career Timeline

  1. 1920Born Joseph Yule Jr. in Brooklyn to vaudevillians
  2. 1926Makes film debut at age six
  3. 1935Plays Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream
  4. 1937Debuts as Andy Hardy in A Family Affair
  5. 1938Stars in Boys Town; earns special Juvenile Oscar
  6. 1939Becomes world's top box-office star
  7. 1944Co-stars in National Velvet
  8. 1979Comeback in The Black Stallion and Broadway's Sugar Babies
  9. 1983Receives Academy Honorary Award
  10. 1982Wins Emmy and Golden Globe for Bill
  11. 2014Dies in Studio City, California, aged 93

Biggest Hits

1938
Boys TownReform-school drama earning a special Juvenile Oscar
1937
Andy Hardy seriesSixteen films as America's favorite teenager
1944
National VelvetHorse-racing classic opposite young Elizabeth Taylor
1939
Babes in ArmsFirst Oscar nomination, paired with Judy Garland
1979
The Black StallionLate-career Oscar nomination as a horse trainer
1935
A Midsummer Night's DreamAcclaimed teenage performance as the sprite Puck
Did You Know
  • Rooney first appeared on stage at 17 months old as part of his parents' vaudeville act.
  • He received two honorary Academy Awards across his career: a Juvenile Award in 1939 and an Honorary Oscar in 1983.

The Moment You Remember

Older audiences still smile at the irrepressible Andy Hardy, the all-American teenager whose small-town scrapes and heart-to-hearts with his judge father once charmed the entire nation.

Portrait: Studio publicity still · Public domain (PD US not renewed) · via Wikimedia Commons

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