Was there ever a more consummate entertainer than Mickey Rooney? Born Joseph Yule Jr. in Brooklyn in 1920, he was still making movies when he died Sunday, 88 years after his first screen appearance.
His show-business career was even longer: The son of vaudeville performers, he appeared onstage at 7 months of age and never looked back. In his prime — in his 15 Andy Hardy films and his musicals with Judy Garland — he was Hollywood’s biggest box-office draw.
And he could do it all: comedy, drama, musicals, Shakespeare. Unfortunately, his short stature and youthful face made for a slow and difficult transition from teen superstar to adult actor. Even so, at age 59 he pulled off a huge comeback on Broadway and around the nation with the old-fashioned musical “Sugar Babies” that led to new roles and acclaimed performances in film and television.
Less well known is his Army stint in Europe during the Second World War. There Ike awarded him a Bronze Star for traveling through combat territory to take his show to the men on the front lines of the fighting.
In between were the marriages — eight in all — the drinking, addiction to pills and gambling that cost him his fortune. Eventually, he became a born-again Christian, and “all the muddy waters of my life cleared up.” In 2011, he testified before Congress about being the victim of elder abuse.
He packed quite a life in his 93 years, literally growing up with his audience. The Mickey Rooney story is a classic New York tale, of a Brooklyn-born son of an immigrant father who would find success as the all-American boy — a symbol of hope, optimism and the can-do spirit of his nation. RIP.