Resource id #75
Image Source: Wikipedia

Mickey Rooney

Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the silent-film era. He was the top box-office attraction from 1939 to 1941, and one of the best-paid actors of that era. At the height of a career marked by declines and comebacks, Rooney performed the role of Andy Hardy in a series of 16 films in the 1930s and 1940s that epitomized mainstream United States self-image.

At the peak of his career between ages 15 and 25, he made 43 films, and was one of MGM's most consistently successful actors. A versatile performer, he became a celebrated character actor later in his career. Laurence Olivier once said he considered Rooney "the best there has ever been". Clarence Brown, who directed him in two of his earliest dramatic roles in National Velvet and The Human Comedy, said Rooney was "the closest thing to a genius" with whom he had ever worked. He won a Golden Globe Award in 1982 and an Emmy Award in the same year for the title role in a television movie Bill and was awarded the Academy Honorary Award in 1982.

Rooney first performed in vaudeville as a child actor, and made his film debut at the age of six. He played the title character in the "Mickey McGuire" series of 78 short films, from age seven to 13. At 14 and 15, he played Puck in the play and subsequent film adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. At the age of 16, he began playing Andy Hardy, and gained first recognition at 17 as Whitey Marsh in Boys Town. At only 19, Rooney became the second-youngest Best Actor in a Leading Role nominee and the first teenager to be nominated for an Academy Award for his performance as Mickey Moran in 1939 film adaptation of coming-of-age Broadway musical Babes in Arms; he was awarded a special Academy Juvenile Award in 1939. Rooney received his second Academy Award nomination in the same category for his role as Homer Macauley in The Human Comedy.

Drafted into the military during World War II, Rooney served nearly two years entertaining over two million troops on stage and radio, and was awarded a Bronze Star for performing in combat zones. Returning in 1945, he was too old for juvenile roles, but too short at 5 ft 2 in (157 cm) for most adult roles, and was unable to gain as many starring roles. However, numerous low-budget, but critically well-received films noir had Rooney playing the lead during this period and the 1950s. Rooney's career was renewed with well-received supporting roles in films such as The Bold and the Brave (1956), Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962), It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Pete's Dragon (1977), and The Black Stallion (1979). For his roles in The Bold and the Brave and The Black Stallion, Rooney received Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1957 and 1980 respectively. In the early 1980s, he returned to Broadway in Sugar Babies, a role that earned him nominations for Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical. He made hundreds of appearances on TV, including dramas, variety programs, and talk shows.

Birth and Death Data: Born January 1, 1920 (Brooklyn), Died April 6, 2014 (Studio City)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1939 - 1943

Roles Represented in DAHR: songwriter, vocalist

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BS-031238 10-in. 1/6/1939 Have a heart Bobby King ; Johnny Messner ; Music Box Band Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
Victor BS-035009 10-in. 3/9/1939 Have a heart Bob Allen ; Hal Kemp Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
Victor PBS-061306 10-in. 6/23/1941 Love's got nothin' on me Jack Palmer ; Jan Savitt ; Top Hatters Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
Decca L 3251 10-in. 11/2/1943 Treat me rough Judy Garland ; Mickey Rooney vocalist  
Decca L 3253 10-in. 11/4/1943 Embraceable you Judy Garland ; Mickey Rooney vocalist  
Decca L 3254 10-in. 11/4/1943 Could you use me Judy Garland ; Mickey Rooney vocalist  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Rooney, Mickey," accessed March 29, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104991.

Rooney, Mickey. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104991.

"Rooney, Mickey." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 29 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104991

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.