From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor, vaudevillian, comedian, producer, and radio personality. In a career spanning nine decades and continuing until shortly before his death, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the silent film era.
At the height of a career that was 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 American family values. 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, National Velvet and The Human Comedy, said he was "the closest thing to a genius I ever worked with".
Rooney first performed in vaudeville as a child and made his film debut at the age of six. At 14, he played Puck in the play and later the 1935 film adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Critic David Thomson hailed his performance as "one of the cinema's most arresting pieces of magic". In 1938, he co-starred in Boys Town. At 19, he was the first teenager to be nominated for an Oscar for his leading role in Babes in Arms, and he was awarded a special Academy Juvenile Award in 1939. At the peak of his career between the ages of 15 and 25, he made 43 films, which made him one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's most consistently successful actors and a favorite of MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer.
Rooney was the top box-office attraction from 1939 to 1941 and one of the best-paid actors of that era, but his career would never again rise to such heights. Drafted into the Army during World War II, he 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 from the war in 1945, he was too old for juvenile roles but too short to be an adult movie star, and was unable to get as many starring roles. Nevertheless, Rooney's popularity was renewed with well-received supporting roles in films such as Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962), It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), and The Black Stallion (1979). In the early 1980s, he returned to Broadway in Sugar Babies and again became a celebrated star. Rooney made hundreds of appearances on TV, including dramas, variety programs, and talk shows, and won an Emmy in 1982 plus a Golden Globe for his role in Bill (1981).
Recent movies
| # | Name | Character | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014) | Gus | 6.5 |
| 2 | The Outrageous Sophie Tucker (2014) | Self | - |
| 3 | The Muppets (2011) Oscars 2012 | Smalltown Resident | 7 |
| 4 | Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History (2008) | Self | - |
| 5 | A Miser Brothers' Christmas (2008) | Santa Claus (voice) | 7 |
| 6 | The Dawn of Sound: How Movies Learned to Talk (2007) | Self | 7 |
| 7 | Night at the Museum (2006) | Gus | 6.8 |
| 8 | To Kill a Mockumentary (2004) | Max | - |
| 9 | Judy Garland: By Myself (2004) | Self - Actor (voice) | - |
| 10 | Broadway's Lost Treasures (2003) | Mickey (segment "Sugar Babies") | - |
| 11 | Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure (2001) | Sparky (voice) | 7.3 |
| 12 | Phantom of the Megaplex (2000) | Movie Mason | 6.5 |
| 13 | The First of May (1999) | Boss Ed | - |
| 14 | Alone. Life Wastes Andy Hardy (1998) | Andy Hardy (archive footage) | 2 |
| 15 | Babe: Pig in the City (1998) Oscars 1999 | Fugly Floom, the Speechless Man in Hotel | 5.8 |
| 16 | Animals with the Tollkeeper (1998) | Tollkeeper | - |
| 17 | Conan (1997) | Gobe | 6.5 |
| 18 | The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies (1995) | Self | - |
| 19 | That's Entertainment! III (1994) | Self - Host | 6 |
| 20 | Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker (1991) | Joe Petto | 6 |
| 21 | Erik the Viking (1989) | Erik's Grandfather | 6.5 |
| 22 | There Must Be a Pony (1986) | Himself (uncredited) | - |
| 23 | The Care Bears Movie (1985) | Mr. Cherrywood (voice) | 6 |
| 24 | The Fox and the Hound (1981) | Tod (voice) | 7.3 |
| 25 | The Black Stallion (1979) | Henry Dailey | 7 |
| 26 | Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July (1979) | Santa Claus (voice) | 7 |
| 27 | Pete's Dragon (1977) | Lampie | 6.9 |
| 28 | Find the Lady (1976) | Trigger | 2 |
| 29 | The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974) | Santa Claus (voice) | 8.6 |
| 30 | Thunder County (1974) | Gas Station Attendant | - |
| 31 | That's Entertainment! (1974) | Self - Host / Narrator | - |
| 32 | Pulp (1972) | Preston Gilbert | - |
| 33 | Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970) | Kris Kringle aka Santa Claus (voice) | 7.8 |
| 34 | Skidoo (1968) | George 'Blue Chips' Packard | 7 |
| 35 | It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) | Ding 'Dingy' Bell | 6.1 |
| 36 | Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962) | Army | 7 |
| 37 | Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) | Mr. Yunioshi | 7.2 |
| 38 | The Last Mile (1959) | John Mears | 7 |
| 39 | Baby Face Nelson (1957) | Lester M. 'Baby Face Nelson' Gillis | 5 |
| 40 | The Comedian (1957) | Sammy Hogarth | 6 |
| 41 | The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954) | Mike Forney | - |
| 42 | Drive a Crooked Road (1954) | Eddie Shannon | 6 |
| 43 | The Strip (1951) | Stanley Maxton | 5 |
| 44 | Quicksand (1950) | Daniel 'Dan' Brady | 7 |
| 45 | The Fireball (1950) | Johnny Casar | - |
| 46 | Summer Holiday (1948) | Richard Miller | 6 |
| 47 | National Velvet (1945) | Michael 'Mi' Taylor | 4 |
| 48 | Girl Crazy (1943) | Danny Churchill, Jr. | - |
| 49 | The Human Comedy (1943) | Homer Macauley | 5 |
| 50 | Babes on Broadway (1941) | Tommy Williams | - |
| 51 | Strike Up the Band (1940) | Jimmy Connors | - |
| 52 | Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938) | Andy Hardy | 4 |
| 53 | Boys Town (1938) | Whitey Marsh | 5 |
| 54 | Captains Courageous (1937) | Dan Troop | 6 |
| 55 | Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936) | Dick Tipton | 7 |
| 56 | Reckless (1935) | Eddie | - |
| 57 | A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) | Puck | 8 |
| 58 | Manhattan Melodrama (1934) | Blackie as a Boy | 4 |
| 59 | The Beast of the City (1932) | Mickey Fitzpatrick (uncredited) | 5 |
