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Mickey Rooney, Legendary Actor, Dies at 93
Mickey Rooney Dead at 93
April 6, 2014 | 08:01PM PT
Carmel Dagan

Mickey Rooney, the pint-sized actor who was one of MGM’s giant box office attractions in the late ’30s and early ’40s, has died, sources confirm. He was 93.

As adept at comedy as drama and an excellent singer and dancer, Rooney was regarded as the consummate entertainer. During a prolific career on stage and screen that spanned eight decades (“I’ve been working all my life, but it seems longer,” he once said), he was nominated for four Academy Awards and received two special Oscars, the Juvenile Award in 1939 (shared with Deanna Durbin) and one in 1983 for his body of work.

He also appeared on series and TV and in made for television movies, one of which, “Bill,” the touching story of a mentally challenged man, won him an Emmy. He was Emmy nominated three other times. And for “Sugar Babies,” a musical revue in which he starred with Ann Miller, he was nominated for a Tony in 1980.

Both in his professional and personal life Rooney withstood many peaks and valleys. He was married eight times and filed for bankruptcy in 1962, having gone through the $12 million he had earned. And until middle age, he was never able to quite cast off his popularity as a juvenile. Nonetheless, Rooney’s highs more than compensated for his lows. Via his “Andy Hardy” series of films, the five-foot-three Rooney came to embody the virtues of small-town American boyhood. Those films and a series of musicals in which he co-starred with Judy Garland made him the nation’s biggest box office attraction for three years running.

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Posted by Steve Matz (Member # 1890) on 04-06-2014, 11:27 PM:
 
Rooney was an icon in the MP Industry. I can't remember not hearing about him since I was a Kid. Whether it was the Andy Hardy Series, Boys Town,etc. He was a real Legend as far as Big Movie Star names.

I find it ironic that just a short time back I was discussing "Its a Mad,Mad,Mad,Mad World right after Sid Caesar had died and said Mickey Rooney is the only Actor still living of the Original Main Actors looking for the Big W. Now their all Gone. R.I.P.Mickey
 

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Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 04-06-2014, 11:42 PM:
 

quote: Obituary

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And until middle age, he was never able to quite cast off his popularity as a juvenile.

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In 2010 I saw Sony's restoration of Drive a Crooked Road at the Egyptian, which was followed by a Q & A with one of the actors who played a bit part (Paul Picerni). Picerni recalled that at the time, Mickey Rooney was desparately trying to bury his legacy repuation as a child star/comedy actor, hence taking on a very noirish tragic hero role.

The only problem with the movie was that Rooney acted all of the other principals off the screen (in particular, the femme fatale was such a cartoon character that the audience was giggling at her). It's a pity that it was (AFAIK) only ever published on DVD as part of a massive box set with around 10 other '50s noirs that have also disappeared without trace, because it absolutely deserves a wider re-release on account of Rooney's performance alone. Hopefully the 35mm print I saw is available for theaters to book.
 

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Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 04-07-2014, 12:52 AM:
 
Does this mean the entire main cast of It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World is dead? This past year saw us lose Winters, Side Caesar and now, Rooney.

The next time I watch this movie, it will be a weird viewing knowing no one in the main cast is still alive.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057193/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast

You still got very few from the secondary cast still alive - people like Barrie Chase(the crazy son's gal with a hilarious variation on the twist) and Carl Reiner.
 

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Posted by Steve Matz (Member # 1890) on 04-08-2014, 06:30 PM:
 
Here are Photos and info of every Actor/Actress that appeared in
"It's a Mad,Mad,Mad,Mad,World. Just a few Secondary Actors still Living. Some you probably won't remember/recognize unless you saw the Original uncut Version. Seems Ironic That when I went to see this Picture in 1963 at a Downtown Theater that everyone was still alive and Now almost everyone is Gone...Got an Email the other Day that said "Don't Fret about getting Older,You have a Gift many don't get to see"

http://www.aveleyman.com/FilmCredit.aspx?FilmID=9736
 

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