1920's

I was born September 23 1920 in Brooklyn NY.

I was named after my father Ninian Joseph Yule Jr.

Joe was a "top banana" in Burlesque and was born in Scotland.

My mother, Nell Carter, was a chorus girl from Kansas City.

We left Brooklyn two days after I was born for life on the road

with the burlesque circuit.I started on stage when I was 1 ½ years old and have

been working ever since. I was billed as Sonny Yule.

My parents were divorced and I moved with my mother to

Hollywood!

When I was 5 years old I made my first movie. It was a

Fox silent movie called "Not to Be Trusted". I

played a midget.

After that I made 78 short films called "The Mickey McGuire Comedies".

The producer's changed my name to Mickey "Himself" McGuire. The

short films were a big success and were in direct competition to

the "Our Gang" comedies. Unfortunately, the producers weren't paying

the creator of the character of Mickey McGuire. He sued the producers

and me. I was forced to change my name and could longer be Mickey McGuire.

So I became Mickey Rooney.

 

 

 

1930's

The thirties were an exciting decade.I made 54 movies in the 30's and I landed a

contract with MGM. In 1934 the great German Director Max Reinhart cast me as Puck in "A Midsummer Night"s

Dream" at the Hollywood Bowl. I later did the Movie for Warner Brothers Studio with Jimmy Cagney.

I also became the state of California's Table Tennis Champion. At an exhibition match, I was spotted by a talent scout from MGM and got a contract at that great studio.

One of the first pictures I did for Metro was "Manhattan Melodrama". I played Clark Gable as a boy.

The film became notorious as the last picture seen by gangster John Dillinger. He was shot after seeing the movie at the Biograph Theater in Chicago with the infamous "Lady in Red".

In 1937 I did my first Movie with "Judy Garland" "Thoroughbreds Don't Cry". Things got very busy after that. I would do "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and"Boys Town" with

"Spencer Tracy". That picture Won 2 Academy Awards: Best Actor in a leading Role (Spencer Tracy) and Best Writing (Dory Schary), it was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Director.

But it was a "B" picture in 1937 that changed my life forever. "A Family Affair" starred Lionel Barrymore

and introduced audiences to a character named "Andy HardY'. I would do 18 more Andy Hardy pictures and their popularity would make me the number 1 box office star of the world for 3 years in a row!

1939 is best remembered as Hollywood's Golden Year. The classic films released that year included "The Wizard of Oz", "Gone With The Wind", "Wuthering Heights" "Mister Smith Goes To Washington" and "Goodbye Mr. Chips". I remember it for other reasons.

It was in 1939 that I received my first "Academy Award". It was a special Juvenile Award for personifying "Youth in Film".

 

That year, Arthur Freed teamed me with Judy Garland again. It was the first of the "Mickey and Judy Musicals" "Babes In Arms". It was based on the Broadway musical of the same name by Rogers and Hart. The picture was nominated for Best Picture and Best Music. The Academy Award nominations

for Best Actor that year were Robert Donat (for "Goodbye Mr. Chips"), Clark Gable (for "Gone With The Wind"), Laurence Olivier (for "Wuthering Heights"), Jimmy Stewart (for "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington") and me for this picture. It was the FIRST time a child was nominated with adults. Although many

considered me the favorite to win, the Award went to Robert Donat.

 

1940's

What a decade. I was the number one box office star of the world. I made over 20 movies in the 40's with 2 "Academy Award" nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role. In 1940 the nomination was for "Babes In Arms" and in 1944for "The Human Comedy". "The Human Comedy" was written

by William Saroyan and introduced a new Actor to the screen my friend Robert Mitchum. It Won the "Oscar" for Best Writing and nominations for Best Director, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White and Best Picture. I also made "Young Tom Edison", "National Velvet" with "Elizabeth Taylor" 5 more "Mickey and Judy" Musicals including "Strike Up The Band", "Girl Crazy" and "Babes on Broadway".

In 1941, I met a young starlet and fell in love. Her name was Ava Gardner. It was going to last forever.

It lasted two years. But there were more important thingsfor me to do. With America's involvement in World War II, the studios saw many of their top talents drafted and sent to war. Metro thought I was too valuable and wanted to give me a saline shot and get me listed 4F for high blood pressure. I wouldn't do it. I enlisted. I went off to War for WWII as a private and came back a Sergeant with the Bronze Star.

I did my basic training at Fort Riley Kansas. When I was shipped to Birmingham, Alabama I met and married Miss Alabama, Betty Jane Rase. We would have two children.

 

I was shipped out to Europe and became part of a unit headed by Josh Logan, who would become a famous director. The outfit was to provide entertainment to the troops. The troops at the front line! There were three men in each unit and we were known as the Jeep Shows. In my jeep wasMario Pierone (who played the accordian), Bob Priester (who sang) and me (I was the emcee and told jokes and did imitations). We were attached to various armies and always were at the front. One of my friends in the unit

was Red Buttons. With Red, I attended the opening of the trials in Nuremburg.

When I got home I went back to the studio to work. The work I was getting wasn't rewarding and so I took a big step and bought out my contract with the studio. I could now pick and choose my own projects.

One of the last things I did as a "contract player" with Metro was a biographical film of the lyricist Lorenz Hart. The picture was called "Words and Music". It was the last film I made with Judy.

 

 

 

1950's

During the 50s I starred in 24 films. For my work in the picture "The Bold and the Brave" I received an Academy Award Nomination for "Best Actor in a Supporting Role". I also was a co-composer of the music for the film. Among the other films that I did during this era were "The Bridges at Toko-Ri" with "William Holden, Grace Kelly and Fredric March", "Operation Mad Ball" with "Jack Lemmon", "The Last Mile" with "Howard W. Koch and "Andy Hardy Comes Home".

"Andy Hardy Comes Home" was the Last of the "Andy Hardy" movies. My son, Timmy played my son in the picture. I also wrote 5 songs in the picture

"Unkwinit", "Lazy Summer Night", "The Octavians" and "U Gotta Soda".

In 1950 I made "The Fireball". It was about the roller derby great Johnny Cazar. It featured a cameo appearance by a new startlet named

Marilyn Monroe. We had met a party thrown by Ray Anthony. I introduced her to my agent and the rest is history.

I ventured into prodcing in the 50s and created the comedy classic "The Atomic Kid".

There was new medium in the 50s, television. Unlike many Hollywood actors I delved into it. I am happy to have been a part of television's golden age. I had a series on NBC for two seasons 54-55, it was called "Hey Mulligan" and "The Mickey Rooney Show". But I was drawn to the dramatic live TV shows. This lead to my receiving two Emmy Award nominations back to back. In 1957 I appeared on the popular show "Playhouse 90". The episode was called "The Comedian". I played Sammy Hogarth a blowhard of a guy who was a hit comic on TV. It was written by Rod Serling, directed by John Frankenheimer and starred Mel Torme as my brother. In 1958 it was nominated by the Emmys as "Best Program of the Year", "Best Director" for John, "Best Writer" for Rod and I received the "Best Actor" nomination. Although I didn't win John, Rod and the show did.

The very next year I appeared on "The Alcoa Theatre" in an Episode called "Eddie". In 1959 I was honored to receive and win a "Best Actor" Emmy for my work on that show. It was a great way to end the decade.

 

1960's

 

I did more than 33 TV shows and 16 Feature Films, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" with "Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Buddy Epson" "Everything's Ducky" "Buddy Hackett, Jackie Cooper" "Requiem for a Heavyweight" "Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Julie Harris and Cassius Clay (Mohammed Ali)"

"It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" "How to Stuff a Wild Bikini" " Ambush Bay" "Vienna" with "Orson Welles" TV credits: "Raw Hide" with" Clint Eastwood" "The Fugitive" "Combat!" "The Lucille Ball Show" "The Carol Burnett Show" "The Dean Martin Show" "The Judy Garland Show" "The Andy Williams Show" "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre" "The Twilight Zone" playing Grady, episode "The Last Night of a Jockey

 

1970's

16 Movies 1 "Oscar"nomination AGAIN for "Best Actor in a Supporting Role" in "The Black Stallion" "Francis Ford Coppola , executive producer" "Pete's Dragon" with "Red Buttons" "Pulp" with Michael Caine" "Find the Lady" with "John Candy" "The Domino Principle" "Gene Hackman and Candice Bergen" "Lassie Come Home" with "James Stewart" "Arabian Adventure" with "Christopher Lee" " Over 12 TV shows I was "Kris Kringle" in "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" with "Fred Astaire" "Santa Claus" in "Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July" "Santa Claus" in " The Year Without a Santa Claus"

Stage: "Sugar Babies" on the way to Broadway Baby!

I married my 8th and LAST wife "Jan Chamberlin"

 

1980's

On April 11th 1983 "Bob Hope" presented me with the "Honorary Oscar" for "exceptional distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding services to the Academy."

These were also the years of "Sugar Babies" on "Broadway" and "Tony Awards"

I received an "Emmy Award" for "Bill" Costarring" "Dennis Quaid " and an "Emmy" nomination for "Bill on His Own" with "Helen Hunt"

"Fox and the Hound" with "Kurt Russell" "Erik the Viking" with "Tim Robbins, John Cleese and Terry Jones"

 1990's

"Outlaws, The Legend of OB Taggart" with "Randy Travis, Ben Johnson, Larry Gatlin, Ernest Borgnine, Ned Beatty, Christopher Aber-Rooney , Gloria DeHaven and Billy Barty" I wrote and stared it this one. "Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland" "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" "Scott Glenn , Ben Johnson and Gary Busey" "Animals" with "Tim Roth , John Turturro and Rod Steiger" and "Babe: Pig in the City" with "James Cromwell" "Donald O'Connor" and I started 1990 with a tour of "Neal Simon's" "The Sunshine Boys" I did a "One Man, One Wife Show" with Jan and I also played "The Wizard" in "The Wizard of Oz" national tour, "Crazy For You" in Toronto Canada "Sugar Babies" in Vegas and "Will Rogers Follies" on "Broadway"

 

2000 +

 

" Walt Disney Pictures" I was "Sparky (Junkyard Dog)"

in "Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure" with "Scott Wolf and Alyssa Milano "and I am currently Touring with my wife "Jan Rooney" doing a Big show called "Jan & Mickey Rooney's","Let's Put On A Show "