Learn About the Fascinating — and Often Shocking — Career of Actor Mickey Rooney

Step into the world of the legendary Mickey Rooney, a four-time Oscar nominee who left an unforgettable mark on the silver screen. From his controversial portrayal of Mr.Yunioshi in 1961’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s to his endearing voice work as Lampie in the beloved 1977 cartoon Pete’s Dragon, Rooney’s versatility was unmatched.

And to honor him and his legendary career, we dove deeply into his most iconic roles, the challenges of his private life and the deep friendship he shared with Judy Garland.

The early life of Mickey Rooney

Mickey Rooney was born Joe Yule Jr. on September 23, 1920, in Brooklyn, New York, and began acting in local plays and musicals early on. While performing on stage, he got noticed by various production companies and was soon chosen to become Mickey McGuire in the short film Orchids and Ermie (1926).

The actor would go on to play the character in 60 other short films and would adopt the stage name “Mickey Rooney” during his time working on them.

Then, in 1932, Rooney broke out of his Mickey McGuire box and became Midge in the film Fast Companions. But it was his work as Andy Hardy in the 1937 film A Family Affair that shot him into stardom. He would go on to portray that character nearly 20 more times throughout his career.

How Mickey Rooney met Judy Garland

Rooney met Judy Garland very early on in his career, the two first working together in the musical Babes in Arms (1939), which earned Rooney his first-ever Oscar nomination. The duo would go on to star in nine more films together between 1937 and 1947.

Because of their close relationship and undeniable chemistry, many believed that the two were romantically involved; however, Rooney has gone on record saying that the two were just really good friends.

But to be sure, that friendship was not without its challenges. Since their filming schedules were so intense, production studios gave both of them a lot of drugs to keep them alert and awake. Rooney was in his early 20s at the time and would soon develop a very serious drug problem.

The actor from his 20s to His 40s

Rooney began the 1940s fresh off his Oscar nomination and would soon earn another in 1944 for his work in The Human Comedy. He would work in 23 total titles between the years of 1940 and 1949, including National Velvet (1944) alongside Elizabeth Taylor.

He would then go on to work on 32 titles in the 1950s, including the short-lived TV show entitled The Mickey Rooney Show.

The actor’s most controversial part would come in 1961 when he became Mr.Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. In the film, Yunioshi is an Asian photographer who lives on the top floor of Holly Golightly’s (Audrey Hepburn) apartment building. The problem — and controversy — came from the fact that Rooney was a white man who got put in heavy makeup to appear Asian.

“It’s terribly sad, and I feel bad for the people taking offense,” Rooney said before his death. “I wouldn’t offend any person, be they black, Asian or whatever.”

However, during that same interview in 2008, Rooney said, “Never in all the more than 40 years after we made it [Breakfast at Tiffany’s] — not one complaint. Every place I’ve gone in the world, people say, ‘You were so funny.’ Asians and Chinese come up to me and say, ‘Mickey, you were out of this world.'” How’s that for a contrasting view from the same person?

The actor’s later life

One thing is clear. Over the course of his life, Rooney’s professional career never slowed down. In 1970, he voiced Kris Kringle in the classic Christmas TV special Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town.

Rooney would go on to lend his voice to the beloved film Pete’s Dragon (1977) and the heartbreaking Disney film The Fox and The Hound (1981). A year later, he starred in Bill: On His Own (1982), which earned him an Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special category.

After that, Rooney landed a starring role in the 1990s show The New Adventures of the Black Stallion, based on the 1979 movie The Black Stallion, which ran for three years and a total of 78 episodes.

Other titles that the actor worked on towards the end of his life were The First of May (1999), Night at the Museum (2006) and Lost Stallions: The Journey Home (2008).

The personal life of Mickey Rooney

Rooney was married nine different times over the course of his life, most of which ended in divorce because of his temper, which sometimes caused him to leave the house for days or even weeks on end.

In 1942, Rooney married 19-year-old starlet Ava Gardner, however they divorced a year later, reportedly because of alleged infidelity.

From 1944 to 1949, he was married to singer songwriter Betty Jane Phillips, followed by actress Martha Vickers (1949 to 1951),

Next up was actress Elaine Devry (1952 to 1958), the two of them divorcing after Rooney’s affair with model and actress Barbara Ann Thomason (1958 until her death in 1966), who found herself pregnant.

The marriage with Thomason also ended sadly, because Rooney was almost $500,000 in debt and owed $100,000 in tax payments. This officially caused him to declare bankruptcy in 1962, leading both Thomason and Rooney to have affairs and eventually separate.

Thomason was tragically shot to death in 1966, and while mourning her death, Rooney ran right into the arms of her close friend, Marge Lane. The two were married for 100 days.

Surprisingly, despite having been married seven times before, Rooney never had a Vegas wedding, but that changed when, at 48, he decided to marry eighth wife, Carolyn Hockett, who was 25. The two remained together for six years and had one child together.

Rooney’s ninth and final marriage was in 1978. Her name was Jan Rooney, and the two remained married until his death on April 6, 2014.

The death of Mickey Rooney

Mickey Rooney died in 2014 from natural causes. He was 93, and his legacy continues to live on through his nine children and the 334 performances credited to him.

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