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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).
Golden Globe Awards
Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
Known For
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
(2014)
Gus
Breakfast at Tiffany's
(1961)
Mr. Yunioshi
The Fox and the Hound
(1981)
Tod (voice)
Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure
(2001)
Sparky (voice)
Night at the Museum
(2006)
Gus
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
(1963)
Ding 'Dingy' Bell
Babe: Pig in the City
(1998)
Fugly Floom, the Speechless Man in Hotel
The Muppets
(2011)
Smalltown Resident
Pete's Dragon
(1977)
Lampie
The Black Stallion
(1979)
Henry Dailey
Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland
(1989)
Flip (voice)
Boys Town
(1938)
Whitey Marsh
Erik the Viking
(1989)
Erik's Grandfather
Captains Courageous
(1937)
Dan Troop
Little Lord Fauntleroy
(1936)
Dick Tipton
Manhattan Melodrama
(1934)
Blackie as a Boy
Full Filmography
Acting
Mickey's Battle
(1927)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Eleven
(1927)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Circus
(1927)
Mickey McGuire
Orchids and Ermine
(1927)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Pals
(1927)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Movies
(1928)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Big Game Hunt
(1928)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey in School
(1928)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Wild West
(1928)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Rivals
(1928)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Little Eva
(1928)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey the Detective
(1928)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Brown Derby
(1929)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Big Moment
(1929)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Northwest Mounted
(1929)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Mix-Up
(1929)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Midnite Follies
(1929)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Surprise
(1929)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Great Idea
(1929)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Explorers
(1929)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Menagerie
(1929)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Luck
(1930)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Whirlwinds
(1930)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Champs
(1930)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Warriors
(1930)
Mickey McGuire
The Voice of Hollywood No. 8
(1930)
Hot Feet
(1931)
Oswald (voice) (uncredited)
The Hunter
(1931)
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (voice) (uncredited)
Mickey's Wildcats
(1931)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Rebellion
(1931)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Stampede
(1931)
Mickey McGuire
Radio Rhythm
(1931)
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (voice)
The Fisherman
(1931)
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (voice)
Mickey's Thrill Hunters
(1931)
Mickey McGuire
The Hare Mail
(1931)
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (voice)
Sin's Pay Day
(1932)
Chubby Dennis
My Pal, the King
(1932)
King Charles V
Fast Companions
(1932)
Midge
Officer Thirteen
(1932)
Buddy Malone
High Speed
(1932)
Buddy Whipple (uncredited)
The Beast of the City
(1932)
Mickey Fitzpatrick (uncredited)
Mickey's Touchdown
(1933)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Covered Wagon
(1933)
Mickey McGuire
The Chief
(1933)
Willie
The World Changes
(1933)
Otto Peterson as a Child
Mickey's Race
(1933)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Ape Man
(1933)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Tent Show
(1933)
Mickey McGuire
The Big Cage
(1933)
Jimmy O'Hara
Broadway to Hollywood
(1933)
Ted Hackett III as Child
The Big Chance
(1933)
Arthur Wilson
The Life of Jimmy Dolan
(1933)
Freckles (uncredited)
Mickey's Rescue
(1934)
Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Minstrels
(1934)
Mickey McGuire
Manhattan Melodrama
(1934)
Blackie as a Boy
Love Birds
(1934)
Gladwyn Tootle
Half a Sinner
(1934)
Willie Clark
Beloved
(1934)
Tommy, a Violin Student
Chained
(1934)
Boy Shipboard Swimmer (uncredited)
Hide-Out
(1934)
William 'Willie' Miller
Blind Date
(1934)
Freddie Taylor
Mickey's Medicine Man
(1934)
Mickey McGuire
Death on the Diamond
(1934)
Mickey
I Like it That Way
(1934)
Messenger Boy
Pirate Party on Catalina Isle
(1935)
Mickey Rooney
A Dream Comes True
(1935)
Puck (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Healer
(1935)
Jimmy
A Midsummer Night's Dream
(1935)
Puck
Reckless
(1935)
Eddie
The County Chairman
(1935)
Freckles
Rendezvous
(1935)
Country Boy (uncredited)
Ah, Wilderness!
(1935)
Tommy Miller
Down the Stretch
(1936)
Snapper Sinclair
Riffraff
(1936)
Jimmy
The Devil is a Sissy
(1936)
'Gig' Stevens
Little Lord Fauntleroy
(1936)
Dick Tipton
Slave Ship
(1937)
Swifty
Captains Courageous
(1937)
Dan Troop
You're Only Young Once
(1937)
Andy Hardy
Live, Love and Learn
(1937)
Jerry Crump
Cinema Circus
(1937)
Himself
A Family Affair
(1937)
Andy Hardy
Hoosier Schoolboy
(1937)
Shockey Carter
Thoroughbreds Don't Cry
(1937)
Timmie Donovan
Hold That Kiss
(1938)
Chick Evans
Another Romance of Celluloid
(1938)
Self (uncredited)
Hollywood Handicap
(1938)
Himself
Love Finds Andy Hardy
(1938)
Andy Hardy
Boys Town
(1938)
Whitey Marsh
March of Dimes
(1938)
Mickey
Stablemates
(1938)
Mickey
Love Is a Headache
(1938)
Mike O'Toole
Judge Hardy's Children
(1938)
Andy Hardy
Lord Jeff
(1938)
Terry O'Mulvaney
Out West with the Hardys
(1938)
Andy Hardy
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
(1939)
Huckleberry Finn
Screen Snapshots Series 18, No. 8
(1939)
Mickey Rooney
Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever
(1939)
Andy Hardy
The Hardys Ride High
(1939)
Andy Hardy
Babes in Arms
(1939)
Mickey Moran
Loews Christmas Greeting (The Hardy Family)
(1939)
Andy Hardy
Judge Hardy and Son
(1939)
Andy Hardy
From the Ends of the Earth
(1939)
Self
Young Tom Edison
(1940)
Thomas Alva 'Tom' Edison
Andy Hardy Meets Debutante
(1940)
Andy Hardy
Strike Up the Band
(1940)
Jimmy Connors
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
(1940)
Self
Rodeo Dough
(1940)
Mickey Rooney
Andy Hardy's Dilemma: A Lesson in Mathematics... and Other Things
(1940)
Andy Hardy
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
(1940)
Self
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
(1940)
Self
Trifles of Importance
(1940)
Self (archive footage)
Men of Boys Town
(1941)
Whitey Marsh
Babes on Broadway
(1941)
Tommy Williams
Andy Hardy's Private Secretary
(1941)
Andy Hardy
Life Begins for Andy Hardy
(1941)
Andy Hardy
Personalities
(1942)
Andy Hardy (screen test footage) (uncredited)
The Courtship of Andy Hardy
(1942)
Andy Hardy
Andy Hardy's Double Life
(1942)
Andy Hardy
A Yank at Eton
(1942)
Timothy Dennis
Show-Business at War
(1943)
Self
The Human Comedy
(1943)
Homer Macauley
Thousands Cheer
(1943)
Himself - Emcee at the Show
Girl Crazy
(1943)
Danny Churchill, Jr.
Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble
(1944)
Andy Hardy
National Velvet
(1945)
Michael 'Mi' Taylor
Mickey the Great
(1945)
Mickey McGuire
Love Laughs at Andy Hardy
(1946)
Andy Hardy
Killer McCoy
(1947)
Tommy McCoy / Killer McCoy
Words and Music
(1948)
Lorenz Hart
Summer Holiday
(1948)
Richard Miller
The Big Wheel
(1949)
Billy Coy
He's a Cockeyed Wonder
(1950)
Freddie Frisby
The Fireball
(1950)
Johnny Casar
Quicksand
(1950)
Daniel 'Dan' Brady
The Strip
(1951)
Stanley Maxton
My Outlaw Brother
(1951)
J. Dennis 'Denny' O'Moore
Off Limits
(1952)
Herbert Tuttle
Sound Off
(1952)
Mike Donnelly
A Slight Case of Larceny
(1953)
Augustus "Geechy" Cheevers
All Ashore
(1953)
Francis 'Moby' Dickerson
Screen Snapshots: Mickey Rooney, Then and Now
(1953)
Himself
The Atomic Kid
(1954)
Barnaby 'Blix' Waterberry
The Bridges at Toko-Ri
(1954)
Mike Forney
Drive a Crooked Road
(1954)
Eddie Shannon
The Twinkle In God's Eye
(1955)
Rev. William Macklin II
The Bold and the Brave
(1956)
Willie Dooley
Francis in the Haunted House
(1956)
David Prescott
Magnificent Roughnecks
(1956)
Frank Sommers
Mr. Broadway
(1957)
Operation Mad Ball
(1957)
MSgt. Yancy Skibo
Baby Face Nelson
(1957)
Lester M. 'Baby Face Nelson' Gillis
The Comedian
(1957)
Sammy Hogarth
Pinocchio
(1957)
Pinocchio
Andy Hardy Comes Home
(1958)
Andy Hardy
A Nice Little Bank That Should Be Robbed
(1958)
Gus Harris
The Last Mile
(1959)
'Killer' John Mears
The Big Operator
(1959)
Little Joe Braun
Platinum High School
(1960)
Steven Conway
The Private Lives of Adam and Eve
(1960)
Nick Lewis / The Devil
Everything's Ducky
(1961)
Kermit 'Beetle' McKay
King of the Roaring 20's – The Story of Arnold Rothstein
(1961)
Johnny Burke
Breakfast at Tiffany's
(1961)
Mr. Yunioshi
Who Killed Julie Greer?
(1961)
Mike Zampini
Requiem for a Heavyweight
(1962)
Army
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
(1963)
Ding 'Dingy' Bell
The Secret Invasion
(1964)
Terence Scanlon
How to Stuff a Wild Bikini
(1965)
Peachy Keane
Twenty-Four Hours to Kill
(1965)
Norman Jones
The Devil in Love
(1966)
Adramelek
Ambush Bay
(1966)
Sgt. Ernest Wartell
Skidoo
(1968)
George 'Blue Chips' Packard
Vienna
(1968)
The Extraordinary Seaman
(1969)
Cook 3 / C W.J. Oglethorpe
The Comic
(1969)
Cockeye
80 Steps to Jonah
(1969)
Wilfred Bashford
The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County
(1970)
Indian Tom
Hollywood Blue
(1970)
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
(1970)
Kris Kringle aka Santa Claus (voice)
The Manipulator
(1971)
B.J. Lang
Mooch Goes to Hollywood
(1971)
Mickey Rooney (uncredited)
Richard
(1972)
Guardian Angel
Journey Back to Oz
(1972)
Scarecrow (voice)
Pulp
(1972)
Preston Gilbert
Evil Roy Slade
(1972)
Nelson L. Stool
Fol-de-Rol
(1972)
The Executioner / Noah
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
(1972)
Self (archive footage)
The Godmothers
(1973)
Rocky Mastrasso
Thunder County
(1974)
Gas Station Attendant
That's Entertainment!
(1974)
Self - Host / Narrator
The Year Without a Santa Claus
(1974)
Santa Claus (voice)
Ace of Hearts
(1975)
Papa Joe
The Intruder
(1975)
Capt. Jenkins
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
(1975)
Self (archive footage)
From Hong Kong with Love
(1975)
Marty
The Lion Roars Again
(1975)
Self (uncredited)
Rachel's Man
(1976)
Laban
It's Showtime
(1976)
Self (archive footage)
Find the Lady
(1976)
Trigger
That's Entertainment, Part II
(1976)
(archive footage)
The Domino Principle
(1977)
Spiventa
Pete's Dragon
(1977)
Lampie
The Magic of Lassie
(1978)
Gus
Mickey's 50
(1978)
Self
Arabian Adventure
(1979)
Daad El Shur
The Black Stallion
(1979)
Henry Dailey
Donovan's Kid
(1979)
Bailey
Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July
(1979)
Santa Claus (voice)
My Kidnapper, My Love
(1980)
The Maker
From Raquel with Love
(1980)
Paradise Cab Company cabbie
Leave 'Em Laughing
(1981)
Jack Thum
Bill
(1981)
Bill Sackter
The Fox and the Hound
(1981)
Tod (voice)
Senior Trip
(1981)
Self
Creole
(1981)
Narrator
Night of 100 Stars
(1982)
Self
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
(1982)
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood’s Children
(1982)
Self (archive footage)
The Emperor of Peru
(1982)
The Engineer
Showbiz Goes to War
(1982)
(archive footage)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
(1983)
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Errol Flynn: Portrait of a Swashbuckler
(1983)
Self
Bill: On His Own
(1983)
Bill Sackter
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
(1984)
Mike Halligan
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
(1985)
Self (archive footage)
The Care Bears Movie
(1985)
Mr. Cherrywood (voice)
Lightning, the White Stallion
(1986)
Barney Ingram
The Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer
(1986)
Jack Bergan
The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn
(1986)
Self
Little Spies
(1986)
James Turner
There Must Be a Pony
(1986)
Himself (uncredited)
Bluegrass
(1988)
John Paul Jones
Erik the Viking
(1989)
Erik's Grandfather
Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland
(1989)
Flip (voice)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic
(1990)
Self (archive footage)
Home for Christmas
(1990)
Elmer
Anthony Quinn: An Original
(1990)
Self (archive footage)
Adventures of the Black Stallion
(1990)
Henry Dailey
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
(1991)
Junion
Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker
(1991)
Joe Petto
Something a Little Less Serious: A Tribute to 'It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World'
(1991)
Self (archive footage)
The Legend of Wolf Mountain
(1992)
Pat Jensen
The Magic Voyage
(1992)
Narrator (voice)
Maximum Force
(1992)
Chief of Police
Sweet Justice
(1993)
Zeke
The Milky Life
(1993)
Barry Reilly
Making Waves
(1994)
Gabriel
Revenge of the Red Baron
(1994)
Grandpa Spencer
The Our Gang Story
(1994)
Self (archive footage)
That's Entertainment! III
(1994)
Self - Co-Host / Narrator
Liberation
(1994)
Self (archive footage)
Brothers' Destiny
(1995)
Father Flanagan
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
(1995)
Self
Outlaws: The Legend of O.B. Taggart
(1995)
O.B. Taggart
Private Screenings: Mickey Rooney
(1997)
Self
Killing Midnight
(1997)
Professor Mort Sang
Animals with the Tollkeeper
(1998)
Tollkeeper
Sinbad: The Battle of the Dark Knights
(1998)
Sage
Michael Kael vs. the World News Company
(1998)
Griffith
Babe: Pig in the City
(1998)
Fugly Floom, the Speechless Man in Hotel
Internet Love
(1998)
Self
Alone. Life Wastes Andy Hardy
(1998)
(archive footage)
Boys Will Be Boys
(1999)
Wellington
The First of May
(1999)
Boss Ed
Phantom of the Megaplex
(2000)
Movie Mason
Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure
(2001)
Sparky (voice)
Broadway's Lost Treasures
(2003)
Mickey (segment "Sugar Babies")
Hollywood Legenden
(2004)
Self
Illusion Infinity
(2004)
Simon / Henry, Sr.
To Kill a Mockumentary
(2004)
Max
Judy Garland: By Myself
(2004)
Self - Actor (voice)
The Last Confederate: The Story of Robert Adams
(2005)
David McCord
The Happy Elf
(2005)
Santa Claus
Silent Hollywood: Cult, Stars, Scandals
(2005)
Self
Hedy Lamarr: Secrets of a Hollywood Star
(2006)
The Thirsting
(2006)
Savy
Night at the Museum
(2006)
Gus
The Dawn of Sound: How Movies Learned to Talk
(2007)
Self
A Christmas Too Many
(2007)
Grandpa
Lost Stallions: The Journey Home
(2008)
Chief
Empire State Building Murders
(2008)
Mickey Silver
A Miser Brothers' Christmas
(2008)
Santa Claus (voice)
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History
(2008)
Self
Mr. Yunioshi: An Asian Perspective
(2009)
Self (archive footage)
The Polio Crusade
(2009)
Archive Footage (from March of Dimes)
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
(2009)
Self (archive footage)
Marilyn Monroe: I Want to Be Loved
(2010)
Self
Marilyn Monroe: Death of an Icon
(2010)
Self
Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon
(2011)
Self
The Muppets
(2011)
Smalltown Resident
Night Club
(2011)
Jerry Sherman
The Voices from Beyond
(2012)
Johnny O'Hara
Driving Me Crazy
(2012)
Mr. Cohen
The Outrageous Sophie Tucker
(2014)
Himself
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
(2014)
Gus
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
(2017)
Mr. Louis
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood
(2019)
(archive footage)
Marilyn and I
(2019)
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood, la vie rêvée de Lana Turner
(2019)
Self (archive footage)
Sid & Judy
(2019)
Self (archive footage)
Showbiz Kids
(2020)
Self (archive footage)
Production
Directing
Writing