Mickey Rooney, who’s believed to be the last of the silent movie stars, has died aged 93. He had the longest film career of anyone in cinema history, making his first appearance on-screen in 1926 when he was only five-years-old, while his final film, a remake of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, hasn’t even been released yet.
Rooney started out in the 1920s as the child star of the incredibly popular Mickey McGuire shorts. That segued into a very successful film career as a young adult in the 1930s, which included the Andy Hardy movies. These helped make him the biggest movie star in the world in 1939, and also began a successful on-screen partnership with Judy Garland.
His success continued into the 1940s, leading to him signing up for the Army in World War 2 and spending two years entertaining the troops. While he never matched his all conquering comedy film success after the War, Rooney never went away, often brought in for comic supporting roles in the likes of Breakfast At Tiffany’s (which was controversial from the start as he played a Japanese stereotype) and guest roles in a long list of TV shows.
In more recent years he’s often been called upon for small roles in the likes of Then Muppets and Night At The Museum. Despite his advancing years he always kept busy, including touring a one-man show around the world where he reminisced about his years in the movies.
He had a truly incredible career and he’s one of those people who most of us only remember popping up every now and then in movies looking impressively round and wrinkly. However if you can grab a biography, you realise what an astonishing and busy life he led.
Mickey Rooney – RIP
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