# RIP Mickey Rooney. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 7, 2014, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526 "2014-04-07T03:34:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526/1 "2014-04-07T03:34:44Z")
He had a nice, long life though, at least. [Story here.](http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2014/04/06/mickey-rooney-dies/7404557/) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526/2 "2014-04-07T03:38:57Z")
Jimminy Jillikers! Interesting fact: Rooney was the number one box office draw in 1939 to 1940 - spanning two decades. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526/3 "2014-04-07T03:48:21Z")
I saw him on Broadway in Sugar Babies. He was great - you could feel the charisma from the middle of the theater. I guess I should find one of his old movies. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526/4 "2014-04-07T03:56:03Z")
The door is almost closed on the “Golden Age” of Hollywood. Great performer. He’ll be missed. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526/5 "2014-04-07T04:00:20Z")
They brought Sugar Babies to Little Rock in 1987 or 88?? and I really enjoyed Rooney’s performance. He had an amazing career. R.I.P. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526/6 "2014-04-07T04:06:06Z")
I don’t know WHY I thought I’d be the first to break this story. Scooped by you all again. RIP, Mickey. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526/7 "2014-04-07T04:11:06Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Jimminy Jillikers! > > Interesting fact: Rooney was the number one box office draw in 1939 to 1940 - spanning two decades. Is that a typo? Being the top draw in consecutive years isn’t that impressive. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526/8 "2014-04-07T04:15:31Z")
I thought he was already dead but then I remembered recently seeing him washing pretend dishes in a commercial surprisingly not about Alzheimer’s. He lived almost twice as long as the other guy who died today, Jon Pinnette. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526/9 "2014-04-07T04:32:46Z")
I was surprised at how old he was until I remembered how old I am. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526/10 "2014-04-07T04:39:28Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > Is that a typo? Being the top draw in consecutive years isn’t that impressive. Whoosh! > [@](#): > > Mickey Rooney: Hi, Milhouse. The studio sent me to talk to you, being a former child star myself, and the number one box office draw from 1939 to 1940. > Bart: Wow, spanning two decades. This board is built on _Simpsons_ references. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526/11 "2014-04-07T04:42:47Z")
How many of his ex-wives did he outlive? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526/12 "2014-04-07T05:06:26Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > How many of his ex-wives did he outlive? maybe 4 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526/13 "2014-04-07T05:12:31Z")
I first saw Mickey Rooney on talk shows and the like sometime in the 60s. He was a stubby little balding middle aged man, reputed to be major star and hearthrob. It didn’t make any sense at all. It was a few more years before I saw the younger Mickey Rooney in an Andy Hardy movie. So all of a sudden it was… well… slightly less absurd. I guess he was an attractive young man in those days, and the hottest young Hollywood actresses played opposite him in those movies. I’ve seen more of his movies since those days and he was pretty good comic actor, and he’s a part of the storied romance of show biz, a shooting star who rode the cult of celebrity through to the end of his life. Sleep tight tonight Mickey. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526/14 "2014-04-07T05:15:44Z")
I just saw him in a _Night Gallery_ rerun a few nights ago. I recall he was offered the role of Archie Bunker and turned it down. RIP, Mickey. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526/15 "2014-04-07T05:25:44Z")
He was a dreadful little goblin in person: a self pitying holier than thou hypocrite and homophobe in interviews with lots of nasty stories about his behavior. OTOH, he was one of the last bona fide superstars of the 1930s and one of the last silent movie actors, and gave some good performances (including _Bill_) in the 1980s. End of an era and all that. RIP. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526/16 "2014-04-07T05:28:43Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > How many of his ex-wives did he outlive? He and his current wife were legally separated. They were not divorced, and the marriage lasted almost 40 years, but his Elder abuse accusations against her son (I obviously have no idea as to their accuracy) caused a rift a couple of years ago, so ultimately he was 0 for 8. (Another wife died before divorcing him, but they were separated; she was murdered by her boyfriend.) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526/17 "2014-04-07T05:34:34Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > He was a dreadful little goblin in person: a self pitying holier than thou hypocrite and homophobe in interviews with lots of nasty stories about his behavior. OTOH, he was one of the last bona fide superstars of the 1930s and one of the last silent movie actors, and gave some good performances (including _Bill_) in the 1980s. End of an era and all that. RIP. He did have a very chequered life, but he was a talented performer, and “Bill” is one of the best TV movies ever made. The DVD includes a sequel, which I shut off after about 15 minutes because it was so terrible. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526/18 "2014-04-07T05:41:26Z")
I’m recording the 1922 version of The Prisoner of Zenda on the Turner Movie Network, only to see if Lewis Stone, who played Andy Hardy’s father _76 years ago_, ever looked young. The silent, eight years short of a century old, was made two years _after_ Mickey Rooney was born — to parents who performed in vaudeville. As did he, for Og’s sake. In those terms, that span of time Rooney was around is a mind-blower. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526/19 "2014-04-07T05:44:59Z")
Abe Vigoda now cries triumphantly out to the heavenlies… “There can be only one!” ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526/20 "2014-04-07T05:59:52Z")
Someone on Reddit pointed out that he started his acting career so early that he could had acted alongside Buster Keaton. And he did, but not in the silent era, they appeared together in one of the Frankie Avalon and Anette Funicello beach movies _How to Stuff a Wild Bikini_ in 1965. But I will remember more his Oscar nominated role as retired jockey Henry Dailey in _The Black Stallion_ (1979) RIP. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mickey-rooney/685526.md?page=2)