The Life and Times of Mickey Rooney

by Richard A. Lertzman

  In our research, we were lucky to have the help of family members, friends, associates, film historians, psychiatrists, attorneys, and others whose help we gratefully acknowledge. This book would have been incomplete without the invaluable assistance of, first of all, the Mick himself; the wonderful members of the Rooney family, especially Jan Rooney and Mickey’s oldest daughter, Kelly Rooney; her younger sister Kerry Rooney Mack; son Teddy Rooney, who, despite his critical illness, was a valuable resource as he communicated with us through his respirator. Teddy’s wife, Carol, was a huge help, as was Mickey’s oldest stepson, Christopher Aber. Dan Kessel, a stepbrother to the Rooney brothers, looked up to Mickey Jr., Timmy, and Teddy and was an important asset to this book in every way. Jan Rooney’s sister Ronna Riley was a great help as well. Grandson Hunter Rooney was also very helpful, as was Pam McClenathan, the patron saint to many in the Rooney family. She played an important role in the care of Mickey’s late son, Timmy, during his fatal illness, and to Mickey’s second wife, Betty Jane Rase, and to third wife Martha Vickers. She now provides hospice care at her own home for son Teddy Rooney. We are indebted to Pam for her kindness, her memory, and the countless records and photographs she provided that helped complete this book.

  Our list of thank-yous continues with the Hollywood legends themselves, whose interviews became the background for this story. These include directors and producers George Cukor, Billy Wilder, William Asher, Dick Cavett, Jules White, Hal Roach, and Edward Bernds; writers, performers, and producers such as Sam Marx, Sheldon Leonard, Leonard Stern, Art Linkletter, Lois Linkletter, Bob Denver, Tony Curtis, Wallace Seawell, Roscoe Lee Browne, Roddy McDowall, Patty Andrews, Eddie Fisher, Milton Berle, Phil Silvers, Eddie Carroll, Frank Bank, Ann B. Davis, Joey Bishop, Larry Gelbart, Del Reisman, Paul Henning, Dick Wesson, Robert Finkel, Irving Brecher, Hal Kanter, Morey Amsterdam, Ben Starr, Gary Owens, Sid Caesar, Richard L. Bare, Frank Faylen, Carol Hughes Faylen, Alice Ghostley, Bud Abbott, Grady Sutton, Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe Besser, Emil Sitka, Babe London, and Jean Hagen; talk show legend Joe Franklin; actress Carla Laemmle (niece of Universal founder Carl Laemmle); film editor Stanley Frazen; comic Billy Gilbert; and comedy duo George Burns and Gracie Allen. Using our combined notes dating back to the late 1960s, we were able to cull memories not only of Rooney but also of the era of burlesque and vaudeville, the structure and background of the film studios, and of the films specifically—all of which allowed us to paint a historical picture of the entertainment industry that Mickey thrived in for more than nine decades. We appreciate the assistance of Aaron P. McGarvey and Stephanie Reynolds.

  Many others helped us with their memories of Mickey, a veritable “Who’s Who” of Hollywood legends. We need to thank film legend Jerry Lewis, Julie Newmar, Academy Award–winning screenwriter Barry Morrow, artist and writer Stephen Carnegie, Scott Michaels, autograph expert Nelson Deedle, book editor and Sirius Radio host Judith Regan, film director Paul Sirmons, Mickey publicist Dick Guttman, filmmaker Fredrica “Fredde” Duke, our friend Melody Doff, film historian Lou Sabini, comic Rip Taylor, director William Friedkin, actress Quinn O’Hara, actress June Wilkinson, actress Jane Withers, MGM actress Margaret O’Brien, John Iachetti and Michael Feinstein, TV historian and friend Stuart Shostak, The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg, Hollywood autograph impresario Ray Courts, the talented comic legend Shecky Greene, actor Walter Willison, Los Angeles Times reporter Susan King, film director Brian Barsuglia, and actor David Beatty. Also to my great friend, the talented and brilliant Austin “Rocky” Kalish and his wife, the pioneering writer Irma Kalish; musician Richard Kates; historian and attorney Jay Stiefel; professor Adrienne Stiefel Callander, granddaughter of Mickey’s partner and manager Sam Stiefel; author Steve Cox; author and film historian James Robert Parish; actor and producer Tim Dorian, television legend Norman Lear; TV writer and producer Bernie Orenstein; Saul Turteltaub; director Caroll Ballard; director Shawn Levy of the Night at the Museum films; film producer Kiel Servideo; actor Jerry Perna; writer Kliph Nesteroff; Hawaiian columnist and writer Pomai Souza; performer Nalani Kele; producer Karen Kramer and her daughter, actress Katherine “Kat” Kramer; actress Eileen Wesson; author and television columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer Mark Dawidziak; writer Monika Henreid; writer Meredith Ponedel; writer and celebrity columnist Richard Skipper; comic Sandy Hackett; Leatrice Gilbert Fountain; photo maven Howard Mandelbaum; author Ted Schwarz; Rooney estate executor and attorney Michael Augustine; Rooney attorney Bruce Ross; actor Ron Masak, publicist Roger Neal; comedy writer and historian Geoffrey Mark; Scott Gorenstein; actress Cathy Silvers; author E. J. Fleming; author Scott Eyman; Mickey’s longtime manager and agent Robert Malcolm; writer Jean Rouverol; actress Shirley Jean Rickert; film director Keith Black; Mike D’Uva; classic film actress Marcy McGuire Cassell; film actor Wally Cassell; influential film historian and Penn State professor Dr. Kevin Hagopian; Max “Jethro” Baer Jr., of The Beverly Hillbillies; Rick Donat; producer Chris Lewis; Page Six columnist Cindy Adams; actor Martin Milner; syndicated columnist Liz Smith; Jennie Sevano; television historian Joel B. Gibson; Bud Abbott’s nephew, TV and film director Norman Abbott; TV producer Michael Stern; film historian and author Jordan R. Young; TV director Peter Baldwin; actress/singer/dancer Ann Jillian and her husband, Andy Murcia; Jason, Sonja, Andrew, and Alyssa McGarvey; author Chris Costello, Lou Costello’s daughter; Valentina Quinn; actor Dwayne Hickman; actress and former California state senator Sheila James Kuehl; actor William Schallert, television legend Alan Young of Mr. Ed; television historian Barry Grauman; actor Ed Asner; Joan Howard Maurer, Moe Howard’s daughter; Bill Berle, Milton’s son; author Gerald Clarke; Edward “Ned” Comstock of the USC Film and Television Archives; journalist Sam Maronie; Norman Brokaw of William Morris Group; actor Jamie Farr; radio host Doug McDuff; actress Vicki Lawrence; character actor Jason Wingreen; writer Monty Aidem; legendary MCA agent and VP Jay Kanter; actress Melinda Cummings Cameron, Robert Cummings’s daughter; actress Linda Henning, of Petticoat Junction; Rose Marie, of The Dick Van Dyke Show; actor Robert Easton; singer Phyllis McGuire, of the McGuire Sisters; Susan Oka from the Margaret Herrick Library, of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; publisher Larry Flynt; and countless others. If we left off your name, please forgive us.

  We also thank Donald Trump for his advice and insights into Mickey’s life. We thank the theatrical producer of Sugar Babies, Terry Allen Kramer; Roger Kahn and Jeanine Basinger, for the foreword and introduction, respectively; and the talented actor Paul Petersen (a former Mouseketeer, Jeff on The Donna Reed Show, and founder of A Minor Consideration) for his perceptive piece, which touches upon the pitfalls of being a child star. We are also thankful to the talented author Ellen Easton for her help and her contribution to this book.

  We are indebted to our editors, Mitchell Ivers and Natasha Simons, at Gallery Books, for their guidance and direction. They helped us through the publishing process, enabling us to shape and create what we hope will be an enduring chronicle of the historic career and life of Mickey Rooney.

  Rick and I are thankful for the background help we received from our family members, who were, in their different capacities, part of Hollywood history, ranging from performers and entertainment lawyers to agents and managers.

  From Rick Lertzman: I’d like to send my unconditional love and my heart to my wife, Diana. Without my Lady Di and her unflinching support, I could never have attempted to undertake this project, which took my full focus. It was Mickey 24/7 during the research and writing, and throughout that process, she was my rock and sounding board. My love to my son, Matthew, for his great support as well.

  From Bill Birnes: Thanks to my wife, Nancy Hayfield, for her love, her patience, and her support; to my children and grandchildren, who will now get the attention they deserve; and to my son David, who was there whenever necessary. Finally, to the great vaudeville team of Burns and Kaye, whose Broadway patter, songs, and taps on the bottoms of their dance shoes still echo in the rafters
of the Palace Theatre.

  Appendix

  Mickey Rooney Filmography and Credits (in Chronological Order)

  Sources listed here are from http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Mickey_Rooney.aspx and FilmReference.com.

  FILM WORK

  Mickey McGuire Short Film Series

  In this series, he played Mickey McGuire, but was billed variously as Mickey Yule or Mickey McGuire.

  Mickey’s Circus, 1927

  Mickey’s Pals, 1927

  Mickey’s Eleven, 1927

  Mickey’s Battle, 1927

  Mickey’s Parade, 1928

  Mickey in School, 1928

  Mickey’s Nine, 1928

  Mickey’s Little Eva, 1928

  Mickey’s Wild West, 1928

  Mickey in Love, 1928

  Mickey’s Triumph, 1928

  Mickey’s Babies, 1928

  Mickey’s Movies, 1928

  Mickey’s Rivals, 1928

  Mickey the Detective, 1928

  Mickey’s Athletes, 1928

  Mickey’s Big Game Hunt, 1928

  Mickey’s Great Idea, 1929

  Mickey’s Menagerie, 1929

  Mickey’s Last Chance, 1929

  Mickey’s Brown Derby, 1929

  Mickey’s Northwest Mounted, 1929

  Mickey’s Initiation, 1929

  Mickey’s Midnite Follies, 1929

  Mickey’s Surprise, 1929

  Mickey’s Mix-Up, 1929

  Mickey’s Big Moment, 1929

  Mickey’s Strategy, 1929

  Mickey’s Champs, 1930

  Mickey’s Explorers, 1930

  Mickey’s Master Mind, 1930

  Mickey’s Luck, 1930

  Mickey’s Whirlwinds, 1930

  Mickey’s Warriors, 1930

  Mickey the Romeo, 1930

  Mickey’s Merry Men, 1930

  Mickey’s Winners (also known as Mickey Wins the Day), 1930

  Mickey’s Musketeers, 1930

  Mickey’s Bargain, 1930

  Mickey’s Stampede, 1931

  Mickey’s Crusaders, 1931

  Mickey’s Rebellion, 1931

  Mickey’s Diplomacy, 1931

  Mickey’s Wildcats, 1931

  Mickey’s Thrill Hunters, 1931

  Mickey’s Helping Hand, 1931

  Mickey’s Sideline, 1931

  Mickey’s Busy Day, 1932

  Mickey’s Travels, 1932

  Mickey’s Holiday, 1932

  Mickey’s Big Business, 1932

  Mickey’s Golden Rule, 1932

  Mickey’s Charity, 1932

  Orchids and Ermine, 1927

  Mickey’s Ape Man, 1933

  Mickey’s Race, 1933

  Mickey’s Big Broadcast, 1933

  Mickey’s Disguises, 1933

  Mickey’s Touchdown, 1933

  Mickey’s Tent Show, 1933

  Mickey’s Covered Wagon, 1933

  Mickey’s Minstrels, 1934

  The Lost Jungle, 1934

  Mickey’s Rescue, 1934

  Mickey’s Medicine Man, 1934

  Andy Hardy Series (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

  Mickey Rooney played the title role of Andy Hardy.

  A Family Affair (also known as Skidding and Stand Accused), 1937

  You’re Only Young Once, 1937

  Judge Hardy’s Children, 1938

  Love Finds Andy Hardy, 1938

  Out West with the Hardys, 1938

  Loews Christmas Greeting (The Hardy Family), 1938

  The Hardys Ride High, 1939

  Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever, 1939

  Judge Hardy and Son, 1939

  Andy Hardy’s Dilemma (short film; also known as Andy Hardy’s Dilemma: A Lesson in Mathematics . . . and Other Things), 1940

  Andy Hardy Meets Debutante, 1940

  Andy Hardy’s Private Secretary, 1941

  Life Begins for Andy Hardy, 1941

  The Courtship of Andy Hardy, 1942

  Andy Hardy’s Double Life, 1942

  Andy Hardy’s Blonde Trouble, 1944

  Love Laughs at Andy Hardy (also known as Uncle Andy Hardy), 1946

  Andy Hardy Comes Home, 1958

  Alone: Life Wastes Andy Hardy (short film), Canyon Cinema, 1998 (in archive footage)

  Motion Pictures

  Some sources cite an appearance in a version of Heidi.

  Not to Be Trusted, 1926 (short)

  Midget, the Nephew

  The Beast of the City, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1932

  Mickey Fitzpatrick

  Sin’s Pay Day, 1932

  Chubby Dennis

  High Speed, Columbia, 1932

  Buddy Whipple

  Fast Companions (also known as Caliente and the Information Kid), Universal, 1932

  Midge

  My Pal the King, Universal, 1932

  King Charles V

  Officer Thirteen

  Buddy Malone (billed as Mickey McGuire)

  Emma, 1932

  Sonny (unbilled bit part)

  The Big Cage, 1933

  Jimmy O’Hara

  The Life of Jimmy Dolan (also known as The Kid’s Last Fight), 1933

  Freckles

  The Big Chance, 1933

  Arthur Wilson

  Broadway to Hollywood (also known as March of Time, Ring up the Curtain, and Show World), 1933

  Young Ted Hackett III

  The Chief (also known as My Old Man’s a Fireman), 1933

  Willie

  The World Changes, 1933

  Otto Peterson as a child

  Beloved, 1934

  Tommy

  I Like It That Way, 1934

  Messenger

  Upperworld (also known as Upper World), 1934

  Jerry (scenes deleted)

  Manhattan Melodrama, 1934

  Blackie at age twelve

  Love Birds, 1934

  Gladwyn Tootle

  Half a Sinner, 1934

  Willie Clark

  Blind Date (also known as Her Sacrifice), 1934

  Freddie

  Hide-Out, 1934

  William “Willie” Miller

  Chained, 1934

  Boy Shipboard Swimmer (uncredited)

  Death on the Diamond, 1934

  Mickey

  The County Chairman, 1935

  Freckles

  Reckless, 1935

  Eddie

  The Healer (also known as Little Pal), 1935

  Jimmy

  A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 1935

  Puck, or Robin Goodfellow

  Rendezvous, 1935

  Country Boy (uncredited)

  Ah, Wilderness!, 1935

  Tommy Miller

  Riffraff, 1936

  Jimmy Thurger

  Pirate Party on Catalina Island, 1935

  Himself

  Little Lord Fauntleroy, 1936

  Dick Tipton

  The Devil Is a Sissy (also known as The Devil Takes the Count), 1936

  James “Gig” Stevens

  Down the Stretch, 1936

  Fred “Snappy” Sinclair

  The Lost Jungle, 1934

  Boy with Dog (uncredited)

  Captains Courageous, 1937

  Dan Troop

  Slave Ship, 1937

  Swifty

  Hoosier Schoolboy (also known as Forgotten Hero and Yesterday’s Hero), 1937

  Shockey Carter

  Live, Love and Learn, 1937

  Jerry Crump

  Cinema Circus, 1937

  Himself

  Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry, 1937

  Timmie “Tim” Donovan

  Love Is a Headache, 1938

  Mike O’Toole

  Hold That Kiss, 1938

  Chick Evans

  Hollywood Handicap, 1938

  Himself

  Lord Jeff (also known as The Boy from Barnardo’s), 1938

  Terry O’Mulvaney

  Boys Town, 1938

  Whitey Marsh

  Stablemates, 1938

  Michael “Micke
y”

  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (also known as Huckleberry Finn) 1939

  Huckelberry Finn

  Babes in Arms (musical), 1939

  Mickey Moran

  Young Tom Edison, 1940

  Thomas Alva “Tom” Edison

  Strike up the Band (musical), 1940

  James “Jimmy” Connors

  Rodeo Dough, 1940

  Himself

  Trifles of Importance, 1940 (in archive footage)

  Babes on Broadway (musical), 1941

  Tommy “Tom” Williams

  Men of Boys Town, 1941

  Whitey Marsh

  A Yank at Eton, 1942

  Timothy Dennis

  Personalities, 1942 (in archive footage of screen test)

  The Human Comedy, 1943

  Homer Macauley

  Thousands Cheer (musical), 1943

  Master of Ceremonies at Show

  Girl Crazy (musical; also known as When the Girls Meet the Boys), 1943

  Danny Churchill Jr.

  Show Business at War (also known as The March of Time, Volume IX, Issue 10), 1943

  Himself

  National Velvet, 1944

  Mi Taylor

  Mickey the Great (short film), 1946

  Screen Snapshots Series 27, No. 3: Out of This World Series, 1947

  Himself

  Killer McCoy, 1947

  Tommy McCoy

  Summer Holiday (musical), 1948

  Richard Miller

  Words and Music (musical), 1948

  Lorenz Hart

  The Big Wheel, 1949

  Billy Coy

  Quicksand, 1950

  Daniel “Dan” Brady

  The Fireball (also known as The Challenge), 1950

  Johnny Casar

  He’s a Cockeyed Wonder, 1950

  Freddie Frisby

  The Strip, 1951

  Stanley Maxton

  My Outlaw Brother (also known as My Brother, the Outlaw), 1951

  J. Dennis “Denny” O’Moore

  Sound Off, 1952

  Mike Donnelly

  All Ashore, 1953

  Francis “Moby” Dickerson

  Off Limits (also known as Military Policeman), 1953