Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; September , â€" April ,
) was an American actor, vaudevillian, comedian, radio personality,
and producer. In a career spanning nine decades and continuing until
shortly before his death, he appeared in more than films and was
among the last surviving stars of the silent film era. He was the top
box-office attraction from to , and one of the best-paid actors of
that era. He won a Golden Globe Award in and an Emmy Award in .At the
height of a career marked by declines and comebacks, Rooney performed
the role of Andy Hardy in a series of films in the s and s 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 in
National Velvet and The Human Comedy, said Rooney was "the closest
thing to a genius" he had ever worked with.Rooney first performed in
vaudeville as a child and made his film debut at the age of six. At
the age of , he played Puck in the play and later the 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".
His breakthrough dramatic role came in with Boys Town. At the age of
, he was the first teenager to be nominated for an Academy Award for
his leading role in Babes in Arms, and he was awarded a special
Academy Juvenile Award in . At the peak of his career between the ages
of and , he made films, which made him one of MGM's most
consistently successful actors and a favorite of MGM studio head Louis
B. Mayer.
) was an American actor, vaudevillian, comedian, radio personality,
and producer. In a career spanning nine decades and continuing until
shortly before his death, he appeared in more than films and was
among the last surviving stars of the silent film era. He was the top
box-office attraction from to , and one of the best-paid actors of
that era. He won a Golden Globe Award in and an Emmy Award in .At the
height of a career marked by declines and comebacks, Rooney performed
the role of Andy Hardy in a series of films in the s and s 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 in
National Velvet and The Human Comedy, said Rooney was "the closest
thing to a genius" he had ever worked with.Rooney first performed in
vaudeville as a child and made his film debut at the age of six. At
the age of , he played Puck in the play and later the 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".
His breakthrough dramatic role came in with Boys Town. At the age of
, he was the first teenager to be nominated for an Academy Award for
his leading role in Babes in Arms, and he was awarded a special
Academy Juvenile Award in . At the peak of his career between the ages
of and , he made films, which made him one of MGM's most
consistently successful actors and a favorite of MGM studio head Louis
B. Mayer.
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