What better network to remember the long-lived Mickey Rooney than TCM?
Mickey Rooney, born Joseph Yule Jr. in 1920, started performing at age 6. He reached the pinnacle of his career in the pre-WWII years of 1939, ‘40 and ‘41, when he was by far Hollywood’s top-grossing box-office star. He typically played a little brother character, immortalized in the 15 Andy Hardy films in which Rooney stars, including “Babe in Arms” opposite Judy Garland. In 1944, he co-starred in “National Velvet” with a young Elizabeth Taylor in a role that launched her career. Like most child actors, his star faded in the post-war years, but he kept plugging along, reinventing himself as a character actor.
The impish Rooney had his ups and downs—including eight marriages—and went through years of not being seen on screen or stage, but he worked throughout his long life. His role as Audrey Hepburn’s Chinese landlord in 1961’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” was controversial, although the film remains a cinematic favorite. Kids across the country loved him in 1977’s partially animated “Pete’s Dragon.” In 1979, he won acclaim for his role in “The Black Stallion” and in 1998, he lent voice and song to “Babe: Pig in the City.” In 1983, he was awarded his second honorary Oscar. Throughout his life, he appeared in more than 200 films.
Rooney died Sunday at his North Hollywood home at age 93, surrounded by family and his wife of 37 years, Jan Chamberlin Rooney.
TCM will honor Rooney on Sunday, April 13 with a day-long marathon of his films. The schedule is below:
6 a.m. – Broadway to Hollywood (1933)
7:30 a.m. – The Devil is a Sissy (1936)
9:15 a.m. – A Family Affair (1937)
10:30 a.m. – You’re Only Young Once (1938)
Noon – Captains Courageous (1937)
2 p.m. – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939)
3:45 p.m. – The Human Comedy (1943)
6 p.m. – Killer McCoy (1947)
8 p.m. – Boys Town (1938)
10 p.m. – Men of Boys Town (1941)
Midnight – National Velvet (1944)
2:15 a.m. – Babes on Broadway (1941)
4:30 a.m. – A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935)
Read More: Los Angeles Times, USA Today
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