.
Posted on 04/09/2014 11:30:58 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Actor Mickey Rooney (1920-2014) was a man of great patriotism and faith. These were his greatest roles.
The number one box office star in America during the greatest years of the Hollywood Golden Age, 1939-1941, was not Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, Judy Garland, or even Jimmy Stewart. It was Mickey Rooney.
Rooney died Sunday at age 93. His acting career, begun on Vaudeville and matured in Hollywood, spanned over 90 years and ten decades. Mickey Rooney starred in over 300 films and was one of the last surviving stars of the silent film era. Rooney was awarded an Honorary Oscar in 1939 for his teenage roles and a lifetime achievement award in 1983. For years he was also the last surviving star portrayed in 1941’s Hollywood Steps Out; one of the first color cartoons.
However, these were not Rooney’s greatest roles. At the height of his career Rooney joined the United States Army in World War II. Like other Hollywood stars, such as Jimmy Stewart and Clark Gable, Rooney went from making millions of dollars a year to low pay (50 dollars a month as a buck private) in the Army. He went into Special Services, entertaining soldiers in the European Theatre and was awarded a Bronze Star before being discharged as Sergeant Mickey Rooney.
Giving up his Hollywood career during the war, along with no longer being a teenager that audiences knew, led to a nosedive in Rooney’s career. Continued failed marriages and bankruptcies availed him. Drinking became his calling card.
An experience in a casino where a man (whom Rooney believed was angelic) told him that Jesus loved him, changed his life. Mickey Rooney developed into an unabashed Christian and boldly spoke of how Christ and faith were needed in Hollywood. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU8gJkY1A2w
He also became a life long advocate for supporting the military. Rooney was a lifelong member of American Legion Post 43 in Hollywood, proudly sporting his American Legion cap and speaking at countless USO and other Veteran events. Rooney also became an advocate for the elderly and urged young people to take in the wisdom of older people. He also never quit working and at age 93 was recently filming scenes for the film Night at the Museum 3, scheduled for release in December of this year.
Mickey Rooney was the first to tell the world that he was not perfect. Despite family intrigue and infighting in his last few years, Mickey Rooney remained bold and steadfast about his love of country and faith. These were his greatest roles and in these Mickey Rooney, starred, and finished, well.
For those who don’t know, Rooney’s oldest child, Mickey Rooney, Jr., is a born-again Christian, and has an evangelical ministry in Hemet, California.
He was a good friend of Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Mickey Rooney was at Reagan’s funeral at the Reagan Library.
Mickey Rooney was in “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.” I think Jerry Lewis is the only one of the many stars in that movie who is still alive.
He was married 8 times, but the last marriage lasted more than 40 years. If a first you don’t succeed, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try again.
RIP to a great guy.
RE: If a first you don’t succeed, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try again.
See my tagline...
Does that come before or after "'til death do us part"?
“I think Jerry Lewis is the only one of the many stars in that movie who is still alive.”
Carl Reiner is 90.
My favorite movie of his was the Christmas TV movie “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” with Scott Grimes, who went on to be in the Band of Brothers series.
.
I personally liked him in that role ( and believe me, I have LOTS of Japanese friends who are NOT like that ).
However, for some reason, many people today hate that role and call it a racist stereotype. I tell them to cool it, it’s about ONE INDIVIDUAL, not about ALL Japanese.
You might as well call every single portrayal of a dumb white guy racist if you want to be consistent.
Mickey was a great talent, but he couldn’t afford to retire. Between all those wives, playing the horses and theft by his step-son, Mickey had only $18,000 in the bank when he died. Details of his will were released today, and it looks like he disinherited everyone except one of his sons.
I can’t decide which was more awful, that character or the movie itself.
With Mickey gone, it truly is the end of an era. There are no people in the business today that can encapsulate the multi talent that he had.
He could do it all- write, sing, dance, play almost any instrument and make you laugh or cry.
Mickey Rooney and Doris Day were the most talented of them all, truly American treasures- the likes of which we will never see again.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3140772/posts
Homer becomes the night messenger at the telegraph office, but dislikes having to deliver telegram from the War Department notifying relatives of the serviceman's death.
At the end of the movie, a telegraph comes in at the office - stating that Homer's brother has been killed. The telegraph master offers to deliver the message - but Homer says no, its his job.
Homer bicycles over to his family home in his telegraph messenger's uniform, knocks on the door and delivers the telegram when his mother answers. This is the end of the movie and you now know that he has truly grown up and become a man.
His character in Night at the Museum is absolutely hysterical.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.