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Here's to the little guy. Mickey Rooney passed away at 93, before my time but I remember watching some of his Hardy Family films, a versatile actor.
RIP.

John Lennon was famously quoted as saying he never wanted to end up like Mickey Rooney. I never understood what that meant. I still don't.

He died again???

Great actor. Brilliant actor, Brando called him one of the greatest actors whose talent was overshadowed by his lack of movie star looks. In those days, you had to look like a leading man. Rooney was something we now call a 'character actor'.
guys like DeVito, Steve Buscemi and on and on...
When he wasn't singing and dancing in Berkley musicals, Rooney could be a very naturalistic actor, way before the Brando, Dean era.
And Rooney was one of the few actors from that time that praised the Brandos and Deans when they emerged.
A true all-around entertainer in the old fashioned sense - the guy could do anything...
I also love the fact that he was getting blowjobs in dressing rooms from
Norma Shear and other Golden Age actresses when he was a kid at the MGM lot.
He could be too much (Breakfast at Tiffany's), but when he was good, he was really good.

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tatters
John Lennon was famously quoted as saying he never wanted to end up like Mickey Rooney. I never understood what that meant. I still don't.

James Dean said something similar - I don't know how Lennon meant it, but according to Martin Landau, he and Dean used to talk about Rooney, and what a great actor he was, but limited because he looked 'young' even as an older man...and Dean said he didn't want that to happen to him.

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stupidguy2
Great actor. Brilliant actor, Brando called him one of the greatest actors whose talent was overshadowed by his lack of movie star looks. In those days, you had to look like a leading man. Rooney was something we now call a 'character actor'.
guys like DeVito, Steve Buscemi and on and on...
When he wasn't singing and dancing in Berkley musicals, Rooney could be a very naturalistic actor, way before the Brando, Dean era.
And Rooney was one of the few actors from that time that praised the Brandos and Deans when they emerged.
A true all-around entertainer in the old fashioned sense - the guy could do anything...
I also love the fact that he was getting blowjobs in dressing rooms from
Norma Shear and other Golden Age actresses when he was a kid at the MGM lot.
He could be too much (Breakfast at Tiffany's), but when he was good, he was really good.

I actually loved his Breakfast at Tiffany's role - over the top, and so funny. What a character he was on and off screen. Didn't know about the Norma Shear thing...and he went through eight wives!

He was one of the last great actors and actresses from the 'old'days' .

Not many left that I can think of apart from Kirk Douglas and Doris Day,just off the top of my head.

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crawdaddy
He was one of the last great actors and actresses from the 'old'days' .

Not many left that I can think of apart from Kirk Douglas and Doris Day,just off the top of my head.

there are a few more but i can't recall many. michael caine is still alive.so is jane fonda and faye dunaway. robert redford is also still with us.

Not nearly as old as Kirk and Doris,but gettin' on a bit.............just like most of us here...................at least we know that old school friends from 40 + years ago are no younger than us if we meet up at any time.

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latebloomer

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stupidguy2
Great actor. Brilliant actor, Brando called him one of the greatest actors whose talent was overshadowed by his lack of movie star looks. In those days, you had to look like a leading man. Rooney was something we now call a 'character actor'.
guys like DeVito, Steve Buscemi and on and on...
When he wasn't singing and dancing in Berkley musicals, Rooney could be a very naturalistic actor, way before the Brando, Dean era.
And Rooney was one of the few actors from that time that praised the Brandos and Deans when they emerged.
A true all-around entertainer in the old fashioned sense - the guy could do anything...
I also love the fact that he was getting blowjobs in dressing rooms from
Norma Shear and other Golden Age actresses when he was a kid at the MGM lot.
He could be too much (Breakfast at Tiffany's), but when he was good, he was really good.

I actually loved his Breakfast at Tiffany's role - over the top, and so funny. What a character he was on and off screen. Didn't know about the Norma Shear thing...and he went through eight wives!

It was a polarizing role, for sure. Some hated it, and are still bringing it up even in obits..but others loved the craziness of it. Pauline Kael said it was the best thing about the movie, because it a little wild, whereas the movie was rather sedate and self-serious.

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stupidguy2

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latebloomer

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stupidguy2
Great actor. Brilliant actor, Brando called him one of the greatest actors whose talent was overshadowed by his lack of movie star looks. In those days, you had to look like a leading man. Rooney was something we now call a 'character actor'.
guys like DeVito, Steve Buscemi and on and on...
When he wasn't singing and dancing in Berkley musicals, Rooney could be a very naturalistic actor, way before the Brando, Dean era.
And Rooney was one of the few actors from that time that praised the Brandos and Deans when they emerged.
A true all-around entertainer in the old fashioned sense - the guy could do anything...
I also love the fact that he was getting blowjobs in dressing rooms from
Norma Shear and other Golden Age actresses when he was a kid at the MGM lot.
He could be too much (Breakfast at Tiffany's), but when he was good, he was really good.

I actually loved his Breakfast at Tiffany's role - over the top, and so funny. What a character he was on and off screen. Didn't know about the Norma Shear thing...and he went through eight wives!

It was a polarizing role, for sure. Some hated it, and are still bringing it up even in obits..but others loved the craziness of it. Pauline Kael said it was the best thing about the movie, because it a little wild, whereas the movie was rather sedate and self-serious.

Yep, fake teeth and all, he was the best thing about that movie. Rooney wasn't too proud of it, though. He later said he was ashamed of the portrayal as was the film's director Blake Edwards.

Great actor. RIP.

I worked on a couple of his films recently (for rebroadcast) and forgot how damn good he was as an actor. Loved him in It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World. RIP.

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keefriffhard4life

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crawdaddy
He was one of the last great actors and actresses from the 'old'days' .
.
Not many left that I can think of apart from Kirk Douglas and Doris Day,just off the top of my head.

there are a few more but i can't recall many. michael caine is still alive.so is jane fonda and faye dunaway. robert redford is also still with us.

Those guys and gals still around were in the next era on from Kirk ,Doris and Mickey.

Not quite as old as those guys and gals.

He had a good life and plenty of wives and kids. Good on yer Mickey.

"Not many left that I can think of apart from Kirk Douglas and Doris Day,just off the top of my head."

-Eli Wallach (good,bad and ugly) born in 1915
-olivia de havillan(gone with the wind) born in 1916

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keefriffhard4life

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crawdaddy
He was one of the last great actors and actresses from the 'old'days' .

Not many left that I can think of apart from Kirk Douglas and Doris Day,just off the top of my head.

there are a few more but i can't recall many. michael caine is still alive.so is jane fonda and faye dunaway. robert redford is also still with us.

That's a whole other generation. Mickey Rooney goes way way back. His earliest films were silent.

.....he was once married ta Ava .... whew!! ...



ROCKMAN

Mickey Rooney was also great in the 1963 Twilight Zone episode "Last Night of a Jockey"

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tatters

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keefriffhard4life

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crawdaddy
He was one of the last great actors and actresses from the 'old'days' .

Not many left that I can think of apart from Kirk Douglas and Doris Day,just off the top of my head.

there are a few more but i can't recall many. michael caine is still alive.so is jane fonda and faye dunaway. robert redford is also still with us.

That's a whole other generation. Mickey Rooney goes way way back. His earliest films were silent.

what about betty white who is in her 90's and cloris leachman who is almost 90?

I wasn't a fan, but was sad to read today that his estate, which he left to his stepson/caregiver, only amounted to $18,000. He should have done much better out of such a long-lasting and high-profile career.