Mickey Rooney was the original Hardy boy. His 200-plus film credits notwithstanding, the spirited Rooney will be best remembered for playing the impetuous title character in MGM’s beloved Andy Hardy movies.
Rooney, 93, who died Sunday surrounded by family at his North Hollywood home, leaves behind a colorful Hollywood legacy that spanned 80 years and a couple of hundred films, including Boys Town and The Black Stallion.
He won two honorary Oscars, the first in 1938, the second in 1982. In January 2005, Rooney made headlines for the unlikeliest of reasons when Fox rejected a Super Bowl cold remedy commercial – featuring Rooney’s bare bottom .
Karen Sharpe Kramer, the wife of the late legendary filmmaker Stanley Kramer said: “Last year during my husband’s centennial celebration, Mickey Rooney made one of his last public appearances at the 50th Anniversary screening of Stanley’s film which he starred in, It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World at the Cinerama Dome on October 27, 2013 in Hollywood. I’ve never seen him happier. It was obvious he was content and being well cared for by his son Mark Rooney and his wife Charlene. Mickey was enthusiastic about life, like a young Andy Hardy. May he rest in peace. His legacy in show business will live on forever.”
-Courtesy Photos
