Why I Love Mickey Rooney

Recently I had the opportunity to watch Robert Osborne interview Mickey Rooney on TCM . I got to tell you, it was the most enjoyable interview I’ve seen in a while. Mickey said things that didn’t really surprise me. I kinda thought that he was the sort of person he described. His personality came through in many of his roles. What spunk this man still has…a lesson to us all. His outlook on life is refreshing.

I did learn a lot about the man Mickey Rooney though. He served during WWII in Patton’s army! Wow! There was a film clip in the interview of him mimicking Lionel Barrymore and Clark Gable while he was serving in WWII and his humor was still intact in spite of the war.  As Robert asked him questions of his past, you can see Mickey’s thoughts wander off to a place of magic, wonder, and sometimes sadness. He said something about his memories that went something like this “memories are like nuggets of gold.” He talked about his grand experiences while filming the Andy Hardy series. When asked about his childhood experiences in Hollywood, he had nothing but good things to say of his experiences. He went as far as saying that if a child wanted to act, it’d be a good experience. Did you know that his first role was when he was 18 months old? He said he was born wanting to be in front of the camera, and said the “Good Lord” allowed him to do so.

It came to a surprise to me when he said that Louie B. Mayer was a friend, and a “good man.” I’ve always heard the opposite. He said Mayer was “no tyrant!” Sure he had his bad days, but he was man enough to always apologize. And then Rooney said the greatest gift any one has is “forgiveness.” On Judy Garland his recall was moving. He said he loved her like a sister; Judy was the sister he never had. I am sure for Judy that hurt because I’ve always heard it said she had a major crush on him.

On his career, he was all too grateful to have had the opportunity to do something in life he truly loved. Not many in life can say that. Three things he said that struck me because I think this applies to all careers, but especially acting. He said there are three phases in a career:

1.      Someone says, “Who is that?” Another replies, “its Mickey Rooney.”  And all say “get me Mickey Rooney!”

2.      Second phase: Someone says, “Get me somebody who looks like Mickey Rooney!”

3.      Lastly, “who is Mickey Rooney?”

This told me that although Mickey is grateful for having had the Hollywood experience, he knew that a star is on top for just a little while. And he learned this lesson early on in his life. He was treated differently when he returned from the war. His acting career was on a downhill. He, surprisingly enough had enemies in Hollywood that made it their business to destroy him. But he stressed he holds no grudges. He simply moved on.

His attitude is one we can all learn from. Hollywood can learn a lot from this legend. His last remarks impressed me because Mickey is 89- years- old; he still performs and has a heart of a 20- year- old.  I have to guess that he is perfectly contented in his life and that is what keeps him going. So no matter what your age try and remember what Mickey said at 89: “I believe my future, and what I really can do is before me.” “I never look back.” And that’s why I love Mickey Rooney!