Wednesday, November 15, 1933

Mother and Mrs. N. walked to 23rd Street. I ate my lunch in the other lunch room today. Went swimming. Stayed at Mrs. Raifert's.

Mickey Rooney
Born: Joseph Yule, Jr., September 23, 1920, in Brooklyn, New York

Rooney first appeared on stage at the age of 17 months during one of his of his
parents' vaudeville routines. His father, a heavy drinker and womanizer, was from
Scotland, and his mother, Nell, was from Kansas City, MO. Fed up with her husband's
boozing and philandering, Nell moved with her only son back to Kansas City, MO.
She then moved with him to Hollywood, CA, and, while reading the entertainment
papers, she learned about a part for a dark-haired boy to play "Mickey McGuire"
in a series of short films. Lacking the money to dye her son's hair, she applied burnt
cork to his scalp for the audition. Joe, Jr. got the role and became "Mickey" for 78
of the comedies that he appeared in. His mother later decided to change his name (and
and hers) and Joseph Yule, Jr. became Mickey Rooney. After finishing the comedy series,
Rooney signed with MGM in 1934. He played several other roles before MGM cast him
as the teenage son of a judge in the first Andy Hardy film, 1937's "A Family Affair,"
setting Rooney on the way to another successful film series and a wildly successful
film and telelvision career.

Mickey Rooney has had one of the longest careers of any actor, to date spanning almost 90
years actively making films in ten decades from the 1920's to 2010's. He lives in California with his
eighth wife and is the last surviving male star from 1930s Hollywood.