Mickey Rooney got around to Broadway,
after 50 plus years in film,
at the age of 59!
Sugar Babies was perfect for him,
a tribute to Burlesque, co-starring Ann Miller.
It played from 1979 to 1982,
with Mickey and Ann returning for the 2nd national tour
in 1984.
Ann on the left, and OF COURSE Mickey on the right.
Below, with Carol Channing and Robert Morse
who took over the reins for a tour.
After his belated, successful triumph on Broadway in Sugar Babies
(in which he and Ann performed over 1200 times!),
Rooney went on to tour as Pseudolus in
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum,
came back to Broadway with The Will Rodgers Follies,
and played Madison Square Garden in The Wizard of Oz, with Eartha Kitt.
Couldn't resist putting up some additional photos of
Mickey, who was born Joseph Yule, Jr. in 1920.
Born to vaudevillians Joe and Nellie Yule,
the story goes that at 17 months of age,
Junior joined the act in a specially tailored tuxedo.
By age 6, he made his film debut
in a few of Hal Roach's Our Gang episodes.
An early shot of Judy Garland, Mickey and Jane Withers...
Before the Andy Hardy series,
Mickey's movie high point,
he starred in the "Mickey McGuire" series
from 1927 to 1934,
where he got his "name".
That's him below!
With Elizabeth Taylor in 1944's
National Velvet.
"Babes On Broadway"...
from 1941: Mickey as Carmen!
With lifelong pal, Judy Garland,
on the set of her TV show.
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,
with Buddy Hackett.
A Twilight Zone episode written by Rod Serling
just for him:
The Last Night Of A Jockey,
a one character screenplay, aired in October of 1963.
From The Black Stallion, released in 1979.
Mickey's career spanned 9 decades,
with over 300 films to his name.
1920-2014
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