Mickey Rooney was a little man who enjoyed a big career and a larger-than-life persona. Born into a family of vaudeville performers, he was pushed on stage before he could talk and never let up, appearing in hundreds of movies, TV shows, plays, casinos and gossip columns. He had a hunger for life and work that belied his small stature, marrying eight times, earning and losing millions of dollars on several occasions, and seemingly accepting any invitation to perform, whether it was a dinner theater or the Academy Awards. Outliving most of his Golden Age contemporaries, he carved out a unique
First appeared onstage as part of his parents' vaudeville act (date approximate)
1927
Starred as Mickey McGuire in over 50 installments of a two-reel comedy series
1934
Signed to MGM
1934
Started his feature career with nearly a dozen credits in a single year, including roles in films such as "Manhattan Melodrama", "Blind Date" and "I Like It That Way"
1935
Played Puck in a star-studded film production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream", starring James Cagney, Olivia de Haviland and Dick Powell
