The diminutive 5-foot, 2-inch Rooney began his acting career shortly after his first birthday, appearing on vaudeville stages with his parents. He was born Joseph Yule Jr. on September 23, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York.
His parents split when he was young, but spurred by his mother, he soon found himself in Hollywood. Before he was 10, he was a star, appearing in dozens of shorts based on the popular "Mickey McGuire" strip
Despite a life with more wreckage than Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears combined, Mickey Rooney somehow never stopped being Andy Hardy.
Rooney seems to have come by his trademark industriousness and resilience honestly. He was born Joe Yule Jr., the son of two vaudevillians who took constant movement and hard knocks as a matter of course. He began his stage career as a toddler and his first film role came in 1926 when, at age 6, he apparently played a midget in something called "Not to Be Trusted."
I love all the Andy Hardy movies. Never tire of watching them. Yeah, they're corny...but so am I.
He was married 8 times which tied him with bandleader Artie Shaw, Lana Turner, Larry King and Elizabeth Taylor, although some say she should tally 7.5 since she wed Richard Burton twice. All are behind Zsa Zsa Gabor with 9.
Ava Gardner was married to both Rooney and Shaw.
EXCLUSIVE - A tearful last message of love to the wife 'he was kept from' and a vicious family war over his cash: The wretched last days of screen legend Mickey Rooney who died 'choking on his food'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-away-wife-family-wages-war-star-funeral.html