RIP Mickey Rooney

[H.L. Mencken]

http://m.tmz.com/#Article/2014/04/06/mickey-rooney-dead

Loved you in Black Stallion, big guy.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Many years ago Mickey Rooney was a guest in-studio on my newscast. I told the anchor well in advance so he could prepare for it. As the anchor walked into the studio for the interview he turned to me and said "I hope you scripted plenty of questions, because I don't have a ****in' thing to ask this guy." It was one of the most uncomfortable 3 1/2 minutes of TV I've ever had a hand in.

Anyway, RIP. He seemed to be a sad, tired figure when he crossed my path. Hope I caught him on a bad day.

 

[DanOregon]

He'll always be the voice of Santa Claus to me.

 

[Smallpotatoes]

He'll always be the voice of Santa Claus to me.

Me too.

 

[mpcincal]

Many years ago Mickey Rooney was a guest in-studio on my newscast. I told the anchor well in advance so he could prepare for it. As the anchor walked into the studio for the interview he turned to me and said "I hope you scripted plenty of questions, because I don't have a ****in' thing to ask this guy." It was one of the most uncomfortable 3 1/2 minutes of TV I've ever had a hand in.

Anyway, RIP. He seemed to be a sad, tired figure when he crossed my path. Hope I caught him on a bad day.

Wow, sounds like you had a real winner there for an anchor. Man, how hard can it possibly be to do research for a Mickey Rooney interview (especially if you have advance notice)? I mean, you only have about 80-plus years of a Hollywood career to mine material from.

 

[Football_Bat]

Remember the Super Bowl commercial a few years ago that got whacked because he showed his bare bum?

 

[ColdCat]

Many years ago Mickey Rooney was a guest in-studio on my newscast. I told the anchor well in advance so he could prepare for it. As the anchor walked into the studio for the interview he turned to me and said "I hope you scripted plenty of questions, because I don't have a ****in' thing to ask this guy." It was one of the most uncomfortable 3 1/2 minutes of TV I've ever had a hand in.

Anyway, RIP. He seemed to be a sad, tired figure when he crossed my path. Hope I caught him on a bad day.

Wow, sounds like you had a real winner there for an anchor. Man, how hard can it possibly be to do research for a Mickey Rooney interview (especially if you have advance notice)? I mean, you only have about 80-plus years of a Hollywood career to mine material from.

At least he didn't go with "So how long have you been on 60 Minutes?"

 

[Bubbler]

Saw the early 70s Michael Caine movie Pulp recently. In it, Caine is hired by Rooney -- a mobbed-up actor in the mold of Frank Sinatra -- to write his autobiography.

Rooney was pretty funny in it. Foul-mouthed and self-aggrandizing.

RIP.

 

[EStreetJoe]

RIP. One of the greats. So many memorable roles.
Also immortalized in The Kinks' "Celluloid Heroes" -- "If you stamped on Mickey Rooney, he'd still turn around and smile"

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Didn't Rooney famously say he credited his longevity to daily masturbation?

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Didn't Rooney famously say he credited his longevity to daily masturbation?

That was Ernest Borgnine.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Didn't Rooney famously say he credited his longevity to daily masturbation?

That was Ernest Borgnine.

Ah, my bad...

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Didn't Rooney famously say he credited his longevity to daily masturbation?

That was Ernest Borgnine.

Ah, my bad...

Neither one is a mental picture you particularly needed...

 

[heyabbott]

Many years ago Mickey Rooney was a guest in-studio on my newscast. I told the anchor well in advance so he could prepare for it. As the anchor walked into the studio for the interview he turned to me and said "I hope you scripted plenty of questions, because I don't have a ****in' thing to ask this guy." It was one of the most uncomfortable 3 1/2 minutes of TV I've ever had a hand in.

Anyway, RIP. He seemed to be a sad, tired figure when he crossed my path. Hope I caught him on a bad day.

Wow, sounds like you had a real winner there for an anchor. Man, how hard can it possibly be to do research for a Mickey Rooney interview (especially if you have advance notice)? I mean, you only have about 80-plus years of a Hollywood career to mine material from.

Seriously, 1st question: who was better in bed Liz Taylor or Judy Garland? Who was crazier?

 

[exmediahack]

Many years ago Mickey Rooney was a guest in-studio on my newscast. I told the anchor well in advance so he could prepare for it. As the anchor walked into the studio for the interview he turned to me and said "I hope you scripted plenty of questions, because I don't have a ****in' thing to ask this guy." It was one of the most uncomfortable 3 1/2 minutes of TV I've ever had a hand in.

Anyway, RIP. He seemed to be a sad, tired figure when he crossed my path. Hope I caught him on a bad day.

Wow, sounds like you had a real winner there for an anchor. Man, how hard can it possibly be to do research for a Mickey Rooney interview (especially if you have advance notice)? I mean, you only have about 80-plus years of a Hollywood career to mine material from.

Seriously, 1st question: who was better in bed Liz Taylor or Judy Garland? Who was crazier?

As a teevee anchor, this pisses me off. When you have a guest who is a few decades past his or her prime, absolutely, you study up on it.

Andy Williams was passing through here a decade ago and, on short notice, he showed up. I spent ten minutes just reading up on his bio and, in the twenty minutes before he had him on, I chatted him up in the break room, asked about some of his old connections and, I swear, his face lit up and he smiled like a 19-year-old sailor on leave.

Made for a great interview. I showed that I cared enough about his accomplishments and he was a superb talker. His publicist even sent me a hand-written note a few days later thanking me for doing my research.

 

[Football_Bat]

I heard a rumor that Mickey Rooney could breathe through his ears.

 

[Joe Williams]

Didn't Rooney famously say he credited his longevity to daily masturbation?

That was Ernest Borgnine.

Ah, my bad...

Funny you should confuse the two. They allegedly had some bitter feud through the years that I have been unable to find an origin for. Rooney apparently was gracious about Borgnine when the latter died a few years ago, but a couple of their quotes about the other (Rooney: "He's a lucky jerk." Borgnine: "I've got an Oscar, he's got a therapist. Checkmate.") seem like there must have been a doozy of a beef to get it going.

Or maybe it was as simple as Borgnine winning an Oscar, something of a surprise for "Marty," while hard-working Mickey didn't get one?

I'm going to assume it wasn't a fight over Marilyn Monroe.

From interviews I saw and heard, Borgnine was a grateful, appreciative, friendly, funny guy. Rooney, on many occasions, not so much.

 

[da man]

Didn't Rooney famously say he credited his longevity to daily masturbation?

That was Ernest Borgnine.

If that works, Rick Stain is guaranteed to live to at least 100.

 

[Bob Cook]

Didn't Rooney famously say he credited his longevity to daily masturbation?

That was Ernest Borgnine.

Ah, my bad...

Funny you should confuse the two. They allegedly had some bitter feud through the years that I have been unable to find an origin for. Rooney apparently was gracious about Borgnine when the latter died a few years ago, but a couple of their quotes about the other (Rooney: "He's a lucky jerk." Borgnine: "I've got an Oscar, he's got a therapist. Checkmate.") seem like there must have been a doozy of a beef to get it going.

Or maybe it was as simple as Borgnine winning an Oscar, something of a surprise for "Marty," while hard-working Mickey didn't get one?

I'm going to assume it wasn't a fight over Marilyn Monroe.

From interviews I saw and heard, Borgnine was a grateful, appreciative, friendly, funny guy. Rooney, on many occasions, not so much.

To paraphrase one of his exes, eight wives can't be wrong.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20804236,00.html

 

[Bob Cook]

#CancelRooney wins.