Legendary thespian Mickey Rooney, who Laurence Olivier once described as “the greatest actor of them all,” has passed away, it was reported. He was 93.
Rooney reportedly died April 6 and was survived by his eighth wife and nine children, according to USA Today.
His most recent wife, Jan Chamberlain, married Rooney in 1978. Rooney was also married to Ava Gardner and Martha Vickers, among others.
The actor starred in more than 200 films and won several awards, including an Emmy, two Golden Globes, and a Juvenile Academy. Early in his career, he was known as one of the Hardy boys, starring in 14 Andy Hardy films in a 21-year span.
While it was the Hardy character that made him famous, Rooney started his career in a short film series based upon the comic strip personality Mickey McGuire.
In 1938, Rooney was honored with a Juvenile Academy Award for his performance in Boys Town, which released shortly before his 18th birthday.
Rooney’s biography on the Turner Classic Movies website stated the actor was Hollywood’s biggest box office draw in 1939, 1940, and 1941.
At around the same time of his peak, Rooney was also popular for working with Judy Garland prior to her breakout role in The Wizard of Oz.
“Mickey Rooney was a little man who enjoyed a big career and a larger-than-life persona,” the TCM biography reads. “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 place in show business history that spanned generations of fans.”
Born in Brooklyn in 1920 as Joseph Yule, Jr., Rooney was also a stage actor. Debuting on stage in A Midsummer Night’s Dre in 1934, Rooney starred in 28 theatre productions through 2003.
His last leading role in a television series was The Adventures of the Black Stallion, which aired from 1990 to 1993.
Rooney, who stood about 5 feet, 2 inches, died of natural causes, according to news reports.
