Joe Yule Jr. (1920-2014)

[Paul E. Gierucki]

TMZ just broke the news -- Mickey Rooney has died at 93.

http://www.tmz.com/2014/04/06/mickey-rooney-dead/

[Richard M Roberts]

So Baby Peggy wins the tontine?


RICHARD M ROBERTS

[Paul E. Gierucki]

Jean Darling is still in the running too, although I understand that she was recently hospitalized.
Not more than a small handful left.

[Gary Johnson]

Over at Greenbriar John E. has been overly preoccupied with Rooney's past autobiography and the 'near pornographic' descriptions of his many sexual encounters.

Now I've been reading that for the past decade the Mick was retracting those tales he told, saying he embellished them just to sell the book.
(I'm sure Norma Shearer's reputation thanks him from her grave)
I thought only Frank Capra was allowed to tell tall tales in one's own bio?

[Jim Roots]

Over at Greenbriar John E. has been overly preoccupied with Rooney's past autobiography and the 'near pornographic' descriptions of his many sexual encounters.

Now I've been reading that for the past decade the Mick was retracting those tales he told, saying he embellished them just to sell the book.
(I'm sure Norma Shearer's reputation thanks him from her grave)
I thought only Frank Capra was allowed to tell tall tales in one's own bio?

Then you've never read Mack Sennett's?

Jim

[Richard M Roberts]

[quote="Gary Johnson"]Over at Greenbriar John E. has been overly preoccupied with Rooney's past autobiography and the 'near pornographic' descriptions of his many sexual encounters.

[quote]

I don't believe one mention in a paragraph constitutes "overly preoccupied".

I did always wonder why Rooney picked Norma Shearer for his imagined (and perhaps one of several mind-made)sexual encounter in that bio, I mean, if you're going to make it up, wasn't there any other MGM starlet from the time that would carry more currency in selling a 1990's bio? Lets face it, the guy did marry Ava Gardner, so hey, okay MIck, we're impressed, but bragging about boinking Norma Shearer in the 1940's to a 1990's readership when you can claim bedpost notches like Ava Gardner and Lana Turner (and hey, Martha Vickers and Elaine Devry were no slouches either), adding a middle-aged Norma Shearer to the list is like saying " oh yeah, I also screwed Bonita Granville"..........well, good for you Mickey!

I guess if he had claimed Joan Crawford it would have had a "join the club" kinda feel to it, and Jackie Cooper stole the thunder with that one telling how he lost his virginity to her in his bio, and Rooney always stayed away from claiming ol Judy Garland as one of his conquests, good idea Mickster, might make those BABES IN ARMS pictures a little less palatable. So who--------Greer Garson?-----naaah, she was always a stick-up-the-ass, Ann Miller?-----not after the way he treated her in SUGAR BABIES and she was still alive and capable of suing his ass, --------I've got it-------Bloody Greta Garbo! The Mickster should have gone for Garbo! That would have sold books, she had already kicked the bucket, and since everyone already believed the nonsense about her and John Gilbert, why would the Mickster be such a stretch, and better name recognition to boot!

Okay, now you can say I'm a bit overly preoccupied with the Micksters "near-pornographic" descriptions.

Well Gang, I hate to admit it, but my first thought upon hearing about Rooney’s passing the other night was “Well, it’s about time.”. Unfortunately my admiration for his acting ability was also colored by several personal run-ins with the little bastard over the years, one of many reasons I’m glad most of my film favorites are long-gone. From all outward signs, Mickey Rooney was a nasty piece of work, a veritable textbook case of what 90 years in Show Business will do to you, and why you shouldn’t let your kids get involved in it. He couldn’t even stay married to his last wife of multi-decades, getting legally separated from her just months before his shuffling off of his mortal coil. Now he’s gone, and the best of him is left behind, now we can enjoy his artistry and admire his longevity once again without having to deal with the man.

The Mickster’s dead, long live the Mickster.

RICHARD M ROBERTS

[Gary Johnson]

What's a 'Mickster'? Sounds like something with gin and vermouth.

Anyone who survives past 90 nowadays also gets an "it's about time' from me. And that is not a statement of 'good riddance', but rather a term of reverence and amazement. Amazed that any of us can live past the age of 65 anymore, what with our sedentary lifestyles, chemicals mixed into everything we eat, our Earth saturated with ground pollutants, Alzheimers making a grand run at overtaking cancer as the leading cause of 'No one lasting more than a year into their retirement' syndrome and a myriad of other deteriating reasons as to why I would not be surprised to see mankinds life spans to slowly revert back to caveman statistics.

[Louie Despres]

I have never been a fan. Too "over the top" for me. That one kid in the class who always had to be the center of attention and that's what I feel like every time I see him in a role.

[Pasquale Ventura]

Never been a fan either. Always a bit loud and pushy. Ann Miller said it best in an TCM interview referring to Rooney as "a ham".