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Mickey Rooney, Actor Who Charmed Audiences For More Than 80 Years, Dies

Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney put their heads together over a TV script for their first onstage reunion in 18 years in this 1963 photo.

Mickey Rooney, the legendary actor who got his first Hollywood role at the age of 6 and starred in more than 200 films over the course of a turbulent career, has died. He was 93.

Charlene Rooney tells the Los Angeles Times that her father-in-law died of natural causes Sunday at the Los Angeles home he shared with her and her husband, Mark Rooney.

The actor was a box-office powerhouse in the 1930s and '40s. On Morning Edition, Becky Vlamis says it was Mickey Rooney's work in the Andy Hardy series that showcased his "youthful, wholesome appeal and catapulted him into stardom. He starred in 16 Andy Hardy pictures altogether. During that same period, MGM dreamed up another teen franchise — starring Rooney and the young Judy Garland as a plucky song-and-dance act."

The New York Times writes:

Becky adds that:

Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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