Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 4/7 - Legend

RIP Hollywood legend Mickey Rooney, 93, star of stage, screen and TV, equally adept at drama, comedy and song & dance. Born in Brooklyn as Ninian Joseph Yule Jr., the son of vaudevillians, his career began at 17 months. He did his first short in 1926, billed as Mickey McGuire. He has an incredible 340 credits listed at IMDb. He was involved in a new version Jeckyl & Hyde, which is still filming. If he is not included in the final product, his last movie will have been The Woods (2012). It is a cliche to say someone has done it all, but Rooney came as close as a human being ever does, earning and losing a fortune and working until the end of his long life. He served 22 months in the Army during WWII, five of those under General Patton, and was awarded a Bronze Star. He also won a Juvenile Academy Award, an Academy Honorary Award, an Emmy and two Golden Globes. His love life is legendary. He was married eight times. His first wife was Ava Gardner, who seemed one of the first modern women and too much for any one man, including Frank Sinatra. In 1991 Rooney had an autobiography published, the wonderfully titled Life Is Too Short. He was only five-two. He followed it up in 1994 with a crime novel, The Search for Sunny Skies. Recently, I viewed Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962) for the umpteenth time. I don't think I'll every forget the way Rooney, voice choked with emotion, looks at Jackie Gleason and says: "You fink. You dirty, stinking fink." Here are some quotes attributed to him:
"Had I been brighter, the ladies been gentler, the Scotch weaker, the gods kinder, the dice hotter - it might have all ended up in a one-sentence story."
"I didn't ask to be short. I didn't want to be short. I've tried to pretend that being a short guy didn't matter."
"I lost $2 at Santa Anita and I've spent $3 million trying to get it back."
"I was a 14-year-old boy for 30 years."
Here's a pic with a frequent co-star and legend, Judy Garland. He survived the madness of celebrity, and thrived. She was dead at 47:

Thank you, sir.

My thanks also to the two kind folks who made purchases on what was a quiet day at the floating book shop.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx