Biography
Born in Brooklyn, New York, USA
Mickey Rooney Quotes
“I was a thirteen-year-old boy for thirty years.”
“The audience and I are friends. They allowed me to grow up with them. I’ve let them down several times. They’ve let me down several times. But we’re all family.”
“I don’t believe I ever worked for two directors who knew anything about acting. They’re usually technicians, editors - or should be.”
“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.”
“Love wears off too quickly.”
“Always get married in the morning. That way if it doesn’t work out, you haven’t wasted the whole day.”
“I’m the only man in the world whose marriage licence reads: To Whom It May Concern. But to have been married eight times is not normal.”
“[On his wives:] I loved every one of them.”
“You always pass failure on your way to success.”
“I buy women shoes and they use them to walk away from me.”
“A lot of people have asked me how short I am. Since my last divorce, I think I’m about $100,000 short.”
“All the muddy waters of my life cleared up when I gave myself to Christ.”
“Always get married early in the morning. That way, if it doesn’t work out, you haven’t wasted a whole day.”
“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 don’t regret anything I’ve ever done. I only wish I could have done more.”
“I just want to be a professional. I couldn’t live without acting.”
“I think the family pictures are what people really want to see - and musicals, of course. (2007)”
“I’m in pretty good shape for the shape I’m in.”
“I’ve been through four publics. I’ve been coming back like a rubber ball for years.”
“If it’s immorally wrong, it’s not normal. Jesus Christ said the effeminate are an abomination to me. Are you aware of that? I don’t watch the Ellen show. I wish her all kinds of luck. Except that I’m not a fan. But there are a lot of people who aren’t fans of Mickey Rooney and you can’t please everyone.”
“Judy turned to drugs because she was in pain and because drugs made her feel good. As one of the MGM kids, she’d been treated for most of her life to magical, instant, solutions to everything...She could never accept herself so she was always on the run.”
“My partners weren’t what we call in horse racing parlance routers. They were sprinters; they went out of the gate, but then they stopped. They couldn’t go the distance.”
“People say, ‘How can you be married eight times?’ But I played the hand dealt me the way I was supposed to. I was friendly with most of my ex-wives. My God, there’s a Mickey Rooney’s Former Wives Marching Band!”
“When I say I do, the justice of the peace replies, ‘I know, I know...’”
“You’ve got to recognize, there will never be another you. It has nothing to do with ego; it happens to be the truth. There will never be another person the same. There’ll never be another you. There’ll never be another me... And there’ll never be another show like this!”
“[On Ernest Borgnine:] All the Oscars in the world can’t buy him dignity, class, and talent. I don’t know why he is famous and why he is a star. Talk about a lucky jerk.”
“[On winning his lifetime achievement Oscar:] Tonight, I could even kiss Louis B. Mayer!”
