CLASSIC VIDEO SHOWPLACE: The Mickey Rooney Show
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For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation. Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.
A television show that probably should have been more successful than it turned out to be is not a rare occurrence in the entertainment industry.
A prime, early, example of this was The Mickey Rooney Show (also known as Hey Mulligan).
Mickey Rooney agreed to star in a mid-1950s NBC sitcom as a studio page for a fictional TV company who aspires to one day become a big movie star.
In addition to having a major film star like Rooney play the lead, the creator and executive producer of the program was future legend, Blake Edwards. Edwards would go on to produce major film successes in the 1960s and 1970s with Breakfast At Tiffany’s, Victor/Victoria, The Days of Wine and Roses and the Pink Panther film series.
The show also had a surprisingly good (for a TV comedy) soundtrack that was produced by then unknown Van Alexander, who was an arranger for Capitol Records. He was hand-picked for the assignment by Rooney’s co-producer Maurice Duke. Alexander would go on to score major motion pictures, including future films for Rooney himself.
Mickey, in real life, had already been a huge star in movies for almost two decades and scored hits in the early 1940s with his iconic “Andy Hardy” movie roles. He was also frequently in the news for his rumored, off-screen relationship with Judy Garland and other stars of the era. The decision to cast him as an “early 20ies, up and coming” performer was a little hard to swallow for American audiences, who already had become very familiar with him as an established actor.
The chance to accept him in this role was further hampered by his age (he was 35 for the show’s first season). Rooney’s reputation had also taken a bit of a hit before the program started production because of his high profile, not-so-smooth divorce proceedings that had taken place with no less than three major actresses. Rooney had moved on and was married to “wife #4” by the time this show premiered.
NBC also didn’t do the Rooney cast and crew any favorites with scheduling. The network placed the show on the dreaded Saturday night lineup and pitted him opposite the popular CBS variety-comedy vehicle, The Jackie Gleason Show. Rooney’s reputation took a further hit before his show even debuted when his agent went to the media to say some disparaging things about the iconic Gleason, in an effort to promote Mickey’s show.
Rooney tried to quickly correct the PR blunder. According to David Tucker’s Lost Laughs of the 50s and 60s Television, Mickey was quoted as saying, “I don’t want to knock off anybody. All I want to do is put on a nice, funny show that people will like.”
The publicity stunt backfired and Rooney soon fired his agent but the damage was done. His television show was cancelled after just 34 episodes.
Still, it’s a program that is quite underrated and has some really funny moments. Also, many members of its production staff went on to have lengthy and successful careers in Hollywood.
Without all the negative publicity that surrounded the show when it first aired, it certainly deserves a second look and a new evaluation based on its own merits, including quality acting and solid production values.
Tune in or set your DVRs to see the 1950s-style comedy, The Mickey Rooney Show, Tuesday evenings at 8pm and Wednesday mornings at 10 am on RCN-TV.
To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website.
