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109-475: Three subsequent film adaptations adjusted the plot. The most notable, in 1943, starred Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland , with the latter playing a combined Kate and Molly. The musical opened at the Alvin Theatre on October 14, 1930, and closed on June 6, 1931, after 272 performances. It was directed by Alexander Leftwich, with choreography by George Hale and sets by Donald Oenslager . This musical made

218-458: A New York Times bestseller . In 1989, Francis resumed her recording and performing career once again. For Malaco Records , Francis recorded a double album entitled Where the Hits Are , containing re-recordings of 18 of her biggest hits, as well as six classics of yesteryear Francis had always wanted to record such as "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" and " Torn Between Two Lovers ". In 1992,

327-533: A B-movie . Rooney provided comic relief as the son of Judge James K. Hardy, portrayed by Lionel Barrymore (although former silent-film leading man Lewis Stone played the role of Judge Hardy in subsequent pictures). The film was an unexpected success, and led to 13 more Andy Hardy films between 1937 and 1946, and a final film in 1958. According to author Barry Monush, MGM wanted the Andy Hardy films to appeal to all family members. Rooney's character portrayed

436-572: A Golden Globe and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special for his role in 1981's Bill . Playing opposite Dennis Quaid , Rooney's character was a mentally handicapped man attempting to live on his own after leaving an institution. His acting quality in the film has been favorably compared to other actors who took on similar roles, including Sean Penn , Dustin Hoffman , and Tom Hanks . He reprised his role in 1983's Bill: On His Own , earning an Emmy nomination for

545-469: A dinner theater production of The Mind with the Naughty Man in the mid-1990s. He played The Wizard in a stage production of The Wizard of Oz with Eartha Kitt at Madison Square Garden . Kitt was later replaced by Jo Anne Worley . Rooney wrote a memoir titled Life Is too Short , published by Villard Books in 1991. A Library Journal review said, "From title to the last line, 'I'll have

654-495: A 1958 production, which also co-starred Jane Connell as Kate and Gordon Connell as Pete; it interpolated Gershwin's "They All Laughed" and "Nice Work If You can Get It" into the score. The pit orchestra included "Red" Nichols , Glenn Miller , Gene Krupa , Tommy Dorsey , Benny Goodman and Jack Teagarden . Roger Edens was the onstage pianist for Ethel Merman. It was conducted on opening night by George Gershwin himself. The 1953 biopic The Glenn Miller Story recreated

763-527: A 1961 television interview that she was fluent in Spanish and Italian, but always had a translator nearby to make sure her translated lyrics and especially her pronunciation were as correct as possible. In the wake of " Die Liebe ist ein seltsames Spiel ", Francis enjoyed her greatest successes outside the United States. During the 1960s, her songs not only topped the charts in numerous countries around

872-563: A 5-foot-3 man who'd passed the age of Andy Hardy." In 1962, although he had earned $ 12 million by that point, his debts had forced him into filing for bankruptcy. In 1966, Rooney was working on the film Ambush Bay in the Philippines when his wife Barbara Ann Thomason—a former model and aspiring actress who had won 17 straight beauty contests in Southern California—was found dead in her bed. Her lover, Milos Milos —who

981-554: A Heavyweight (1962), It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Pete's Dragon (1977), and The Black Stallion (1979). Rooney received Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1957 for The Bold and the Brave , and 1980 for The Black Stallion . In the early 1980s, he returned to Broadway in Sugar Babies , a role that earned him nominations for Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Actor in

1090-666: A Leading Role in a Musical. Following this, he toured as Pseudelous in Stephen Sondheim's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum . In the 1990s, he returned to Broadway for the final months of Will Rogers Follies , playing the ghost of Will's father. On television, he starred in the short-lived sitcom, One of the Boys , along with two unfamiliar young stars, Dana Carvey and Nathan Lane , in 1982. He toured Canada in

1199-544: A Leading Role in a Musical. He made hundreds of appearances on TV, including dramas, variety programs, and talk shows. Mickey Rooney was born Ninnian Joseph Yule, Jr., in Brooklyn , New York on September 23, 1920, the only child of Nellie W. Carter and Joe Yule . His mother was an American former chorus girl and burlesque performer from Kansas City, Missouri , while his father was a Scottish-born vaudevillian , who had emigrated to New York from Glasgow with his family at

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1308-613: A Santa Claus (1974), Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July (1979) and A Miser Brothers' Christmas (2008). In 1995, he appeared as himself on The Simpsons episode " Radioactive Man ". After starring in one unsuccessful TV series and turning down an offer for a huge TV series, Rooney, now 70, starred in the Family Channel 's The Adventures of the Black Stallion , where he reprised his role as Henry Dailey in

1417-446: A baby boy, Joey. Francis married TV producer Bob Parkinson on June 27, 1985, divorcing later that year. Early in her career, Francis was introduced to Bobby Darin , then an up-and-coming singer and songwriter. Darin's manager arranged for him to help write several songs for her. Despite some disagreement about material, after several weeks Darin and Francis developed a romantic relationship. Francis' strict Italian father would separate

1526-408: A career in medicine and was about to accept a four-year scholarship offered at New York University . At what was to have been her final recording session for MGM on October 2, 1957, with Joe Lipman and his orchestra, she recorded a cover version of the 1923 song " Who's Sorry Now? " written by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby . Francis has said that she recorded it at the insistence of her father, who

1635-640: A chair. 'That's better,' he tells Mickey." Louis B. Mayer said Boys Town was his favorite film during his years at MGM. Rooney was the biggest box-office draw in 1939, 1940, and 1941. For their roles in Boys Town , Rooney and Tracy won first and second place in the Motion Picture Herald 1940 National Poll of Exhibitors, based on the box-office appeal of 200 players. A contributor to Boys' Life magazine wrote, "Congratulations to Messrs. Rooney and Tracy! Also to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer we extend

1744-554: A child to play the role of "Mickey McGuire" in a series of short films . Rooney got the role and became "Mickey" for 78 of the films, running from 1927 to 1936, starting with Mickey's Circus (1927), his first starring role. During this period, he also briefly voiced Oswald the Lucky Rabbit for Walter Lantz Productions . He made other films in his adolescence, including several more of the McGuire films. At age 14, he played

1853-719: A double-sided hit: on the A-side, " Lipstick on Your Collar " (number 5), and on the B-side, " Frankie " (number 9). Following another idea from her father, Francis traveled to London in August 1959 to record an Italian album at EMI 's famous Abbey Road Studios . Titled Connie Francis Sings Italian Favorites , the album was released in November 1959. It soon entered the album charts where it remained for 81 weeks, peaking at number 4 and becoming Francis's most successful album. "Mama,"

1962-403: A hearty thanks for their very considerable part in this outstanding achievement." Actor Laurence Olivier once called Rooney "the greatest actor of them all". He appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 1940, timed to coincide with the release of Young Tom Edison ; the cover story began: Hollywood's No. 1 box office bait in 1939 was not Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, or Tyrone Power, but

2071-535: A heavily revised version. It was given a new title, Crazy for You , and a completely new plot, and interpolated with material from other Gershwin stage shows and films, specifically songs written for the Fred Astaire movies of the 1930s such as "Nice Work If You Can Get It" from A Damsel in Distress and "They Can't Take That Away From Me" from Shall We Dance . "Musicals Tonight!", New York City, presented

2180-482: A leading film star: "Everybody butted heads with him, but he listened and you listened. And then you'd come to an agreement you could both live with. ... He visited the sets, he gave people talks ... What he wanted was something that was American , presented in a cosmopolitan manner." In 1937, Rooney made his first film alongside Judy Garland with Thoroughbreds Don't Cry . Garland and Rooney became close friends as they co-starred in future films and became

2289-464: A major record company under Francis's own name. Even when MGM Records decided to sign a contract with her, it was because one track she had recorded, "Freddy", happened to be the name of the son of a company executive, Harry A. Meyerson, who thought of the song as a nice birthday gift. Hence, "Freddy" was released as Francis's first single, which turned out to be a commercial failure, just like her next eight solo singles. Despite these failures, Francis

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2398-567: A medley of remixed versions of her biggest German hits charted in Germany. A single, entitled "Jive, Connie", ended up among the top-ten best-selling singles of the year, which brought Francis the prestigious R.SH-Gold award for the "Best Comeback of the Year" from R.SH (short for "Radio Schleswig-Holstein"), then one of Germany's most important private radio stations. A subsequent compilation album of her biggest German hits in their original versions

2507-420: A number of ballads they had written for her. After a few hours, Francis began writing in her diary while the songwriters played the last of their ballads. This, and her refusal to let Sedaka and Greenfield see the diary to mine it for material, inspired the duo to write Sedaka's own breakthrough hit " The Diary .") Afterwards, Francis told them that she considered their ballads too intellectual and sophisticated for

2616-485: A press agent and entertainment director for the Aladdin Hotel . In January 1971, she married Izzy Marion, a hair-salon owner, divorcing 10 months later. In 1973, Francis married for the third time – her only marriage to last more than a few months – to Joseph Garzilli, a restaurateur and travel-agency owner; they divorced in 1977. It was during the third marriage that Francis adopted

2725-574: A racist caricature. Rooney later said that he would not have taken the role if he had known it would offend people. In 1961, Rooney appeared on television's What's My Line? , and mentioned that he had already started enrolling students in the Mickey Rooney School of Entertainment. His school venture never came to fruition. This was a period of professional distress for Rooney; as a childhood friend, director Richard Quine put it: "Let's face it. It wasn't all that easy to find roles for

2834-909: A ragingly egomaniacal television comedian, loosely based on Red Buttons , in the live 90-minute television drama The Comedian , in the Playhouse 90 series on the evening of Valentine's Day in 1957, and as himself in a 1960 revue called The Musical Revue of 1959 , based on the 1929 film The Hollywood Revue of 1929 . In May 1956, Sequoia University awarded Rooney an honorary degree of PhD in Fine Arts for his work. In 1958, Rooney joined Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra in hosting an episode of NBC's short-lived Club Oasis comedy and variety show. In 1960, Rooney directed and starred in The Private Lives of Adam and Eve , an ambitious comedy known for its multiple flashbacks and many cameos. In

2943-547: A resort hotel in Southern California. His own son Tim Rooney appeared as his character's teenaged son on this program, and Emmaline Henry starred as Rooney's wife. The program lasted for 17 episodes. When Norman Lear was developing All in the Family in 1970, he wanted Rooney for the lead role of Archie Bunker . Rooney turned Lear down, and the role eventually went to Carroll O'Connor . Rooney garnered

3052-823: A role he reprised at Bristol Hippodrome in 2008 and at the Milton Keynes theater in 2009. In 2011, Rooney made a cameo appearance in The Muppets , and in 2014, at age 93, six weeks before his death, he reprised his role as Gus in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb , which was dedicated to Robin Williams , who also died that year, and to him. Although reliant on a wheelchair, he was described by director Shawn Levy as "energetic and so pleased to be there. He

3161-936: A rope-haired, kazoo-voiced kid with a comic-strip face, who until this week had never appeared in a picture without mugging or overacting it. His name (assumed) was Mickey Rooney, and to a large part of the more articulate U.S. cinema audience, his name was becoming a frequently used synonym for brat. During his long career, Rooney also worked with many of the screen's female stars, including Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet (1944), Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Marilyn Monroe in The Fireball (1950) and Grace Kelly in The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954). Rooney's "bumptiousness and boyish charm" as an actor developed more "smoothness and polish" over

3270-660: A short bier', Rooney's self-deprecating humor powers this book." He wrote a novel about a child star, published in 1994, The Search for Sonny Skies . On November 10, 2000, he starred in the Disney Channel original movie Phantom of the Megaplex . Despite the millions of dollars that he earned over the years, such as his $ 65,000-a-week earnings from Sugar Babies , Rooney was plagued by financial problems late in life. His longtime gambling habit caused him to "gamble away his fortune again and again". He declared bankruptcy for

3379-422: A special Juvenile Academy Award in 1939 , for "significant contribution in bringing to the screen the spirit and personification of youth". Jane Ellen Wayne describes one of the "most famous scenes" in the film, where tough young Rooney is playing poker with a cigarette in his mouth, his hat is cocked, and his feet are up on the table. "Tracy grabs him by the lapels, throws the cigarette away, and pushes him into

Girl Crazy - Misplaced Pages Continue

3488-795: A staged concert in September 2001. An abridged version of Girl Crazy was presented at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC October 2–5, 2008 as part of their Broadway: Three Generations production. Max von Essen played Danny, Jenn Colella played Molly, and Randy Graff played Kate, directed by Lonny Price . The New York City Center Encores! staged concert was held in November 2009. Directed by Jerry Zaks , it starred Ana Gasteyer , Marc Kudisch , Becki Newton , and Wayne Knight . The two-time Olympic champion and Emmy -winning television commentator Dick Button starred as Danny in

3597-401: A star of Ginger Rogers , who, with Allen Kearns , sang "Could You Use Me?" and " Embraceable You " and, with Willie Howard , " But Not for Me ". Ethel Merman, in her Broadway debut sang " I Got Rhythm ", " Sam and Delilah ", and " Boy! What Love Has Done To Me! " and "became an overnight sensation...that launched her fifty year career." Also of note is the opening night pit orchestra, which

3706-527: A successful song-and-dance team. Audiences delighted in seeing the "playful interactions between the two stars showcase a wonderful chemistry". Along with three of the Andy Hardy films, where she portrayed a girl attracted to Andy, they appeared together in a string of successful musicals, including coming-of-age musical Babes in Arms (1939). For his performance as Mickey Moran, 19-year-old Mickey Rooney

3815-444: A syndicated radio version of The Hardy Family in 1949 and 1950 (repeated on Mutual during 1952). In 1949, Variety reported a renegotiation of Rooney's deal with MGM. He agreed to make one film a year for them for five years at $ 25,000 a movie (his fee until then had been $ 100,000, but Rooney wanted to enter independent production.) Rooney claimed he was unhappy with the billing MGM gave him for Words and Music , but his career

3924-464: A typical "anxious, hyperactive, girl-crazy teenager", and he soon became the unintended main star of the films. Although some critics describe the series of films as "sweet, overly idealized, and pretty much interchangeable," their ultimate success was because they gave viewers a "comforting portrait of small-town America that seemed suited for the times", with Rooney instilling "a lasting image of what every parent wished their teen could be like". Behind

4033-466: A variety of styles, ranging from R&B, vocal jazz , and country to Broadway standards , children's music, waltzes, spiritual music, schlager music , traditionals from various ethnic groups represented in the US, and select songs from popular songwriters of the day, such as Burt Bacharach and Hal David , or Les Reed . Francis was married four times. In 1964, she was briefly married to Dick Kanellis,

4142-486: The Billboard Hot 100 . Eventually, the single sold over one million copies. However, her minor chart success came too late for her record label—Francis's recording contract consisted of ten solo singles and one duet single. Though success had finally seemed to come with "The Majesty of Love", Francis was informed by MGM Records that her contract would not be renewed after her last solo single. Francis considered

4251-733: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave Rooney their Academy Honorary Award for his lifetime of achievement. In addition to his movie roles, Rooney made numerous guest-starring roles as a television character actor for nearly six decades, beginning with an episode of Celanese Theatre . The part led to other roles on such television series as Schlitz Playhouse , Playhouse 90 , Producers' Showcase , Alcoa Theatre , The Soldiers , Wagon Train , General Electric Theater , Hennesey , The Dick Powell Theatre , Arrest and Trial (1964), Burke's Law (1963), Combat! (1964), The Fugitive , Bob Hope Presents

4360-515: The American Bandstand 30th Anniversary Special and appearing in the town where she had been raped. Francis' new-found success was short-lived, though. She was diagnosed with manic depression , which again brought her career to a halt. She was committed to multiple psychiatric hospitals. Francis attempted suicide in 1984. Nevertheless, in 1984, Francis was able to write and publish her autobiography, Who's Sorry Now? , which became

4469-629: The Billboard chart and was her second number 1 in the UK. The success of "Stupid Cupid" restored momentum to Francis' chart career, and she reached the U.S. top 40 an additional eight times during the remainder of the 1950s. She managed to churn out more hits by covering several older songs, such as "My Happiness" (number 2 on the Hot 100) and " Among My Souvenirs " (number 7), as well as performing her own original songs. In 1959, she gained two gold records for

Girl Crazy - Misplaced Pages Continue

4578-534: The Las Vegas Hilton with Dionne Warwick , a show billed as "Eric Floyd's Grand Divas of Stage". In December 2017, Francis released her most recent autobiography, Among My Souvenirs . While her singles were mostly kept in the then-current sounds of the day such as rock 'n' roll, novelty songs , the twist , torch ballads , or the girl group sound created by Brill Building alumni Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry , Francis' albums represented her in

4687-488: The "I'm Biding My Time" scene, with Miller (Stewart) playing trombone in the orchestra. It was said by one critic to be "fresh, ingenious...a rich delight". The 1932 RKO Radio Pictures production was very unlike the stage play except for its score. The film was tailored for the comic talents of Wheeler & Woolsey , a then-popular comedy team. In 1943, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer produced a lavish version starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland . In 1965, MGM once again made

4796-432: The 1960s, Rooney returned to theatrical entertainment. He accepted film roles in undistinguished films, but still appeared in better works, such as Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962) and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). He portrayed a Japanese character, Mr. Yunioshi , in the 1961 film version of Truman Capote 's novella Breakfast at Tiffany's . His performance was criticized by some in subsequent years as

4905-599: The Bronze Star, Rooney also received the Army Good Conduct Medal , American Campaign Medal , European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal , and World War II Victory Medal , for his military service. Rooney's career declined after his return to civilian life. He was now an adult with a height of only 5 feet 2 inches (1.57 m) (5 feet 1 inch (1.55 m) according to his 1942 draft registration) and he could no longer play

5014-542: The Chrysler Theatre , The Jean Arthur Show (1966), The Name of the Game (1970), Dan August (1970), Night Gallery (1970), The Love Boat , Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1995), Murder, She Wrote (1992), and The Golden Girls (1988) among many others. In 1961, he guest-starred in the 13-week James Franciscus adventure–drama CBS television series The Investigators . In 1962, he

5123-805: The Museum . He returned to play the role again in the sequel Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian in 2009, in a scene that was deleted from the final film. On May 26, 2007, Rooney was grand marshal at the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival. He made his British pantomime debut, playing Baron Hardup in Cinderella , at the Sunderland Empire Theatre over the 2007 Christmas period,

5232-675: The Rain" on GSF Records. This answer song to "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree" by Tony Orlando & Dawn bubbled under the charts. The recording of a German version, though, remained unfinished. After her modest success with "(Should I) Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree?" Francis began performing regularly again. While appearing at the Westbury Music Fair in New York , on November 8, 1974, Francis

5341-407: The US until her contract with MGM Records expired in 1969. In 1965, Connie Francis participated in that year's edition of the annual San Remo Festival , where her team partner Gigliola Cinquetti and she presented " Ho bisogno di vederti ", which finished on number 5 of the final ranking. Francis returned to San Remo in 1967 to present " Canta Ragazzina " with her team partner Bobby Solo . In

5450-625: The US, Connie Francis had a third number-one hit in 1962: " Don't Break the Heart That Loves You ", and her success led MGM to allow her complete freedom to choose whichever songs she wanted to record. Francis's first autobiography, For Every Young Heart , was published in 1963. On July 3 that same year, she played a Royal Command Performance for Queen Elizabeth II at the Alhambra Theatre in Glasgow , Scotland. During

5559-403: The US, however, " Time Alone Will Tell ", Francis's cover version of San Remo's 1967 winning entry " Non pensare a me " which had been presented by Iva Zanicchi and Claudio Villa , peaked at number 94 on Billboard's Hot 100 and at number 14 on Billboard's AC charts. In 1973, Francis returned to the recording studio, cutting "(Should I) Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree?", b/w "Paint

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5668-566: The United Kingdom, Italy, and Australia, and in every other country where records were purchased. She was the first woman in history to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 when “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool” topped the chart in 1960, she was also the first woman to have 3 No. 1 hits on the chart, just three of her 53 career hits. Francis was born to an Italian-American family in the Ironbound neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey ,

5777-508: The age of three months. They lived in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn. When Rooney was born, his parents were appearing together in a Brooklyn production of A Gaiety Girl . He later recounted in his memoirs that he began performing at the age of 17 months as part of his parents' routine, wearing a specially tailored tuxedo. Rooney's parents separated when he was four years old in 1924, and he and his mother moved to Hollywood

5886-640: The basis for her April 1960 recording, " Everybody's Somebody's Fool " which would go on to become the first single by a female artist to top the Hot 100 . Veteran lyricist Ralph Maria Siegel penned a set of German lyrics, named " Die Liebe ist ein seltsames Spiel ", which, after some friction between Francis and her MGM executives, was recorded and released. The song peaked at number 1 in West Germany . She had two more number one hits there, "Paradiso" in September 1962 and "Barcarole in der Nacht" in July 1963. It

5995-468: The country, and I'll bet ninety-five percent of them sing. "There's no doubt about it", predicted Mr. Clark. "She's is headed straight for the number one spot". I began feeling sorry for myself and a bit envious, too. Good luck to her, I thought. And then Mr. Clark just happened to play a song called "Who's sorry now" - MY "Who's Sorry Now"! Well, the feeling was cosmic - just cosmic! Right there in my living-room, it became Mardi Gras-time and New Year's Eve at

6104-544: The depths of our love for each other. It was so special. It was a forever love. Judy, as we speak, has not died. She's always with me in every heartbeat of my body. In 1937, Rooney received top billing as Shockey Carter in Hoosier Schoolboy , but his breakthrough role as a dramatic actor came in 1938's Boys Town opposite Spencer Tracy as Father Flanagan, who runs a home for wayward and homeless boys. 18-year-old Rooney and 17-year-old Deanna Durbin were awarded

6213-688: The film of the same name, 11 years earlier. The series ran for three years and was an international hit. Rooney appeared in television commercials for Garden State Life Insurance Company in 2002. A major turning point came in 1979, when Rooney made his Broadway debut in the acclaimed stage play Sugar Babies , a musical revue tribute to the burlesque era co-starring former MGM dancing star Ann Miller . Aljean Harmetz noted, "Mr. Rooney fought over every skit and argued over every song and almost always got things done his way. The show opened on Broadway on October 8, 1979, to rave reviews, and this time he did not throw success away. Rooney and Miller performed

6322-606: The first child of George Franconero and Ida (née Ferrari-di Vito), spending her first years in the Crown Heights, Brooklyn area (Utica Avenue/St. Marks Avenue) before the family moved to New Jersey. Growing up in an Italian-Jewish neighborhood, Francis became fluent in Yiddish , which led her later to record songs in Yiddish and Hebrew . In her autobiography Who's Sorry Now? published in 1984, Francis recalls that she

6431-641: The following year. He made his first film appearance at age six in 1926, in the short Not to be Trusted . Rooney got bit parts in films such as The Beast of the City (1932) and The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933), which allowed him to work alongside stars such as Joel McCrea , Colleen Moore , Clark Gable , Douglas Fairbanks Jr. , John Wayne , and Jean Harlow . He enrolled in the Hollywood Professional School and later attended Fairfax High School . His mother saw an advertisement for

6540-566: The height of the Vietnam War in 1967, Connie Francis performed for US troops. Francis recalls this story frequently during the introduction to " God Bless America " at her live concerts. Due to music trends in the early and mid-1960s, especially the British Invasion , Francis's chart success on Billboard's Hot 100 began to wane after 1963. She had her final top-ten hit, "Vacation", in 1962. A number of Francis's singles reached

6649-598: The impossible." Mayer then grabbed young Rooney by his lapels and said, "Listen to me! I don't care what you do in private. Just don't do it in public. In public, behave. Your fans expect it. You're Andy Hardy! You're the United States! You're the Stars and Stripes. Behave yourself! You're a symbol!" Mickey nodded. "I'll be good, Mr. Mayer. I promise you that." Mayer let go of his lapels, "All right," he said. Fifty years later, Rooney realized in hindsight that these early confrontations with Mayer were necessary for him to develop into

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6758-544: The kind of stories that were suited to you. It was a conveyor belt that made motion pictures. Clarence Brown , who directed Rooney in his Oscar-nominated performance in The Human Comedy (1943) and again in National Velvet (1944), enjoyed working with Rooney in films: Mickey Rooney is the closest thing to a genius that I ever worked with. There was Chaplin, then there was Rooney. The little bastard could do no wrong in my book ... All you had to do with him

6867-481: The latter name, she appeared on NBC 's variety show Startime Kids between 1953 and 1955. During rehearsals for her appearance on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts in December 1950, Francis was advised by Godfrey to change her stage name to Connie Francis for easier pronunciation. Godfrey also told her to drop the accordion—advice she gladly followed, as she had begun to hate the large and heavy instrument. Around

6976-719: The live album The Return Concert: Live at Trump's Castle . That same year, she also released With Love to Buddy , a tribute album of songs made famous by the late Buddy Holly . In late December 2004, Francis headlined in Las Vegas for the first time since 1989. In March and October 2007, Francis performed to sold-out crowds at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco. She appeared in concert in Manila , Philippines, on Valentine's Day 2008. In 2010, she appeared at

7085-486: The mainstream United States self-image. At the peak of his career between ages 15 and 25, he made 43 films, and was one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 's most consistently successful actors. A versatile performer, he became a celebrated character actor later in his career. Laurence Olivier once said he considered Rooney "the best there has ever been". Clarence Brown , who directed him in two of his earliest dramatic roles in National Velvet and The Human Comedy , said Rooney

7194-415: The musical into a film, for Connie Francis . Unlike the previous two versions, the title was changed to When the Boys Meet the Girls . It co-starred Herman's Hermits , Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, Louis Armstrong , and Liberace . A number of Gershwin songs were retained, including "Embraceable You", "Bidin' My Time", "But Not for Me", "Treat Me Rough", and "I Got Rhythm". No original cast recording

7303-468: The play and subsequent film adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream . At the age of 16, he began playing Andy Hardy, and gained his first recognition at 17 as Whitey Marsh in Boys Town . At only 19 , Rooney became the second-youngest Best Actor in a Leading Role nominee and the first teenager to be nominated for an Academy Award for his performance as Mickey Moran in 1939 film adaptation of coming-of-age Broadway musical Babes in Arms ; he

7412-458: The recording "Who's Sorry Now?" was finished, only a few seconds remained on the tape. The single seemed to go unnoticed like all previous releases, just as Francis had predicted, but on January 1, 1958, it debuted on Dick Clark 's American Bandstand . Francis watched the show and wrote in her diary: I heard Dick Clark mention something about a new girl singer. So, what else is new? Another girl singer. There are ninety-five million females in

7521-459: The role of Puck in the Warner Bros. all-star adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1935. Critic David Thomson hailed his performance as "one of the cinema's most arresting pieces of magic". Rooney then moved to MGM , where he befriended Judy Garland , with whom he began making a series of musicals that propelled both of them to stardom. In 1937, Rooney was selected to portray Andy Hardy in A Family Affair , which MGM had planned as

7630-415: The role of a teenager, but he also lacked the stature of most leading men. He appeared in the film Words and Music in 1948, which paired him for the last time with Garland on film (he appeared with her on one episode as a guest on The Judy Garland Show ). He briefly starred in a CBS radio series, Shorty Bell , in the summer of 1948, and reprised his role as Andy Hardy, with most of the original cast, in

7739-440: The same time, Francis took a job as a singer on demonstration records , to bring unreleased songs to the attention of established singers and/or their management who might choose to record them for a professional commercial record. In 1955, Startime Kids went off the air. In May that same year, George Franconero Sr. and Francis's manager George Scheck raised money for a recording session of four songs which they hoped to sell to

7848-535: The scenes, however, Rooney was like the "hyperactive girl-crazy teenager" he portrayed on the screen. Wallace Beery , his co-star in Stablemates , described him as a "brat", but a "fine actor". MGM head Louis B. Mayer found it necessary to manage Rooney's public image, explains historian Jane Ellen Wayne: Mayer naturally tried to keep all his child actors in line, like any father figure. After one such episode, Mickey Rooney replied, "I won't do it. You're asking

7957-471: The second time in 1996 and described himself as "broke" in 2005. He kept performing on stage and in the movies, but his personal property was valued at only $ 18,000 when he died in 2014. Rooney and his wife Jan toured the country in 2005 through 2011 in a musical revue called Let's Put on a Show . Vanity Fair called it "a homespun affair full of dog-eared jokes" that featured Rooney singing George Gershwin songs. In 2006, Rooney played Gus in Night at

8066-696: The show 1,208 times in New York and then toured with it for five years, including eight months in London. Co-star Miller recalls that Rooney "never missed a performance or a chance to ad-lib or read the lines the same way twice, if he even stuck to the script". Biographer Alvin Marill states, "at 59, Mickey Rooney was reincarnated as a baggy-pants comedian—back as a top banana in show biz in his belated Broadway debut." For his performance, Rooney received nominations for Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Actor in

8175-458: The single taken from the album, reached number 8 in the United States and number 2 in the United Kingdom. Following this success, Francis recorded seven more albums of "favorites" between 1960 and 1964, including Jewish , German , and Irish , among others. These albums marked Francis's transition from the youth-oriented rock 'n' roll music to adult contemporary music , which George Franconero, Sr. had realized would be necessary if his daughter

8284-486: The studio in 1981 to cut " Comme ci, comme ça ", and "I'm Me Again", the latter of which became the title track of an album which featured the new songs. "I'm Me Again" became Francis' last single to chart on the AC charts. In 1981, further tragedy struck Francis when her brother, George Franconero, Jr., with whom she was very close, was murdered by Mafia hitmen. Despite that, she took up live performing again, even gracing

8393-431: The theme song of Francis's first motion picture . The movie introduced the concept of spring break , as the once sleepy town of Fort Lauderdale became the hotspot for college students on their spring vacation in the wake of the movie's success. The success of "Connie Francis Sings Italian Favorites" in late 1959/early 1960 led Francis to become one of the first American artists to record regularly in other languages. She

8502-563: The top 40 in the US Hot 100 in the mid-1960s, with her last top-40 entry in 1964 being her cover version of " Be Anything (but Be Mine) ", a 1952 song made famous by singer/bandleader Eddy Howard . Despite her declining success on the Hot 100, Francis remained a top concert draw, and her singles – with a more mature style – were charting on the top quarter of Billboard's Adult Contemporary (AC) Charts and sometimes even reached Billboard's Country Charts . Francis enjoyed lasting chart success in

8611-479: The turn of the century! And on February 15 of that same year, Francis performed it on the first episode of The Saturday Night Beechnut Show , also hosted by Clark. By mid-year, over a million copies had been sold, and Francis was suddenly launched into worldwide stardom. In April 1958, "Who's Sorry Now?" reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart and number 4 in the US. For the next four years, Francis

8720-448: The turn. He appeared on "The Love Boat" S6 E11 "A Christmas Presence" as Angelorum Dominicus (a guardian angel character). His wife Jan Rooney played Sister Bernadette, a nun with a beautiful singing voice. The episode aired on December 18, 1982. Rooney did voice acting from time to time. He provided the voice of Santa Claus in four stop-motion animated Christmas TV specials: Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970), The Year Without

8829-592: The world such as Britain, Germany, Spain and Italy. Even at the height of the Cold War , Francis's music was well received in Iron Curtain countries, and some of her recordings were made available on state-owned record labels such as Melodiya in the former Soviet Union and on Jugoton in former Yugoslavia, although it was common knowledge that rock 'n' roll was highly disparaged in Eastern bloc countries. In

8938-528: The world, but she was also voted the number 1 singer in over 10 countries. In 1960, she was named the most popular artist in Europe, the first time a non-European received this honor. From mid-1961 to mid-1963, Radio Luxembourg closed each day's broadcasts with "It's Time to Say Goodnight", a song Francis had recorded especially for them and was not officially released until 1996. Francis's enduring popularity overseas led to television specials in countries around

9047-451: The years, with resulting hospitalizations reported as "nervous breakdowns". Connie Francis Connie Francis (born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ; December 12, 1937) is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more than 100 million records worldwide. In 1960, Francis was recognized as the most successful female artist in Germany, Japan,

9156-449: The years, writes biographer Scott Eyman . The fact that Rooney fully enjoyed his life as an actor played a large role in those changes: You weren't going to work, you were going to have fun. It was home, everybody was cohesive; it was family. One year I made nine pictures; I had to go from one set to another. It was like I was on a conveyor belt. You did not read a script and say, "I guess I'll do it." You did it. They had people that knew

9265-531: The young generation and requested a more lively song. Greenfield urged Sedaka to sing a song they had written that morning with the Shepherd Sisters in mind. Sedaka protested that Francis would be insulted, but Greenfield said that since she hated all the other songs they had performed, they had nothing to lose. Sedaka then played " Stupid Cupid ." When he finished, Francis announced that he had just played her new hit song. It went on to reach number 14 on

9374-541: Was raped at the Jericho Turnpike Howard Johnson's Lodge in Jericho, New York , and nearly suffocated under the weight of a heavy mattress the culprit had thrown upon her. She subsequently sued the motel chain for failing to provide adequate security and reportedly won a $ 2.5 million judgment, one of the largest such judgments in history, leading to a reform in hotel security. Her rapist

9483-567: Was "the closest thing to a genius" with whom he had ever worked. He won a Golden Globe Award in 1982 and an Emmy Award in the same year for the title role in a television movie Bill and was awarded the Academy Honorary Award in 1982 . Rooney first performed in vaudeville as a child actor, and made his film debut at the age of six. He played the title character in the " Mickey McGuire " series of 78 short films, from age seven to 13. At 14 and 15, he played Puck in

9592-655: Was a disco version of "Where the Boys Are". That and other songs from the Who's Happy Now? sessions were subsequently recorded in Italian, Spanish, Japanese, and German. The Spanish and German recordings became albums of their own in as Connie Francis en Español in Spain and as Was ich bin (What I Am) in Germany. All three albums and the singles culled from them were released on United Artists Records . Francis returned again to

9701-496: Was also released successfully. In the wake of this, Francis recorded two duets for the German Herzklang label (a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment ) with Peter Kraus , with whom she had already worked several times in the late 1950s and early 1960s. A German-language solo album was supposed to follow on Herzklang, but despite all songs being recorded and mixed, the album remains unreleased. In 1996, Francis released

9810-431: Was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the silent-film era. He was the top box-office attraction from 1939 to 1941, and one of the best-paid actors of that era. At the height of a career marked by declines and comebacks, Rooney performed the role of Andy Hardy in a series of 16 films in the 1930s and 1940s that epitomized

9919-645: Was at a low point. His New York Times obituary reported, "at one point in 1950, the only job he could get was touring Southern states with the Hadacol Caravan", promoting a patent medicine that was later forced off the market. His first television series, The Mickey Rooney Show , also known as Hey, Mulligan , was created by Blake Edwards with Rooney as his own producer, and appeared on NBC television for 32 episodes from August 1954 to June 1955. In 1951, he made his directorial debut with My True Story , starring Helen Walker . Rooney also starred as

10028-476: Was awarded a special Academy Juvenile Award in 1939 . Rooney received his second Academy Award nomination in the same category for his role as Homer Macauley in The Human Comedy . Drafted into the military during World War II , Rooney served nearly two years, entertaining over two million troops on stage and radio. He was awarded a Bronze Star for performing in combat zones. Returning in 1945, he

10137-554: Was cast as himself in the episode "The Top Banana" of the CBS sitcom, Pete and Gladys , starring Harry Morgan and Cara Williams . In 1963, he entered CBS's The Twilight Zone , giving a one-man performance in the episode " The Last Night of a Jockey " (1963). Also in 1963, in 'The Hunt' for Suspense Theater , he played the sadistic sheriff hunting the young surfer played by James Caan . In 1964, he launched another half-hour sitcom, Mickey . The story line had "Mickey" operating

10246-603: Was composed of many well-known jazz musicians, including Benny Goodman , Gene Krupa , Glenn Miller and Jimmy Dorsey . "The score was one of the Gershwins' best" according to theatre writer Ken Bloom. A version with a heavily revised book was presented in 1975 by the St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre and in 1979 by the Coachlight Dinner Theater (East Windsor, CT). In 1992 the show appeared on Broadway in

10355-434: Was convinced it stood a chance of becoming a hit because it was a song adults already knew and that teenagers would dance to if it had a contemporary arrangement . Francis did not like the song and argued about it with her father heatedly, delaying the recording of the two other songs during the session so much that she thought no time was left on the continuously running recording tape. Her father insisted, though, and when

10464-564: Was encouraged by her father to appear regularly at talent contests, pageants, and other neighborhood festivities from the age of four as a singer and accordion player. Francis attended Newark Arts High School in 1951 and 1952. She and her family moved to Belleville, New Jersey , where Francis graduated as salutatorian from Belleville High School Class of 1955. Francis continued to perform at neighborhood festivities and talent shows (some of them broadcast on television), appearing alternately as Concetta Franconero and Connie Franconero. Under

10573-591: Was ever made, as original cast recordings did not exist in the U.S. prior to 1943. Several studio recordings of the score have been released, including an early 1950s version with Mary Martin , but the only one using the full score and original 1930 orchestrations was released by Nonesuch Records (Nonesuch 9 79250–2) in 1990 with Lorna Luft (Kate), Frank Gorshin (Gieber Goldfarb), David Carroll (Danny), and Judy Blazer (Molly). Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr. ; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire ; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014)

10682-595: Was followed by other major British and American recording stars including Wanda Jackson , Cliff Richard , Petula Clark , Brenda Lee , the Supremes , Peggy March , Pat Boone , Lesley Gore , the Beatles and Johnny Cash , among many others. In her autobiography, Francis mentioned that in the early years of her career, the language barrier in some European countries, especially in Germany, made it difficult for her songs to get airplay. Francis used these reflections as

10791-466: Was hired to record the vocals for Tuesday Weld 's "singing" scenes in the 1956 movie Rock, Rock, Rock , and for Freda Holloway in the 1957 Warner Brothers rock and roll movie Jamboree . In the fall of 1957, Francis enjoyed her first modest success with a duet single she had recorded with Marvin Rainwater : "The Majesty of Love", with "You, My Darlin' You" as the B-side, peaked at number 93 on

10900-695: Was just happy to be invited to the party." An October 2015 article in The Hollywood Reporter maintained that Rooney was frequently abused and financially depleted by his closest relatives in the last years of his life. The article said that it was clear that "one of the biggest stars of all time, who remained aloft longer than anyone in Hollywood history, was in the end brought down by those closest to him. He died humiliated and betrayed, nearly broke, and often broken." Rooney had bipolar disorder and had attempted suicide two or three times over

11009-504: Was kidding, he said, since he had played a jockey in at least three past films, including Down the Stretch , Thoroughbreds Don't Cry , and National Velvet . The film garnered excellent reviews and earned $ 40 million in its first run, which gave Coppola's struggling studio, American Zoetrope , a significant boost. It also gave Rooney newfound recognition, along with an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor . In 1983,

11118-524: Was never found. In the years after the incident, Francis went into depression, taking as many as 50 Darvon pills a day and rarely leaving her home in Essex Fells, New Jersey . In 1977, Francis underwent nasal surgery and completely lost her voice. She went through three more operations and was unable to sing for four years. In 1978, Francis returned to the recording studio to cut an album titled Who's Happy Now? The lead recording on this album

11227-501: Was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role , becoming the second-youngest Best Actor nominee. During an interview in the 1992 documentary film MGM: When the Lion Roars , Rooney describes their friendship: Judy and I were so close we could've come from the same womb. We weren't like brothers or sisters but there was no love affair there; there was more than a love affair. It's very, very difficult to explain

11336-651: Was not until her number 7 on the US charts, " Many Tears Ago ", later in 1960 when Francis began to record cover versions of her songs in foreign languages other than German. Over the years she expanded her recording portfolio to 15 languages. She also sang in Romanian during a live performance at the 1970 edition of the Cerbul de Aur in Brașov , Romania. Francis was not fluent in all of these languages and she had to learn her foreign language songs phonetically . Francis explained in

11445-399: Was one of Rooney's actor-friends—was found dead beside her. Detectives ruled it a murder-suicide , which was committed with Rooney's own gun. Francis Ford Coppola had bought the rights to make The Black Stallion (1979), and when casting it, he called Rooney and asked him if he thought he could play a jockey. Rooney replied saying, "Gee, I don't know. I never played a jockey before." He

11554-779: Was rehearse it once. In June 1944, Rooney was inducted into the United States Army , where he served more than 21 months (until shortly after the end of World War II ) entertaining the troops in America and Europe in Special Services Jeep Shows . He spent part of the time as a radio personality on the American Forces Network , and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for entertaining troops in combat zones. In addition to

11663-613: Was to have a successful longterm music career. Nevertheless, Francis continued to record singles aimed at the youth-oriented market. Among her top-ten hits on the Hot 100 were " Breakin' in a Brand New Broken Heart " (1961, number 7), "When the Boy in Your Arms (Is the Boy in Your Heart)" (1961, number 10), " Second Hand Love " (1962, number 7), and "Where the Boys Are" (1961, number 4). The last one became her signature tune and became

11772-415: Was too old for juvenile roles, but too short at 5 ft 2 in (157 cm) for most adult roles, and was unable to gain as many starring roles. However, numerous low-budget, but critically well-received films noir had Rooney playing the lead during this period and the 1950s. Rooney's career was renewed with well-received supporting roles in films such as The Bold and the Brave (1956), Requiem for

11881-469: Was voted the "Best Female Vocalist" by American Bandstand viewers. As Connie Francis explains at each of her concerts, she began searching for a new hit immediately after the success of "Who's Sorry Now?" since MGM Records had renewed her contract. After the relative failure of the follow-up singles "I'm Sorry I Made You Cry," which stalled at No. 36) and "Heartaches" , failing to chart at all, Francis met Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield , who sang

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