Mickey Rooney was the highest-paid actor of the 1930s and 1940s. He did a bit of
everything, including acting, producing, radio,
and vaudeville. He even played Santa Claus in the famous Rankin-Bass stop-motion specials. He
appeared in over 300 films over nine decades. Stars that burn so brightly are bound to fade
eventually. Not all of his roles were hits, and he wasn’t entitled to residuals. When he entered his
final marriage, he signed a damning contract. She and his two stepsons left him poor when he died.
Keep watching to learn why Mickey Rooney’s children didn’t inherit his millions.
Before the Feud Joseph Yule Jr. was born on September
22, 1920. He debuted at a young age in 1926. He got his stage name from the Mickey McGuire
two-reelers that he worked on at MGM. They lasted for over 50 episodes and were his ticket to fame.
He was also a hit in 10 Andy Hard musicals he starred in with Judy Garland. He got a special
juvenile Oscar in 1939. He was also nominated for a real one twice in the next five years,
the youngest actor to ever achieve this feat. He rose to fame so quickly that the seedy side
of celebrity lured him in. He married his first wife Ava Gardner at 19 then started
sleeping around. He spent and gambled recklessly and became addicted to pills and alcohol. He was
also bipolar and attempted suicide three times. Mickey went back to work in the 1970s, but most of
his projects were flops. He’d already been married seven times when met his last wife Jan Chamberlin.
He was 70 and she was 18 years younger than him. He’d lost most of his money by then due to his
reckless lifestyle, a lack of residua pay, and numerous previous marriages. He had to
move in with his wife and take on her sons from a previous marriage, Chris,
and Mark. His fortune eventually turned around, with his sons working for him
as a driver and chef. It seemed like a happy family but was anything but.
Jan vs. Mickey Jan said that being married to Mickey Rooney
was “like a big game of chess.”He called their relationship “one big, joyous fight.” He had a
volatile personality, and she also struggled with hormonal issues that affected her mental health.
He was at a low point in his career when they met, but he hit a high again with the musical
Sugar Babies. She was chasing the same level of fame and tried to use him to get there.
She allegedly told him not to take a part in the 2011 Muppets movie unless she could be in it, too.
There was plenty of he-said, she-said about the rest of their marriage. She
allegedly scripted his phone calls, passed him notes on how to praise her during interviews,
and autographed photographs for him. She claims he was the one who insisted
on these efforts. That included their separation agreement in July of 2013. It included a clause
that she’d appear in some of his work. They fought behind the scenes, and those
close to Mickey said the altercations could often get physical. He’d end up with black eyes, missing
teeth, and falling down the stairs. She even confessed to hitting him to his family in court
in August 2014. That was the beginning of several serious allegations against her and her sons.
The couple remained estranged and had been separated for the last 12 months
of his life. She claims that she learned of his death from “someone from TMZ.”
Losing Money MIckey’s problems with Jan
were only the beginning of his family troubles. She, along with her sons, became one of the major
reasons the highly-paid star died with so little money. Certain situations may only be allegations,
but they’d do a lot to explain the change. Mickey declared bankruptcy in 1996. Mark claims
that CHris lied and told him his pensions would be cashed out and he’d have to keep
working to get health and medical benefits. He and Jan set up a revue called Let’s Put
on a Show so they could perform together, and he booked their gigs. Chris denies this but
court documents show that he owned two cars and four houses worth over $2 million while
his father’s home was refinanced multiple times. Mark saw Mickey in 2004 and claimed his brother
was making extravagant purchases. There was another time when he saw him force his father
to sign documents about future performances. Chris continued to be his manager in return for
cash but once claimed “Mickey Rooney works for me, I don’t work for Mickey Rooney.”. He even
became a 49% partner in his production company, Densmore Productions, in 1998.
Mickey’s Social Security payments of over $11,000 a month were put into an account that he, Jan,
and Chris could access. Similar ones were transferred out. One was named Tiyana,
which is the name of Chris’s daughter. He claims it was his father’s savings account.
Jan and Mickey lived in a filthy five-bedroom home until she stood up to get away from
him. It was sold in 2012 for $695,000. Mark and Sharlene then shut down Densmore
Productions. He also fired all of Mickey’s financial advisors. The one he kept on,
Cindy Smith, allegedly took money from him as well to fund her own business. She later
cooperated in court in order to have her name removed from the official complaint.
Chris and Jan also got connected with other individuals without Mickey’s knowledge. Michael
Schrimmer paid tens of thousands of dollars to accompany him at a dinner. Ray Willey
hired him and Jan to perform at his daughter’s wedding. He also greenlit a pilot for an
unsuccessful reality show called The Rooneys. Mark and Charlene also began selling $20,000
worth of Mickey’s possessions. His juvenile Oscar alone could be worth thousands. She
claims it was always done with his permission. Like and subscribe to Facts Verse for more on the
life and career of Mickey Rooney. Keep watching to learn more about his unfortunate family feud.
Taking the Feud to Court Mickey was one of those actors who was known
for being short. It even made him the perfect fit for a Twilight Zone episode about a man growing
to an enormous size. Unfortunately, it also made it easy for his family to take advantage of him.
In July of 2010, Mickey, Jan, and Chris were in The Grill on the Abby in Thousand Oaks. He
was 89 and rambled in his answers during an interview. Jan kicked him under the table.
It was a public display of the serious elder abuse he suffered at the hands of his family.
The public learned about the seriousness of the feud in 2011. Mickey testified before the
Senate Special Committee on Aging. He said that Chris and his daughter-in-law had been abusing
him. He said that his son had “threatened, intimidated, bullied, and harassed him” and
asked that they both stay 100 yards away from him at all times. The case led to a large settlement.
Chris later addressed the claims to the Hollywood Reporter. He said that it was all a plot
orchestrated by his brother. Mark was getting paid to be Mickey’s caregiver but had been stealing up
to $2.8 million from him. When he got caught, he told his father that Chris was to blame,
leading to the restraining order. He also claims that this was the reason Jan wasn’t
informed about her husband’s death. Mckey’s Death and Will Change
Mickey had a desire to work until his final days. He seemed well and passed a physical
exam to appear as Gus in 2014’s Night at the Museum. He was in high spirits and great health
until the day he took a nap and never woke up. Mickey Rooney died at the age of 93 on April 6,
2014. The cause of death was ruled as natural causes and complications from
diabetes. The police said no investigation was necessary, but Christopher may disagree.
He alleges that Mark kept his father hostage from his mother. He also claims that he died
choking on food because no one came to help him. The feuding family couldn’t even agree on how to
bury Mickey. An agreement was reached to not move his body until a court hearing could resolve the
family feud. They eventually settled on taking his body to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
He was buried amongst Hollywood celebrities like he’d always wanted to be, but almost none of them
came to his funeral. Mickey Rourke had received a fan letter from him 30 years earlier and was
touched, so he came. Only Mark, Charlene, and another mutual friend were there, and there were
two smaller services after that. He was shocked by the sight of his friend’s pathetic-looking body
but placed the letter next to it. Contesting the Will
MIckey’s will isn’t as much a matter of money because of how little he had in his
final years. It’s a matter of influence and truth. Who should handle his money
and legacy? Who took care of him and who abused him? Does anyone know what happened in his final
years and, if not, what should be done about it? Jan only gets $100,000 a year as a portion of his
Social Security benefits and part of his pension. She and Chris are using it to live on. Only one
of Mickey’s children got anything from his will. Mark says this is a fair arrangement because the
rest of the family is in a better financial situation than him. He’s also allegedly owed
$38,000 in unpaid caregiver fees. Jan says that Mickey’s final will
is invalid because it was written “under influence.” Going back further in time,
she says that his testimony in the elder abuse trial was coerced. That’s a bit harder to believe
because tapes of her screaming at him have been sold for impressive amounts of money.
The truth of one of the greatest actor’s fall from grace due to family abuse may
never be discovered. It is one of the most depressing in Hollywood history.
What’s your favorite role of Mickey Rooney’s? Let us know in the comments.