Liza Minnelli Reacts to Passing of Mickey Rooney

As BWW reported yesterday, Mickey Rooney, who spent nearly his entire life in show business, has passed away at the age 93, after being in ill health for quite some time. He appeared on Broadway in Sugar Babies (opposite fellow MGM legend Ann Miller) and The Will Rogers Follies.

Stage legend Liza Minnelli posted the following statement on her Official Facebook page regarding the loss of the Hollywood star:

Mickey was somebody that everybody loved, but to me he was part of the family. He was one of a kind, and will be admired and respected always -- Liza Minnelli

For more star reactions to the passing of Mickey Rooney, click here!

Tony and Oscar winning Broadway, film and TV star Liza Minnelli has appeared on Broadway in Flora, The Red Menace -- for which she won the 1965 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical -- Liza, Chicago, The Act (another Tony win in 1978), The Rink, Victor / Victoria, Minnelli on Minnelli and Liza's at the Palace.

She also received a special Tony Award in 1978 She has appeared as herself on TV in Smash, The Voice UK, So You Think You Can Dance, The Apprentice and more, and she is also known for her portrayal of Lucille Austero in the now-Netflix-based comedy series Arrested Development.

About Mickey Rooney:

A four-time Oscar-nominee for Babes in Arms, The Human Comedy, The Bold and the Brave and The Black Stallion (as well as the winner of a 1939 Academy Juvenile Award), Rooney was American's biggest box office attraction at one point in the late 1930s. Brash, charming and exuberant, he was acclaimed for his skills as an actor as well as a song and dance man. With Garland, he starred in such films as Babes in Arms, Strike Up the Band, Girl Crazy and Babes on Broadway. He also played the title role in the Andy Hardy films. Rooney, who has appeared in literally hundreds of films and TV shows, has also appeared on screen in Boys Town, Young Tom Edison, Words and Music, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Requiem for a Heavyweight and Babe: Pig in the City, among many others.

Mickey Rooney was born Joe Yule Jr. on September 23, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York. He first took the stage as a toddler in his parents' vaudeville act at 17 months old. He made his first film appearance in 1926. The following year, he played the lead character in the first Mickey McGuire short film. It was in this popular film series that he took the stage name Mickey Rooney. Rooney reached new heights in 1937 with A Family Affair, the film that introduced the country to Andy Hardy, the popular all-American teenager. This beloved character appeared in nearly 20 films and helped make Rooney the top star at the box office in 1939, 1940 and 1941. Rooney also proved himself an excellent dramatic actor as a delinquent in Boys Town starring Spencer Tracy. In 1938, he was awarded a juvenile Academy Award.

Photo courtesy of Liza Minnelli Official Facebook