Today we continue BroadwayWorld's newest column, celebrating the classic clips from yesteryear featuring our favorite classic stage and screen stars, with a spotlight on a legendary movie musical leading man and Broadway icon byway of the hit later-in-life revue SUGAR BABIES, Mickey Rooney.
On The Sunny Side Of The Street The top star in Hollywood for multiple years due to the gargantuan success of the ANDY HARDY film series, Mickey Rooney crafted a one of a kind career for himself over the course of his more than 70 years in show business. With his passing this week at the age of 93, now is an ideal time to turn our attention to his sole Broadway success via the hit vaudeville revue SUGAR BABIES, also starring movie musical royalty in the form of tap queen Ann Miller, and remember what made him such a formidable force in the entertainment industry. SUGAR BABIES opened on Broadway in 1979 and ran for more than three years before later going out on the road once again with Rooney and Miller reprising their Tony Award-nominated roles in 1984. Clearly, even after a rough life - complete with a crippling gambling addiction and more than a few failed marriages - Rooney was still going strong despite it all. Proving that his indomitable spirit remained in full control decades after his time at the top, Rooney brought the daffy joy and winsome ways of his onstage turn to a whole new audience with his SUGAR BABIES stints - not just on Broadway, but around the entire country, as well, introducing his gifts to a whole new generation in the process.
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