Mickey Rooney Jr., Actor, Musician, and Son of Screen Legend, Dies at 77

Martin Holmes July 19, 2022, 8:55 am

Mickey Rooney Jr., the former Mickey Mouse Club star and eldest son of Hollywood icon Mickey Rooney, has died. He was 77.

The death was confirmed in a Facebook post by Paul Peterson, a friend and fellow Mousketeer. “Mickey Rooney Jr peacefully passed away this morning in Arizona,” Peterson wrote. “I first met Mickey, the oldest of nine siblings sired by his famous father when he and Timmy were hired by Disney to be Mouseketeers in 1955. [He] was tall and talented. He could sing, dance and act… and get in trouble. We three were fired for Conduct Unbecoming a Mouse!”

He was born on July 3, 1945, in Birmingham, Alabama, to actor Mickey Rooney and his second wife, singer Betty Jane Rase. The eldest of Rooney’s children, he joined the Mickey Mouse Club with his brother Tim in 1955, appearing in the first season and a special. As referenced by Peterson, Rooney Jr. and his brother were fired before the end of the first season.

Rooney Jr. went on to appear in the TV panel show I’ve Got a Secret and the variety special Shindig! His first film role came in 1967 in Hot Rods to Hell. He also starred in the television film Beyond the Bermuda Triangle in 1975 and the film Honeysuckle Rose in 1980.

He was also a musician, playing multiple instruments, including guitar, keyboards, and drums. He formed a band with his brother Tim in the 1960s and later played in bands with country music legend Willie Nelson, with who he starred alongside the previously mentioned Honeysuckle Rose.

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“Mickey Junior was the personification of ‘damaged goods,’” Petersen continued. “He gave all he could. I was born on the same day as Mickey’s father and ‘The Mic’ gave me, unsolicited mind you, the most useful advice I ever got. It is one of my greatest sorrows that he didn’t do the same for his son. Mickey Rooney Junior. Rest in Peace at last. We will see to your wishes.”

Rooney Jr. is survived by his long-time companion Chrissie Brown. A cause of death was not given.