Report from Santa Fe; Mickey and Jan Rooney (In Memoriam)

. . Report from Santa Fe is made possible in part by grants from the members of the National Education Association of New Mexico, an organization of professionals who believe that investing in public education is an investment in our state's economic future. And by a grant from the Healey Foundation, Taos, New Mexico. I'm Lorraine Mills and welcome to report from Santa Fe. Today, our guests are Mickey Rooney and his beautiful wife, Jan Rooney. Thank you for joining us. It is our extreme pleasure, Lorraine. I'm happy to be here at this great capital of this country. Sure, just country, it is here. Well, actually, you, we filmed a movie here in 1990. Tell us about it. It was called The Legend of Obie Taggart. Right with, we had

Ernest Borgnayne. Net 80. Ben Johnson, Net 80. You wrote it? Randy Travis. And he did write it. And I'm telling you. And she sang it. And yes, I did. I sang a beautiful song. And I won't tell you what part I was singing in because it's kind of... Well... Very good. And so you filmed it at the Bonanza Pinch? Same place that my friend Kevin Costner shot Wyatt Earp. Uh -huh. And so you lived in Santa Fe at that time? No, we just stayed during the picture. Oh, okay. And Gloria De Haven was in it. Uh -huh. And let's see. Randy Travis. Randy Travis, Larry Kelly. I think I've named everybody. Yes. It was wonderful. You were an old cowboy. Oh, wonderful. He's kind of a cowboy, anyway. Yes. Well, it would be very hard for me to even reprise your career. Suffice it to say that you are now setting out on your 85th anniversary tour. Tell us what you're going to be doing. Tell me about the show. Jan, you start. Well,

it's music, music, music, and Mickey sings. And we have some film clips, maybe some obscure ones. People may not have seen of some of his movies and things that he's been up to through the years. And talk of Hollywood. And, of course, Mickey's Hollywood royalty. We all know that. By that piano. Oh, good. We do a little dancing. And we sing a song that, believe it or not, George Gershwin wrote. And my friend Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. And our friends of both of ours. You say either. And I say either. Oh. You say neither. And I say neither. Either. Neither. Neither. Neither. Let's call the whole thing off. And a lot of people don't know. We have nowhere fun with that. And that was written by the great George Gershwin. Yes. Oh, and that is a much beloved song, too. We think of it usually as potato and potato. Well, we get to that. You get to that too. So, where will this be seen? I know you have a thing. Well, the neck and the nose

is in England. You are sold out always. Yes. This is our second tour back to England. We're leaving at the end of August. And we're even going to get to Ireland. And we had a thrill in Washington. I don't know what he saw. We met her majesty, the queen. Oh. And the British ambassadors. And who kissed her hand? I did. Oh. I kissed your hand. And she's. Yes. You were so adorable. No, it's terrible. I think she loved having Andy Hardy kiss her hand. Absolutely. But because let's talk about royalty. As Jan said, you are Hollywood royalty. Yes. You have been, what, how many years have you been performing? 85. 85. You've done over 350 pictures. That's right. I know that one of your early works that I so loved was the Midsummer Night Stream where you played Puck. Well, I did things a long time before I did that. I know I think you had a 50 ,000. I think I ever did what's called Orchids and Derman, with BB Daniels. Yeah. And then let's do a couple

of the highlights. Because I know I always love National Velvet. Well, Elizabeth Taylor. They play that in England. For three weeks before the Grand National. Wow. It's every year. Every year. And then Boys Town. Uh -huh. And Jan and I go around the country helping girls in Boys Town. Well, you're the honorary mayor. Yes, he's the mayor for life. For life, not honorary. For mayor. He's the mayor for life. Boy's town and girls' town. And people don't realize the trouble. Genuine trouble. The children are in. And it still exists this very day. People that are watching us now. Well, tell us. They're abused. Yes. They're not treated right. And they get a chance for education and desire, loyalty, courtesy. They learn so many things

and get treated with respect. Like the children that they deserve to have respect. And we are going to, during our tour, we're off -shooting to Ireland. And we're going to see where Father Flanagan himself was born. And it'll be such a treat for us, Mickey, doing that wonderful movie, Boys Town. Well, you know, Spencer Tracy and... Even though it was a long time ago. A lot of people remember Boys Town. Of course they do. Because of their children. And our great nation, the United States of America, needs to remember that our families are really the only thing they have. They might have money. They might have desire. They might have closeness in that. But in the end,

it's your family. It means everything. The support of your family. Now, you've been... You've had an extended show business family. I know people I was asked you about. You work with Judy Garland and with Elizabeth Taylor. With all the greats. And Ann Miller too. And Miller, which is a rare city. Who always used to say, Jan, you are the homewife. I am the stagewife. Okay. That was well done. And he was working in sugar babies. I said, that's fine. But you know, there are... I've worked with practically everyone. They always talk about the golden age. It wasn't the golden age. It was the good age. Of where they made pictures. That you understood that songs where you could understand the lyrics. That's why we love doing this show. We have all these wonderful musical hits

of yesteryear and the nostalgic songs that people really love. I mean, where are they from? Can you do them? I like New York, and you... What you did in a movie with Judy was... How about you? How about you? I like... A Gershwin too. How about you? I mean, those two... I like a fireside. When a storm is two. I like potato chips, moan -like motor trips. How about you? Yeah, I mean, they go on and on, but those were, and those are the songs that people can understand. But we also have to go into what's going on today. I mean, but everybody, music changes, desire changes. But there's still a need for their good old -fashioned songs. Don't you think, Lorraine? Well, yes, but not only that, but you never need to know these songs have meaning, but they're the soundtrack of our lives. Thank you. That's very well put. You have been

the soundtrack of our lives when you look back. So anytime you want to burst into song and add soundtrack to this program, you are always welcome. But music has changed like everything else they call it music. Well, now there's a place for everything to do. You know, Jackie Gleason came out wonderful guy. And he gave the people Jackie Gleason music. Oh, do you call that? And they all have strings. Oh, yes. And the wonderful... I think that was in the 50s. April and Paris. Oh, yes. And you know, the music for pictures is very important. Oh, yes. No matter what it is. And I don't think you can beat Lawrence of Arabia. No. And Peter O'Toole... Well, that's not musical, but that's not musical. And with the soundtrack, our friend made a picture,

Anthony Hopkins. It's for the first picture with Catherine Hepburn and Anthony Hopkins. And Tony Hopkins. Ah. And such a wonder. And Jan sang it as wedding. I did. Oh, you did. Whoever in a million years dreamed that I would be singing at Hannibal Lecter's wedding. Yeah. But he's far from that. We don't want to go into pictures anymore. Did you see him when he did Nixon? Oh, and this was that compelling. That was more than acting. It was like he had the presence. Oh, indeed he did. New New on the Baudi? Oh, yes. What a marvelous actor, Tony. What we call him Tony, Anthony Hopkins, of course. Now, when you look, people probably always ask you your favorite films. But there's only 350. It's like using which child you like the most. Oh, that's right. Yeah. I mean, the latest feature I liked very much. Night at the museum. Night at the museum. And you were

so cute. Robin Williams, who was, you know, he might be going, well, those are just, you're all the way around. But he is a marvelous actor. Did you see a awakening? Yes. Oh, yes. A dramatic actor. Oh, he's marvelous. So he can do everything. Yeah. Overlapped into drama, which, of course, this fellow here does. But Mickey, you've done it all. Yes, yeah. You sing, dance, play the piano, you act, and you're, your, your movie bill. All right. Right song. You listen. And I wrote a symphony called Melodonte. Melodonte. Melodonte, three. Uh -huh. Yeah. Uh -huh. Jonas, run us about. Keep your, uh, help me get finished. Just show it to him. We play so many instruments, yeah. But you know, symphony music is the heart of calmness. What is? And beauty. Mm -hmm. I mean, when you've got rebel. When you play piano and our show, you do not hear a pin drop. You can hear a pin drop, I should say. It's that

intense. People's mouths just are open in amazement. Because he's so... I'm just lucky enough to be with a lady. Yes. A lady? Yes. She is every inch of lady. I love you. Yeah. And then, who... Who has seen me through everything that can be bad. But you know, when you find the right lady, not necessarily a woman, man and woman, the gentleman and lady. Right. Not guys. Or dolls. Oh, I love that movie. You know, I helped Frank Sinatra get started. Yes. You know about that, David? I know. Tell me. Well, he was playing at the palladium in the heart of Hollywood with Tommy Torsie's band. He had come and he was a band

singer. And I befriended him. And I said, Frank, you're... You said, Frank, have you ever considered acting? He said, oh, I am. You can imagine with all of that. So I called Louis B. Mayor and Metropolitan Golden Mayor, which was the time... It's the Tiffany, the business. And I told him about Frank. And Frank Albert Sinatra. And he said, tell him to give me a call. So he gave him the number and he called him and the rest. This is an incredible history. But we've got another. Did you not give Marilyn Monroe her name? Yes, I did. Is that a legend or is it? Tell me about that. Well, she arrived at a trumpet player's house. No, no, no, not

Johnny Hyde wasn't in the band. Oh, your band player. And he arrived right by helicopter. And everybody said, oh my God. And I said, so before they go on the club, Donna, I said, come with me. I want you to come. It's very serious. So they thought, oh, here's Mickey. And I took her back to her place. It's in Hollywood. And she said, what do you want? I said, you've got to change your name. Norma Jean. She said, what should I call myself? I said, Marilyn should be your first name. There was a great star called Marilyn Miller. And nobody had ever used it. And the phone rang and it was my writing friend, Monroe Manning. And I said, Monroe, I can't talk now. May I call you back? It's a

thank you. And I stopped and she says, who are you talking to? And I said, I was talking to your last name. She says, what's that? I said, Marilyn Monroe. Of course, a lot of people think I didn't, but I did. Oh, no, I've heard this about you for years. Yeah. Anyway. And Sammy Davis Jr., I found him in Baltimore, Marilyn, the Will Maston trio, his uncle and his father. And I put him in the show with Judy and I at the time. And he came down to my dressing room was on stage level. His was upstairs, a couple of flights. And he can be for everybody. And he said, knock on the door and I said, yes, who is he?

It's me, Mr. Rooney. I said, Mr. Rooney, come in. I said, you know my name. My name is Mickey. Sammy, what is it you want? He says, may I sit down? Sure. He says, can I talk to you for a moment? I said, sure. He said, I'm in trouble. I said, what's the matter? He said, I want to do everything. I want to sing. I love dancing. I love to imitate. I love comedy. I love it serious. I said, what's holding you back? He said, don't you understand? I'm black. I said, you are? I had noticed. And we were friends. From that moment. Then in Washington DC, I saw red and red skeleton. Oh, red skeleton, yes. At the Capitol Theater.

And he just broke the showdown. I called Mr. Marrow and backstage. I said, red, I'm Mickey Rooney. He said, Mickey Rooney, I said, big deal. People don't understand that I'm just a human being with faults. But at the time, what's in a position today? But that's been your history. Your history, you've helped so many people all the way. No, no. I've tried. But they did it all themselves. That's the greatest experience. They did it all themselves. They did it all themselves. And I brought him, I had him call Mr. Mayor. And he came back, red skeleton was there. And of course, he used to have all the guitars and movies. Johnny Weissmuller. Oh, God. I see you all the people, didn't you? Then

I did two pictures for somebody. What was a domino principle? What did you hack? I was doing that. He was here. And he has his art here. He's an artist here. I know. You know, he's in our tourbook. He has a picture with me. We didn't get one with Mickey, so Mickey said, I'll put that one in. What a wonderful. I'm from the domino principle. What a wonderful. You have to say, you know, he was a Marine. Yes. Now, I'm not talking about this before our time runs away. In 1944, you enlisted. You were the most famous movie star in the world. And you joined the services you fought for your country. And I looked around where it wore. And I think, are any of our number one through ten stars enlisting? No, they're not. And so you were wearing the bronze star, that General Patton, Patton, Patton, himself gave you that. So please talk to us about your world too. And General Bradley. General

Bradley. Who took the dinner during your band? Next to Eisenhower. General Eisenhower. Yes. And I did a show at the meddling theater for General Eisenhower, Bradley, and Marshall Zookoff there. But that was after the war. Right. Because during the war, you had to do regular, you were in Jeep shows. And a great director went to Washington and said, I have an idea. Josh Logan. Josh Logan. He said, let's put three men in a Jeep and let them entertain the fighting men. Should they be exempt from it? No. They're soldiers

who will fight with their M1s. That's what they did. And put himself in harm's way. That's what they did. And I was honored to work with Mario Pironi, who played the accordion and Bob Priester, who sang, oh! Lahoma. Oh, yes. And the boys just loved it. And we have pictures today of me. Which are being our two book. And what we're doing. But we don't do it for that. He's done enough for us. The war, the old saying is, we don't give enough respect to the people who are fighting for this great country. Amen. The United States of America. Even if you don't believe in the war, they're out there trying to do their best. You bet. They are the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps.

They put in their lives at risk for us. You know, one of our greatest Marines. Lee Marvin. Lee Marvin. Lee Marvin. Oh, what a rough shot. And he was. He was real. Oh, as you're real. And he's like, he's like, he's like, he's so right. Like all of our great Marines. And like. The great Marine that I worked with. In Domino Principle. Well, Gene Hackman. Gene Hackman. I was talking about Gene Hackman. Do you know that Lee Marvin is buried in the National Cemetery? No, I don't. And I don't see that. Yes, yes. But these people are real. They're honest. There's no Hollywood

about them. And they do what they do, because that's what they enjoy. And that's the same reason that Jan and I, my Jan, because we enjoy meeting new people, being kind and courteous, and entertaining. And he still has the gift. Why should he stay home and do nothing when he can go out and eat truly? Enjoys it. So people will ask me, why don't you retire? Why? I say, why retire? Inspire. Inspire. Exactly. Well, you inspire me. If I may say your age, you are 87 years old. No, I'm 86. Well, the door should be in a couple months. What's the difference? What is the difference? And the door is in a couple of months. And it just does not wear a show. It celebrates 85 years, because weren't you at 18 months where you put on the stage. Your parents were actors, right? No, they were in showbiz. My father had formed a glassette, and he was on the stage. And your mother was a wonderful dancer from Kansas City.

Yes. She was first in Miller's maidens. That's where you get all that talent. Yeah. Where they did the shows by Landerins. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. And I first appeared in Albany, New York, they used to have burlesque theaters at that time. And everybody thought they were shotty and everything. But all the situation comedies got their jokes and their timing from burlesque. There was nothing hotty about them. And they entertained people with a laugh. That's why sugar babies. There was a beginning of that. Don't listen to the snobs who say burlesque was mean and low. Believe me, they don't know the half. For a very modest price, you could enter paradise or a man could drown his troubles in the laugh. Bobby Clark and Leon Earl, Willie Howard, Fanny Bryce, Al Joseph, Sophie Tucker,

at a foie. I remember their routines, all the stick in all their scenes. A memory that time cannot destroy. There were chorus girls and jugglers and a sentimental tone illustrated by a lantern slide. No fun was ever greater. That was the real theater. Just pay a fin and step inside. I mean, how can you begin a show with more charm? Well, and unfortunately, we are at the point where we have to end our show with charm. So maybe you'd like to sing us out with a song. I like to say something. Whatever you want to do. What song would you like to do, my dear? Let's finish the song we started. Yes, I'll say it. You say either, and I say either. You say either, and I say either. When you say neither, and I say neither. Neither.

Neither. Neither. Let's call the whole thing up. When you say potato, and I say potato. You say tomato. I say tomato. Potato. Potato. Tomato. Tomato. Let's call the whole thing up. But oh, if we call the whole thing up, then we must part. And oh, if we ever part, then that might break my heart. Show them you like pajamas. And I like pajamas. But you wear pajamas and flip up pajamas. So we know what you need as a show with. And we'll call the calling off all. And we'll call the whole thing up. And we'll call the whole thing up. And we'll call the whole

thing up. It's with great reluctance that I have to call. This whole report from Santa Fe of our wonderful guest. We want to thank the governor, Mr. Richardson. Yes, and his wonderful wife, Mrs. Richardson. Yes. And we're sorry for the opportunity. We're here in our center. And I'm so happy to say that they've started studios. Yes. Oh, yeah, the film industry's booming. You're coming back. Good for coming back. Thank you. Thank you, Lorine. Yes. We've had such a wonderful time. Thank you for being so nice and giving us the time. Oh, it's been my delight. Our guest today are Jan Rooney, Mrs. Mickey Rooney. Mickey Rooney himself has grace our stage today. And I'm Lorine Mills. I'd like to thank you for being with us today on report from Santa Fe. We'll see you next week. Past archival programs of report from Santa Fe are available at the

website report from Santa Fe dot com. If you have questions or comments, please email info at report from Santa Fe dot com. Report from Santa Fe is made possible in part by grants from the members of the National Education Association of New Mexico, an organization of professionals who believe that investing in public education is an investment in our state's economic future. And by a grant from the Healey Foundation, Taos, New Mexico. Thank you very much.