Mickey Rooney Jr.

Mickey Rooney Jr. was born on July 3, 1945, as Joseph Yule III to movie legend Mickey Rooney and his second wife, the former Betty Jane Rase, who was a beauty pageant winner and later known as Merci Montello, the Playmate of the Month for December 1972 as "Mercy Rooney." Betty Jane met Mickey Sr. when he was stationed in the Army in Birmingham, Alabama, during World War II. Mickey Jr. was the first of his father's nine children. Growing up in Hollywood as the son of a famous movie star, he interacted with some of the biggest stars on the planet, including Mae West, Elvis Presley, and The Beatles. At age 13, he met Judy Garland at a party at her Brentwood home, where she remarked, "So you're Mickey's first-born son. You're a fine-looking young man." Unlike his extremely short father, Mickey Jr. grew to be over six feet tall, taking after his tall mother.

In his 1991 autobiography "Life Is Too Short," Mickey Sr. admitted to cheating on Betty Jane, describing her as "totally oblivious to anything going on outside our home" and stating that their relationship was "just not compatible." The marriage ended in divorce in 1948. Mickey Jr. continued to see his father frequently after the divorce. Sharing the name of the #1 box office star of 1939, 1940, and 1941, Mickey Jr. had opportunities in the entertainment industry, though he found he had to work twice as hard to prove himself due to his famous name.

He first entered show business as one of the original Mousketeers on Walt Disney's The Mickey Mouse Club (1955), a role his father claimed earned the famous Mouse its name. Mickey Jr. and his brother Tim Rooney were hired in 1955 due to their singing, dancing, and acting abilities. Their contracts were terminated after a year when the boys got into trouble with the studio's paint department by pouring different colors of paint into different cans. At age 17, six years later, he hosted "The Andy Hardy Theater" on local TV. Musically inclined, he played bass in Willie Nelson's band and recorded an album titled "The Song Album." His musical talent, like his height, was inherited from his mother, a gifted vocalist. His maternal grandmother taught him to play the ukulele by showing him chords, which he later played on an acoustic guitar. In addition to playing bass and guitar, Mickey Jr. plays drums, harmonica, and keyboards and writes music. He, his wife Laura, and their friend John Whittinghill perform rock 'n' roll and gospel music as "Mickey Rooney Jr. and Friends."

A born-again Christian, Mickey Jr. met Laura, a Messianic Jew, in 1986. Through The Lord's Link Ministry, the couple minister and spread the Good News. Laura sings and plays the harp, while both she and Mickey Jr. testify to the "folly" of living "life in the fast lane." They reside in Hemet, CA. Mickey Jr. and his brother Tim operate the Rooney Entertainment Group, a movie and TV production company. He has written his autobiography, "Which One's Your Mother?"