Hollywood (Jan - Mar 1943)

the; RocSiSey Marriage The Mickey Rooneys have reconciled after a separation of several weeks. Has true love averted a tragedy or is their marriage doomed ? Mickey's in Andy Hardy's Double Life By MITCHELL CRAM; | A very unusual party was recently held in Hollywood. The host was Tommy Dorsey; and Lana Turner, her husband, Steve Crane, Judy Garland and her husband, Dave Rose, attended. The guests of honor wei e Mickey Rooney and Ava Gardner. The party celebrated the reconciliation of the Rooneys who had just patched up the quarrel which almost led them to the divorce courts. This reconciliation is the third act in a real life drama which rivals in human interest any of the pictures in which Mickey has appeared on the screen. Act One was the courtship of Ava Gardner, and her marriage to Mickey, who had been called the youngest wolf in Hollywood. The curtain scene might have been when newspapermen called upon Mickey in New York and asked him whether he and his young bride planned to have children. Mickey grinned and said, "We want everything that goes with a happy home." Act Two would unveil the story of their marriage, with its many quarrels. They quarreled bitterly at the time of their six months' anniversary. That was patched up. But there were other quarrels. The curtain scene on this act would be Ava Gardner surrounded by newspaper reporters asking why she was seeking a divorce. Ava would be saying in a voice that trembled slightly, "Conditions haven't been happy in our home for a long time. I haven't had the sort of home life with Mickey that I wanted — the sort that any girl would want." Act Three would show Mickey trying to forget Ava, and appearing gay and unconcerned. Shortly after the news of their separation hit the newspapers, he went out with another girl. But what flabbergasted Hollywood was that the other girl could have passed as Ava Gardner's sister, she looked so much like her! The third act would also show Ava trying to forget Mickey. But anyone taking a good look at her could see that she was still carrying a torch for him. The curtain scene would be the reconciliation party, with Tommy Dorsey beaming. Or it might be the scene where Ava assured reporters, "We just had a little family spat. It's all over now." When the news of the Rooney split first leaked out, the columnists would have bet you 1000 to 1 that the Rooneys would never reconcile. But columnists can't always take a human heart apart and see what makes it beat. They didn't know the inside story behind Mickey's marriage failure. Before he met and fell in love with Ava, writers used to say of Mickey that his heart was safely tucked away in the top drawer of his dresser. His mother was his best girl. That was the keynote of his life. Ever since he'd been a kid he'd looked out for her. She didn't like to see Mickey working in burlesque houses; but money was very scarce in the Yule family, particularly after the Yules separated. From the beginning, Mickey was a natural born showman. It was easy for him to get jobs. So from childhood on, he worked to support his mother and himself. She repaid him with the utmost devotion. In her eyes, he could do no wrong. She catered to all his whims and fancies . . . even to the smallest detail. When Mickey was about sixteen, his success began to go to his head. He dressed loudly, drove around in a flashy car and hired a negro valet. Hollywood wondered; but not his mother. In her eyes Mickey was perfection. As the years went by, he lost a little of his brashness, but some of it still clung to him. Hollywood shrugged its