Mickey (TV series)
| Mickey | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by |
Bob Fisher Arthur Marx |
| Directed by | Richard Whorf |
| Starring |
Mickey Rooney Emmaline Henry Tim Rooney Bobby Van |
| Composer(s) | Robert Hammack |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 17 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Selig J. Seligman |
| Producer(s) |
Bob Fisher Arthur Marx |
| Editor(s) | Floyd Knudtson |
| Cinematography | Fleet Southcott |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Selmur Productions Four K's, Inc. ABC Television Network |
| Distributor |
MGM Television (1964-1984) Warner Bros. Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | September 16, 1964 – January 13, 1965 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Mickey Rooney Show: Hey, Mulligan |
| Followed by | One of the Boys |
Mickey is an American situation comedy that aired on ABC from September 1964 to January 1965. Created and produced by Bob Fisher and Arthur Marx, the series stars Mickey Rooney, and was filmed at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios.
Synopsis
Mickey Grady (Mickey Rooney), a retired businessman from Omaha, Nebraska, inherits the luxury Newport Arms Hotel in Newport Beach, California, and decides to run it.
Cast
- Mickey Rooney as Mickey Grady
- Emmaline Henry as Nora Grady
- Sammee Tong as Sammy Ling
- Bobby Van as Bobby
Recurring
- Tim Rooney as Tim Grady
- Alan Reed as Mr. Swindler
- Brian Nash as Buddy Grady
Awards
Rooney won a Golden Globe Award for "Best Actor in a Television Series" at the 21st Annual Golden Globe Awards ceremonies in 1964.[1]
Notable guest stars
- Dina Merrill
- Frank De Vol
- Keith Andes
- Walter Burke
- Peter Deuel
- Parley Baer
- Jesse White
- Burt Mustin
- Donald Barry
Rooney said he would have liked Judy Garland to guest star.
Reception and cancellation
The series failed to sustain ratings to survive the full season in its 9 p.m. Eastern time slot on Wednesdays. Its principal competition was another sitcom, The Dick Van Dyke Show on CBS. NBC ran television movies at the time.[2]
Due to low ratings, ABC was considering canceling Mickey. The network was hesitant to cancel the series due to the popularity of Sammee Tong's character who had a solid fanbase thanks to his role in Bachelor Father. In his 1991 autobiography, Life Is Too Short, Mickey Rooney wrote that Tong was upset by the news that the series faced cancellation. Tong, who was a heavy gambler and owed money to the mafia, needed the money from the series to pay off his debts. On October 27, 1964, Tong took an overdose of barbiturates and died at his home. Tong's death effectively ended any chance for the series' survival, and ABC canceled Mickey.[3] The series' last episode aired on January 13, 1965.
Episode list
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | "Seaside, Westside" | September 16, 1964 | Official pilot of the series |
| 1-2 | "The Big Jump" | September 23, 1964 | |
| 1-3 | "The Case of the Slippery Slipsy" | September 30, 1964 | |
| 1-4 | "How To Raise Children Without Really Trying" | October 7, 1964 | |
| 1-5 | "Mickey Crashes the Movies" | October 14, 1964 | |
| 1-6 | "The Way the Fortune Cookie Crumbles" | October 21, 1964 | |
| 1-7 | "Goodnight, Whoever You Are" | October 28, 1964 | Sammee Tong died of a drug overdose the day before this episode aired. |
| 1-8 | "Nobody Buys Retail" | November 4, 1964 | |
| 1-9 | "Hard Work Never Hurt Anyone" | November 11, 1964 | |
| 1-10 | "Honest Injun" | November 25, 1964 | |
| 1-11 | "Somebody's Been Sleeping In My Bed" | December 2, 1964 | |
| 1-12 | "For the Love of Grandpa Toddie" | December 9, 1964 | |
| 1-13 | "One More Kiss" | December 16, 1964 | |
| 1-14 | "Luck O' The Irish" | December 23, 1964 | This episode was scheduled to air on November 18, 1964, but was pre-empted at last minute scheduling. |
| 1-15 | "The Elephant Mickey Won't Forget" | December 30, 1964 | |
| 1-16 | "Be My Guest" | January 6, 1965 | |
| 1-17 | "Mickey Takes Over" | January 13, 1965 | This is the last episode before the series' cancellation. |
References
- ↑ The 21st Annual Golden Globe Awards (1964), Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Accessed October 25, 2008.
- ↑ 1964-1965 American network television schedule
- ↑ Rooney, Mickey (1991). Life Is Too Short. Villard Books. p. 266.
External links
- Mickey at the Internet Movie Database