Mickey Rooney had to file for bankruptcy in 1962 due to mismanagement of his finances. Shortly before his death in 2014 at age 93, he alleged mistreatment by some family members and testified before Congress about what he alleged was physical abuse and exploitation by family members. By the end of his life, his millions in earnings had dwindled to an estate that was valued at only $18,000. He died owing medical bills and back taxes, and contributions were solicited from the public. Rooney was born Joseph Yule, Jr. on September 23, 1920, in Brooklyn, New York, the only child of vaudevillians
Joe Yule of Glasgow, Scotland, and arrived at the Port of New York, August 2, 1892. Their surname was recorded on the ship's manifest as "Yule" not "Ewell." They settled in Brooklyn. His father was a boiler maker. The Yules spelled the men's Christian name as "Ninnian" not as Ninian. As a teenager, he performed in local vaudeville theatres in Brooklyn and later was booked into leading burlesque wheels, including the Columbia Burlesque Wheel; he adopted the stage name Joe Yule. In 1919, he married fellow vaudevillian Nellie W. Carter, a native of Kansas City, Missouri. In 1920, while they were appearing