Rooney's career slumped after his return to civilian life. He was now an adult with a height of only ( according to his 1942 draft registration ) and he could no longer play the role of a teenager, but he also lacked the stature of most leading men. He appeared in a number of films, including "Words and Music" in 1948, which paired him for the last time with Garland on film (he appeared with her on one episode as a guest on "The Judy Garland Show"). He briefly starred in a CBS radio series, "Shorty Bell", in the summer of 1948, and reprised his role as Andy Hardy, with most of the original cast, in a syndicated radio version of "The Hardy Family" in 1949 and 1950 (repeated on Mutual during 1952).