Mickey Rooney Jr., original Mouseketeer, musician and eldest son of actor Mickey Rooney, dead at 77

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Mickey Rooney Jr., the eldest son of screen legend Mickey Rooney, died Saturday at the age of 77, following a lengthy career as a musician, actor and original Mouseketeer.

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Actor Paul Peterson, who first met Rooney when he was cast as backup Mouseketeers on the long-running “The Mickey Mouse Club,” confirmed his longtime friend’s passing in a Facebook post.

According to Variety, Rooney’s storied career included stints playing alongside Willie Nelson, as well as acting beside the icon in the films “Honeysuckle Rose” and “Songwriter.”

Rooney also helped score the soundtrack to John Brahm’s “Hot Rods to Hell,” in which he also had a small role, and appeared in 1975′s “Beyond the Bermuda Triangle,” the entertainment news site reported.

Longtime companion Chrissie Brown confirmed Rooney’s death at his home in Glendale, Arizona, to The Hollywood Reporter, noting that a cause of death remains undetermined.

According to THR, Rooney – who played guitar, keyboard, bass, drums and harmonica – married Merci Montello, a Playboy Playmate, in 1972, and Laura Hollander before meeting Brown, a singer and musician, about 18 years ago.

“He was a wonderful man,” Brown told THR, adding, “The last 18 years with me and my family, he’s been an angel.”

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