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Actor Mickey Rooney: I Was Sent Here to Do My Father’s Work
By Allyson Vannatta, Senior Writer
Legendary actor Mickey Rooney, who presented and loved the MOVIEGUIDE® Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala & Report to the Entertainment Industry, can be seen in almost 200 movies, and his time in the spotlight helped lead to a hectic personal life. However, Rooney didn’t shy away from his faith and how it impacted his success.
“I believe God gave me my career. I was sent here to do my Father’s work,” he said in an interview with the New York Times.
Rooney started his career at only 6-years-old. Throughout his long-standing tenure in Hollywood, he appeared in movies like STRIKE UP THE BAND, GIRL CRAZY (1943), and the more recent NIGHT OF THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB.
The star knew his success in the industry wasn’t the most important thing in life, though.
In an interview from 2011, Rooney urged viewers to, “Take your children to church.”
“And teach them about Jesus Christ and God who makes the sunshine and moon glow and gives so many blessings. And if you go with God, and [if] Jesus Christ is your personal savior, and [you] leave [your] troubles and everything to God, everything will work out for you,” he added.
Though his faith was strong, his personal life was all over the tabloids as he had eight marriages and financial struggles.
“I’ve given my life to God,” he told Albin, “and I try and do the right thing, but inevitably, and unfortunately, I do the wrong thing. I suffer from being human.”
In his book, Life Is Too Short, Rooney detailed how he became a born-again Christian in the 1970s.
While at a coffee shop in Lake Tahoe, California, the says he believes he was visited by an angel.
Rooney said a busboy with blonde curls came and whispered in his ear, “Mr. Rooney, Jesus Christ loves you very much.”
When he checked with the manager of the shop about the boy, the man said he knew no boy that fit the description.
As he grew older, Rooney also became an advocate for elderly abuse, as he himself was a victim.
He told Congress, “I’m asking you to stop this elderly abuse. I mean to stop it. Now. Not tomorrow, not next month but now.”
Even then, he brought it back to his faith.
He added, “No one experienced as much abuse as Jesus Christ.”
The actor died in 2014, but his legacy as an “Unabashed Christian” continues.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
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