Mick 'n' Joots Album

Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland were the most popular song and dance team to ever work at MGM. They were probably the most talented duo to ever appear on the silver screen. They were in a total of ten feature films together, eight of which were specifically designed as Mickey-Judy vehicles. Of the other two, they had one scene and one number together in Words and Music ("I Wish I Were in Love Again"), but they didn't appear together in Thousands Cheer, though they both guest-starred.

Mickey and Judy also reenacted Babes in Arms (November 9, 1941) and Strike Up the Band (October 28, 1940) on Lux Radio Theater, starred together in Merton of the Movies (November 17, 1941), and appeared together on a number of other programs such as Screen Guild Theater, numerous publicity appearances (both live and on radio) and numerous benefits. They recorded several sides together for Decca Records, and Mickey coauthored "Oceans Apart" (with his friend, Sid Miller) specifically for Judy, which she recorded for Decca.

Mickey also accompanied Judy on her 1939 puiblicity tour for The Wizard of Oz and Babes in Arms. Mickey and Judy were very close, and appeared at many functions together, including the 1940 Academy Awards banquet where Mickey presented Judy with her special Oscar for the Best Juvenile Performance of 1939. It was Mickey who escorted Judy to the premiere of Babes in Arms at Grauman's Chinese Theater where Judy was invited to leave her hand- and foot-prints in the forecourt.

Judy appeared in three episodes of the Andy Hardy series, the only major guest star to appear more than once. She probably would have become a regular in the series had it not been for her wanting to appear in more adult roles. In 1963, when Judy taped her first episode of The Judy Garland Show, she insisted on doing her first show with Mickey, "because he's my partner" (though this was the first episode taped, it was not the first to air). Mickey talks almost incessantly about Judy in his autobiography, Life Is Too Short, which I highly recommend.

Thoroughbreds Don't Cry (MGM, 1937) [Timmy Donovan/Cricket West]

Love Finds Andy Hardy (MGM, 1938) [Andy Hardy/Betsy Booth]

Babes in Arms (MGM, 1939) [Mickey Moran/Patsy Barton]

Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (MGM, 1940) [Andy Hardy/Betsy Booth]

Strike Up the Band (MGM, 1940) [Jimmy Connors/Mary Holden]

Life Begins for Andy Hardy (MGM, 1941) [Andy Hardy/Betsy Booth]

Babes on Broadway (MGM, 1941) [Tommy Williams/Penny Morris]

Girl Crazy (MGM, 1943) [Danny Churchill, Jr./Ginger Gray]

Thousands Cheer (MGM, 1943) [Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland]

Words and Music (MGM, 1948) [Lorenz Hart/Judy Garland]