The dark side of Mickey Rooney: Late Hollywood legend lined up ‘auditions’ with young actresses for roles that didn’t exist according to a new book which claims he ‘almost wore out the casting couch’
Veteran Hollywood journalist Craig Bennett certainly doesn’t hold anything back in his new tell-all book, True Confessions of a Shameless Gossip.
The Australian TV personality discusses the many celebrities he’s encountered over the years in his memoir – and one stands out for all the wrong reasons.
According to Craig, late actor Mickey Rooney was an absolute nightmare and nothing like his ‘nice guy’ persona.
Behind the facade: Late Hollywood star Mickey Rooney (pictured with his wife Carolyn Mitchell in LA in 1962) was an absolute nightmare, according to showbiz journalist Craig Bennett
‘In person, Mickey could be blisteringly bombastic. A former Hollywood PR friend of mine labeled Mickey abrasive, nasty, curt and rude,’ writes Craig.
Mickey died on April 6, 2014 in Los Angeles at the age of 93.
His award-winning acting career spanned decades, and he starred alongside the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and Judy Garland.
Mouthing off: Craig Bennett (pictured) blows the lid off his celebrity encounters in the new book, True Confessions of a Shameless Gossip
Golden boy: Mickey’s award-winning acting career spanned decades, and he starred alongside the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and Judy Garland (right)
Despite having worked with the greatest stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Mickey ‘spoke unkindly of almost everyone’.
According to a 2015 biography, Mickey had an illicit affair with Elizabeth Taylor on set of National Velvet when she was just 14 and he was 24.
But he ‘was scathing about, as he put it, Elizabeth’s grand sense of entitlement and “lack of talent”,’ according to Craig.
Forbidden romance: Mickey reportedly had an affair with Elizabeth Taylor on set of National Velvet when she was just 14 and he was 24. Pictured alongside Jackie ‘Butch’ Jenkins in 1944
And Elizabeth was reportedly just one of the legendary film star’s many conquests.
Craig apparently heard countless stories of Mickey lining up ‘auditions’ with aspiring young actresses ‘for roles that didn’t exist’.
As Craig puts it, ‘Mickey almost wore out the casting couch’.
Tell-all: Craig Bennett’s book True Confessions of a Shameless Gossip is released on May 1
Despite his reputation as Hollywood’s ‘golden boy’, Mickey battled addiction and gambled away his millions.
He spent the final years of his life touring America with his one-man show, during which he would blast many of his former colleagues.
‘Certainly it was clear he was doing the tell-all shows for the money,’ Craig writes.
True Confessions of a Shameless Gossip is released on May 1
Bitter: Mickey spent the final years of his life touring America with his one-man show, during which he would blast many of his former colleagues. Pictured on July 9, 2012 in Beverly Hills
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