Mickey Rooney through the years

Child star Mickey Rooney poses for a promotional photo at age 5 in this photo dated about 1925. Born in 1920, Rooney began performing in his parents' vaudeville act at 17 months. (AP)

Rooney poses with Ava Gardner shortly after the couple applied for a marriage license in Santa Barbera, Calif. in 1942. Gardner was the first of Rooney's eight wives.  (AP)

Rooney had been the biggest box-office star between 1938 and 1941, but his star fell in the 1950s and 1960s. Here, Rooney plays G.I. Dooley in the 1956 film "The Bold and the Brave." (AP)

In 1963, Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney put their heads together over a television script for Garland's CBS variety show, their first onstage reunion in 18 years. "Judy and I were so close we could've come from the same womb," is how Rooney described their relationship in a 1992 documentary. (AP)

In 1978, Rooney married his eighth wife, Jan Chamberlin. The two remained together until his death. Here, they attend the 2010 Oscars (AP)

Rooney waves prior to testifying before Congress in 2011 on the issue of elder abuse. That year, Rooney took his stepson to court, alleging that his relative tricked him into thinking he was on the brink of poverty while defrauding him out of millions and bullying him into continuing to work. (AP)

Rooney with Dick Van Patten, left, and Mel Brooks at Santa Anita Park in this photo taken one week before his death. (AP)