The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Jack Markowitz column
By Jack Markowitz, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Let's hope that was a joke because you couldn't help a guilty little smile reading it.
Rooney surely made millions, yet managed to make most of it disappear, a lesson for us in the seats. Even a star has to put 10 percent away in the good earning years.
In Rooney's case, getting married eight times couldn't have helped. Eight times is just too much for retirement planning. Even three or four times. Economically, the optimum is once. Then there's no alimony, no child support for little innocents living under other roofs with grievances against Dad. Rooney had nine scattered kids.
Which also is a surprise, because he always seemed a kid himself. More exactly a boy. With a shock of unruly hair, quick, mischievous and eager to grow up. Fated never to rise above 5 feet 3, Rooney way into his 20s was still a boy way on screen.
And in person. He played
He sang, he danced, told jokes, played instruments on stage (to an orchestra in the pit), an instinctive, energetic drummer especially, tossing and catching the sticks. He wore a sweater, slacks and saddle shoes like his
Right there might have been his income problem. Too low admission prices in his best years. And too high taxes. If he cleared
He had more than a child's talent. Later decades brought him juicy film parts, character roles that called for a shrewd little guy: "Shorty," the corner man for a boxer or a jockey graduated to trainer. The way he mimed riding a winner was a memorable touch in "The Black Stallion." A long run in the nostalgic
But he wasn't done yet. Still doing nightclub shows, he played a hotel dining room in
But what a role model if he'd had fewer wives and more more mutual funds.
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