Mickey (TV series)


Mickey is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 1964 to January 1965. Created and produced by Bob Fisher and Arthur Marx, the series stars Mickey Rooney, and was filmed at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios.

Synopsis

Mickey Grady, a retired businessman from Omaha, Nebraska, inherits the luxury Newport Arms Hotel in Newport Beach, California, and decides to run it.

Cast

Rooney won a Golden Globe Award for "Best Actor in a Television Series" at the 21st Annual Golden Globe Awards ceremonies in 1964.

Notable guest stars

Rooney said he would have liked Judy Garland to guest star.

Reception and cancellation

The series failed to sustain ratings to survive the full season in its 9 p.m. Eastern time slot on Wednesdays. Its principal competition was another sitcom, The Dick Van Dyke Show on CBS. NBC ran television movies at the time.
Due to low ratings, ABC was considering canceling Mickey. The network was hesitant to cancel the series due to the popularity of Sammee Tong's character who had a solid fanbase thanks to his role in Bachelor Father. In his 1991 autobiography, Life Is Too Short, Mickey Rooney wrote that Tong was upset by the news that the series faced cancellation. Tong, who was a heavy gambler and owed money to the mafia, needed the money from the series to pay off his debts. On October 27, 1964, Tong took an overdose of barbiturates and died at his home. Tong's death effectively ended any chance for the series' survival, and ABC canceled Mickey. The series' last episode aired on January 13, 1965.

Episode list