TCM Remembers Mickey Rooney

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Where to find Deanna Durbin's Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

No trip to Hollywood California is complete without visiting Deanna Durbin's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

Her star is located near the intersection of Hollywood and Vine, just a short walk from the Hollywood/Vine Metro train stop. 

The exact location is 1722 Vine Street. It is on the East side of the street. 

The exact date the star was unveiled is unknown. Undoubtedly it was one of the original 1,500 stars  installed in 1960, the inaugural year of the Walk of Fame. 

When the stars were being put in, they didn't have big ceremonies like they have today; the stars just went in one after the other.  Many radio stars can also be found within walking distance such as Jack Benny, Fred Allen, Mary Livingstone, Portland Hoffa, Edgar Bergen, William Bendix, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. 

Mickey Rooney's star is just a few steps away from Deanna's. 

 Next time you visit, be sure to see Deanna's star!

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Ronald Reagan was almost cast in a Deanna Durbin movie

As I was reading the book Reagan: A Life in Letters (Free Press, 2003), a compilation of hundreds of Ronald Reagan's letters sent throughout his lifetime, I was surprised to come across one letter related to Deanna.

Here is how the editors of book preface the letter (my notes in blue):

Joe Pasternak, a producer of 83 movies, wrote Reagan that Universal Pictures once vetoed his decision to cast Reagan in a Deanna Durbin movie. Durbin had starred in 23 movies (actually, 21) in the 1930s and 1940s. Pasternak jokingly added that if Reagan had been given the role, he would have become "a bigger star and our country might have lost a great president."


Unfortunately, it wasn't specified which movie Pasternak wanted him for. Reagan responded to the letter as follows:

Mr. Joe Pasternak
Beverly Hills, California
July 22, 1987


Dear Joe:

Thanks for your letter and for that job of no casting you did back there at Universal. I probably wouldn't have thanked you if I'd known at the time but now that I'm in an eight-year run of the play deal, things do look a little different. Of course I'll be at liberty in about a year and a half. Maybe I could play the life story of Mickey Rooney, or am I too tall?

Seriously, it was good to hear from you and I thank you for your generous words.

Best regards,

Ronald Reagan

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Happy Birthday Mickey Rooney!

Today, Hollywood Legend Mickey Rooney celebrates his 90th birthday! Did you know that in 1939 both he and Deanna were awarded a special "Juvenile Oscar" for their significant contribution in bringing to the screen "the spirit and personification of youth, and as juvenile players setting a high standard of ability and achievement". Here is a link to a picture of Mickey and Deanna from Deanna Durbin Devotees.

A movie starring Deanna and Mickey would have been fun! The closest they came to appearing the same film was in a cartoon short where they were both caricatured: "Malibu Beach Party" (1940). I wrote a post about it a few months ago.

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