He had graciously, and perhaps compulsively, talked and talked and talked, as he is wont to do in interviews. Thus with time running out and fearful that his tape recorder had captured little that was usable in an article, the reporter asked Rooney for some tips on marriage. This is a subject that Rooney has had experience with, having been married eight times. He paused, letting his shocker sink in. A one-beat pause.
Love lasts only for months, sometimes only for minutes.
There would be enough for a quick study of this remarkable artist, an artist who at 77 is still performing, still exulting in the spotlight and, most miraculously, still in demand, still a star. Indeed, it is his stature as a phenomenon of American show business that alone makes him noteworthy. To call him a living legend is to engage in understatement. He has been entertaining audiences for 75 years, since he was 17 months old and made his debut on a vaudeville stage at Chicago's old Haymarket Theater. In a sense, he has come full circle.