Actor -- via TMZ. He was born in 1920 in the Bronx. He made his stage debut a year later; he made his first film in 1926. He made his last film in 2012 -- 86 years in the film business. First the star of a series of silent "Mickey McGuire" silent comedy shorts, he became the go-to juvenile lead at MGM, starring as Andy Hardy in a series of films between 1937 and 1946; paired with Judy Garland in a classic string of hey-kids-let's-put-on-a-show musicals such as "Babes in Arms" (some of these films are marred forever by blackface sequences, which keep them out of circulation). His popularity culminated with his performance as Mi, the cynical young trainer in "National Velvet," but plummeted after World War II. He took work in an increasing sad number of vehicles, but still turned in solid performances in films such as "The Bold and the Brave," "the Bridges at Toko-Ri," the evil Sammy in Playhouse 90's "The Comedian" by Rod Serling, "Baby Face Nelson," "Requiem for a Heavyweight," "The Black Stallion," and the TV movie "Bill." He could do comedy, drama, and song and dance with the best of them -- wowing Broadway towards the end of his career as the star of "Sugar Babies." The ultimate trouper.
