1 9 6 4 – 1 9 6 5 (USA)
17 x 30 minute episodes
In between Hey, Mulligan and One of the Boys, Mickey Rooney also had this unsuccessful sitcom.
Here, he played Mickey Grady, a retired Coast Guard recruiter from Omaha, Nebraska, who inherited the Marina Palms Hotel at Newport Beach in California from his late uncle.
Mickey moved to California with his patient wife, Nora (Emmaline Henry from I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster), and his sons, Timmy (Mickey’s real-life son, Tim Rooney) and Buddy (Brian Nash).
The Grady’s had their hands full trying to make a profit on the hotel, which came with a manager named Sammy Ling (Sammee Tong) who had a lifetime contract which couldn’t be broken.
Ling’s family was also very involved in the operation. In fact, the hotel’s mortgage was held by the Ling Savings and Loan (at 17½% annual interest), and Sammy’s lawyer cousin, “Loophole” Ling, handled all the legal work for the hotel.
Once the Gradys took over the operation, Nora’s ne’er-do-well brother, Bobby Wilson (Bobby Van), was hired as a lifeguard and night manager (he arrives in a trunk marked C.O.D.).
Mickey was always brainstorming new ideas to bring more vacationers to the hotel, while his inept helpers, Bobby and Sammy, always seemed to drive those same vacationers away.
Sponsors included Clairol and Ajax Laundry dry Detergent.
Sammee Tong took his own life with an intentional barbiturate overdose on 27 October 1964 after hearing that Mickey had been cancelled.
63-year-old Tong was a heavy gambler and allegedly owed money to the mafia.
Mickey Grady
Mickey Rooney
Nora Grady
Emmaline Henry
Timmy Grady
Tim Rooney
Buddy Grady
Brian Nash
Sammy Ling
Sammee Tong
Bobby Wilson
Bobby Van









