Janice Chamberlin, Mickey Rooney’s wife, found out about her husband’s death from the Internet.
Rooney, the legendary entertainer and actor, died at age 93 on April 6 from natural causes.
Chamberlin told The Hollywood Reporter that she hadn’t seen her husband since last April and found out about the death from the entertainment website TMZ.
She said that Rooney was living with her son Mark Aber and Aber’s wife in a home in Studio City.
The family has been divided since Rooney alleged that Chamberlin’s son Christopher Aber withheld food and medication from the actor.
In 2011, Mickey testified before Congress about abuse of the elderly, alleging that he was left powerless by a family member who took and misused his money.
“I felt trapped, scared, used and frustrated,' Rooney told a special Senate committee considering legislation to curb abuses of senior citizens,” he said. But above all, when a man feels helpless, it’s terrible.”
“All I want to do is live a peaceful life, to regain my life and be happy,” Rooney wrote to his fans at the time. “I pray to God each day to protect us, help us endure and guide those other senior citizens who are also suffering.”
That year Rooney took his stepson Christopher Aber and others to court on allegations that they tricked him into thinking he was on the brink of poverty while defrauding him out of millions and bullying him into continuing to work. At the time, Aber declined comment on the suit except to say, “this lawsuit is not from Mickey Rooney — it’s from his conservators who are stealing from him.” The New York Times reported that the suit was settled last year.
Christopher said on Facebook that Rooney will be buried in “Westlake Village at the Pierce Brothers cemetery. Thank you for all your prayers.”
