Hollywood legend Mickey Rooney, who graduated from child star to leading box-office draw to venerable character actor, died April 6. He was 93. Pictured: Rooney made an award presentation in 2008 at the 14th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles.

Beginning with parts in the silent film era, Rooney became a bundle-of-energy entertainer best known for his roles in such classic Hollywood films as “National Velvet,” “The Human Comedy,” “Requiem for a Heavyweight,” “The Black Stallion,” and a series of Andy Hardy movies, three co-starring his close pal Judy Garland.

Rooney’s marital adventures became fodder for stand-up comics as the divorces piled up, one after another, including a short-lived marriage to budding starlet Ava Gardner. Pictured: Rooney with Gardner in New York in January 1942 en route to Boston where Rooney appeared at a Red Cross benefit.

In 1978, he wed Jan Chamberlin, a relationship that outlasted all his previous marriages combined. She survives him, as do eight of Rooney’s nine children. From left: Jan and Mickey Rooney posed for photographs after unveiling their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles in 2004.

Mickey Rooney posed for a promotional photo at age 5 in this photo dated around 1925.

Mickey Rooney posed at age 5 in this photo dated around 1925.

Mickey Rooney in the 1934 film “Hide-Out,” directed by W.S. Van Dyke.

Mickey Rooney in the 1935 film “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” directed by Max Reinhardt and William Dieterle.

Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Ann Rutherford, and Lana Turner in the 1938 film “Love Finds Andy Hardy,” directed by George B. Seitz.

Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney in the 1938 film “Boys Town,” directed by Norman Taurog.

Mickey Rooney and Wallace Berry in the 1938 film “Stablemates,” directed by Sam Wood.

Mickey Rooney and Ann Rutherford in the 1938 film “Out West With the Hardys,” directed by George B. Seitz.

Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland starred together in 1939’s "Babes in Arms."

Rooney and Ann Rutherford in the 1939 film “Judge Hardy and Son,” directed by George B. Seitz.

Mickey Rooney in the 1939 film “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” directed by Richard Thorpe.

Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney in 1940’s “Andy Hardy Meets Debutante,” directed by George B. Seitz.

Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney in the 1940 film “Strike Up the Band,” directed by Busby Berkeley.

Ann Rutherford, Mickey Rooney, and Kathryn Grayson starred in 1941’s “Andy Hardy's Private Secretary.”

From left: Butch Jenkins, Elizabeth Taylor, and Mickey Rooney on the horse "National Velvet," the same name as the 1944 film in which the three appeared.

Mickey Rooney and Leo Gordon in the 1957 film “Baby Face Nelson,” directed by Don Siegel.

Mickey Rooney in 1962’s “Requiem for a Heavyweight,'' directed by Ralph Nelson.

Kelly Reno and Mickey Rooney in the 1979 film “The Black Stallion,” directed by Carroll Ballard.

In 1999, Rooney played the piano as he arrived at the Wang Center in Boston for a press conference to promote “The Wizard of Oz.”

Rooney arrived at the 2011 premiere of Walt Disney Pictures' “The Muppets” at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Calif.

Rooney arrived at the world premiere of the 40th anniversary restoration of the film "Cabaret" during the opening night gala of the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, Calif.