Mickey Rooney c. 1967
Mickey Rooney could have been Archie Bunker on All in the Family (1971). All in the Family creator Norman Lear explains, "I called his manager, and he said, 'Oh, Mickey happens to be in the office. Why don't you talk to him!' And I said, 'No, no, this is a character I would rather talk to him about and then have him read,' and he said, 'No, no, no.' Anyway, before I know it, Mickey [was on the phone] talking about himself in the third person. 'You got the Mick!' 'Mickey is gonna be out there, can I see you out there? I'll be out there Tuesday.' 'You got something for the Mick, just tell him!' I said, 'Well, he's a bigot, he'll say spics and spades and hebes' — and he said, 'Norm, they're gonna kill you. They're gonna shoot you dead in the streets.' I can never forget this speech. 'You wanna do something with the Mick? Listen to this: Vietnam vet. Private eye. Short. Blind. Large dog.'"