orig. Joe Yule, Jr.
born Sept. 23, 1920, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.
U.S. film actor.
He joined his family in their vaudeville act from the age of 17 months and made his film debut playing a cigar-smoking midget con man in 1926. He starred in 50 RKO short comedies as Mickey McGuire (192733) and won praise for his roles in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) and Boys Town (1938). From 1937 he played the cocky, energetic Andy Hardy in a series of popular films, often teamed with Judy Garland . His later film successes include The Human Comedy (1943), National Velvet (1944), Baby Face Nelson (1957), and The Black Stallion (1979). He made a successful Broadway debut in Sugar Babies in 1979, and he continued to perform in popular musical theatre productions, appearing in the title role of The Wizard of Oz in 1998.