 Rooney appeared in television commercials for Garden State Life Insurance Company in 2002.A major turning point came in 1979, when Rooney made his Broadway debut in the acclaimed stage play "Sugar Babies", a musical revue tribute to the burlesque era costarring former MGM dancing star Ann Miller.Aljean Harmetz noted that "Mr. Rooney fought over every skit and argued over every song and almost always got things done his way.