Mickey Rooney is a Hollywood icon. Yes, I may be dating myself here, and I of course, and less than half his age, but for the last seven or eight generations, Rooney has been part of our culture.

For the most part, he has been really positive. Here is a sad story about the vaunted actor’s current situation.

Rooney is suing his stepson and others 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.

The 90-year-old actor filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court. The lawsuit accuses Rooney's stepson Christopher Aber, Aber's wife, Christina, and others of breach of fiduciary trust, elder abuse, fraud and other crimes over the past decade.

"While Chris instilled fear in Mickey and kept him in poverty, Chris took advantage of his unfettered access to Mickey's income," according to the filing. "Chris consistently paid himself a generous salary from Mickey's earnings, took `advances' on his salary, and spent Mickey's money as if it were his own."

The lawsuit also alleges Christopher Aber bullied Rooney into continuing to work by telling him he would lose his house and his medical benefits if he didn't continue to earn an income.

According to the lawsuit, Christopher Aber allegedly rerouted all of Rooney's mail and took control of his income, including his Social Security checks and residuals checks, which typically amounted to $12,000 a month – and millions of dollars over the years.

Christopher Aber is also accused of applying for and using credit cards in Rooney's name to lead an extravagant lifestyle – and used Rooney's money to finance two Mercedes Benz cars, a Porsche and a $100,000 racecar.

Born Ninian Joseph Yule Jr., Rooney made his stage debut as part of his family's vaudeville act when he was 15 months old. He has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows and theater productions, and still does personal appearances.

Nominated for an Oscar four times, Rooney won an honorary Oscar, known as a lifetime achievement award, in 1983 for "50 years of versatility in a variety of memorable film performances."

As a child actor, he won 1939's Juvenile Award Oscar – a category that has since been discontinued.

Still sad to see what is transpiring. He is a great actor and always seemed like a “normal” guy. I hope things work out for him so that he may finish his stay here on Earth peacefully.