Its cool that dogs can also be actors. Do they get their own trailers or do they just get their own dog house on set? Here are a few famous dog actors:
Ace the Wonder Dog
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Poster for Columbia Pictures‘ The Adventures of Rusty, the first of eight "Rusty" films (and the only one starring Ace the Wonder Dog).
Ace the Wonder Dog was a German Shepherd that acted in several films and film serials from 1938 to 1946. His first appearance was in the 1938 Lew Landers film Blind Alibi
. He is considered by many critics an attempt by RKO Pictures to cash in on the success of Warner Bros.‘ canine sensation, Rin Tin Tin.[1]
After making several program pictures for RKO, Ace moved to Republic Pictures for several more projects, before moving to Columbia Pictures for a role as The Phantom‘s sidekick "Devil" in The Phantom film serial in 1943.
His declining popularity meant that most of his appearances after RKO’s initial burst of "Ace" publicity were for Monogram and the Poverty Row studio Producers Releasing Corporation.[2] In 1945, he appeared as "Rusty" in The Adventures of Rusty, the first of Columbia‘s eight "Rusty" films. He did not reprise the role in any of the subsequent installments.
Ace is just one of a number of "Wonder Dogs" in the history of fictional dogs. Others include Rin Tin Tin (billed during his 1930 radio show as "Rin Tin Tin, the Wonder Dog"), Pal the Wonder Dog, Rex the Wonder Dog
from silent films, and another unrelated Rex the Wonder Dog from DC Comics.
Cheeka (dog)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A still in which Cheeka follows a boy to barber shop
Cheeka is a famous pug who appeared in the "You & I" advertising campaign of Hutch‘s cellular service in India, along with the child actor Jayaram. The dog follows the boy in unlikely locations, prompting the tagline, "Wherever you go, our network follows." The duo first appeared on TV, billboards, newspapers and bus shelters in 2003 and became instant celebrities all over India. The campaign was created by Mahesh V. and Rajeev Rao, Senior Creative Directors at Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai. The dog hails from the United Kingdom and is owned by Vishal and Lisa Bambekar of Goa.
Higgins (dog)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Higgins
Birth name
Higgins
Born
December 12, 1957(1957-12-12)
Los Angeles, California, USA
Died
November 11, 1975 (aged 17)
Los Angeles, California, USA
Notable role
Dog in Petticoat Junction
Benji in Benji
Years active
1960 – 1974
Children
Benjean
Higgins (1957 – 1975) was one of the best-known dog actors of the 1960s – 1970s. Most people remember him either as "Dog" or as "Benji," two of the most popular roles he played during a 14-year career in show business.
The animal trainer Frank Inn found the famous canine at the Burbank Animal Shelter as a puppy. A fluffy black-and-tan mixed breed dog, he was marked like a Border Terrier and Inn believed him to be a mix of Miniature Poodle, Cocker Spaniel, and Schnauzer.
Career
Higgins’s career was facilitated by Frank Inn, who also trained Arnold Ziffel (the pig) and all the other animals used on the Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, and Green Acres sitcoms. His on-set assistant trainers included Gerry Warshauer and Karl Miller. [1]
As an actor, he first came to national attention as the uncredited dog who played the character of "Dog" in the television sitcom Petticoat Junction for six of the show’s seven seasons, from 1964 to 1970 appearing in 163 episodes. He guest-appeared on the television sitcom Green Acres with Eva Gabor in 1965 and also made a guest appearance on the television sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies. He won a Patsy Award in 1967 and he was cover-featured on an issue of TV Guide magazine.
Higgins had an extraordinary ability to convey a broad range of emotions through his facial expressions. Inn, who trained thousands of animals of all species during his lifetime, told reporters that Higgins was the smartest dog he had ever worked with, and noted that during his prime years in television, he learned one new trick or routine per week, and that he retained these routines from year to year, making it possible for him to take on increasingly varied and complex roles. Higgins’s special tricks included climbing ladders, opening a mailbox and removing a letter, yawning, and sneezing on cue. [2]
In 1971, Higgins starred in the film Mooch Goes to Hollywood with Zsa Zsa Gabor and Vincent Price. He came out from retirement at an estimated age of 14 to star in the 1974 feature film Benji, which was his greatest commercial success.
Moose (dog actor)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Moose
Species
Dog
Breed
Jack Russell Terrier
Gender
Male
Born
December 24, 1990
Florida, USA
Died
June 22, 2006
(aged &0000000000000015.00000015 years, &0000000000000180.000000180 days)
West Los Angeles, USA
Relative age
78
Nation from
American
Occupation
Actor
Notable role
Eddie Crane in Frasier
Old Skip in My Dog Skip
Years active
1993-2003[1]
Owner
Mathilde DeCagny[1]
Children
Enzo,[1] Moosie,[1] Miko[1]
Moose (December 24, 1990 – June 22, 2006) was a veteran canine actor. He was a Jack Russell Terrier and is most famous for his portrayal of Eddie Crane on the television sitcom Frasier.
Moose was born on Christmas Eve, 1990 in Florida, the youngest littermate. He was the largest puppy in the litter. Like Pal, the original Lassie, the obstreperous puppy was too much for his original owner. According to an article by Lori Golden:
“
In fact, chasing cats was one of the activities that led to this troubled terrier becoming one of TV’s most precious pooches. Originally owned by a Florida family, Moose was too hard to handle. He couldn’t be house trained; he chewed everything; he dug and barked a lot; and he was constantly escaping and climbing trees. Eventually given to the Florida manager of Birds and Animals Unlimited, a company that trains animals for TV and motion pictures, Moose was put on a plane at 2½ years old and sent to Mathilde DeCagny, an LA trainer working for the show-biz animal company.
”
[2]
DeCagny described Moose as very highly trainable[citation needed]: he won the role on Frasier after only six months of training. Moose had the ability to fix Kelsey Grammer with a long hard stare; this became a running sight gag on the show.[1] When Moose had to lick his co-stars, however, sardine oil was applied upon the actors’ faces. To make Moose nuzzle the actors, liver pâté was dabbed behind their ears to achieve the required response, John Mahoney once revealed. Mahoney also described Moose as ‘greatly indifferent towards us’.[1]
During the height of Frasier’s popularity, Moose received more fan mail than any of his human counterparts.[1]
Moose has numerous television appearances and several magazine covers to his credit. There is an official Moose calendar and an ‘autobiography’, My Life as a Dog, which was written by Brian Hargrove, who is the longtime partner of Frasier actor David Hyde Pierce.
After retirement
Moose spent the last 6½ years of his life in retirement in West Los Angeles with son Enzo, Mathilde DeCagny (their trainer), her husband Michael Halberg and Jill, the dog from As Good as It Gets. He died of natural causes at home at the age of 15 and a half years or 16 years (sources differ[1]), on June 22, 2006.
Selected credits
Enzo
Enzo
Species
Dog
Breed
Jack Russell Terrier
Gender
Male
Born
1996
Nation from
American
Occupation
Actor
Notable role
Eddie Crane in Frasier
Skip in My Dog Skip
Owner
Mathilde DeCagny[1]
Enzo b. 1996 is a canine actor. He is a Jack Russell Terrier. Enzo is the son of Moose, the original Eddie Crane on the US sitcom Frasier. Enzo was one of a few puppies bred specifically as possible replacements for Eddie as it became clear that Frasier was a hit and would enjoy a long run. The longevity of Frasier necessitated the breeding of puppies as possible replacements for Moose. A daughter, Miko, was considered but never grew large enough (she was given to a technician); a son, Moosie, now lives with Peri Gilpin, the actress who played Roz Doyle. Moose’s son Enzo was a closer match and turned out to have unusually similar facial markings; later in the series he was used as a stunt double to perform the more physically challenging tricks for his aging sire. Enzo took over the role after around eight years.
Moose and Enzo also appeared with Frankie Muniz in the 2000 feature film My Dog Skip.
Enzo was cast as Skip in the feature film My Dog Skip; Moose played the older Skip in a few scenes. His trainer and several actors have commented on Enzo’s skill and trainability; he performed tricks and portrayed a wide variety of emotions. A 1999 interview [1]
quotes the director of My Dog Skip:
"Skip never failed us. I wish I worked with actors who were as well prepared as Skip," admits Mark Johnson. "There was not a trick or a piece of business we asked the dog to do that he wasn’t able to do; it was uncanny. The trainers were so good, they could stop him on a mark, he could lift his leg, he could do a somersault. I expected to see him reading The New York Times any day."
Selected credits
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j BBC: Frasier’s dog Eddie dies aged 16
- ^ Behind the scenes with TV’s Top Dog: From Troubled Terrier to Canine Comedian
Pal (dog actor)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pal
Pal in his first screen appearance as Lassie in MGM‘s Lassie Come Home (1943), with Roddy McDowall as Joe Carraclough
Born
June 4, 1940
Glamis Kennels in North Hollywood, California, US
Died
1958
Rudd Weatherwax’s home in North Hollywood, California, US
Years active
1943-1954
Pal (1940 – 1958) was a male Rough Collie and the first in a line of such dogs to portray the fictional female collie Lassie in film and television. Pal was born in California in 1940 and eventually brought to the notice of Rudd Weatherwax, a Hollywood animal trainer. In 1943, the dog was chosen to play Lassie in MGM‘s feature film, Lassie Come Home. Following his film debut, Pal starred in six more MGM Lassie films from the mid-1940s to early-1950s, then appeared briefly in shows, fairs, and rodeos around the United States before starring in the two pilots filmed in 1954 for the television series, Lassie. Pal retired after filming the television pilots, and died in 1958. He sired a line of descendants who continued to play the fictional character he originated.
Birth and early years
Pal was born at Cherry Osborne’s Glamis Kennels in North Hollywood on June 4, 1940. The son of Red Brucie of Glamis and Bright Bauble of Glamis, Pal’s ancestry is traced to the nineteenth century and England‘s first great collie, "Old Cockie". Because of his large eyes and the white blaze on his forehead, Pal was judged not of the highest standards and sold as a pet-quality dog.[1]
Howard Peck, an animal trainer, brought the eight-month-old collie to Hollywood animal trainer Rudd Weatherwax in order to break the animal of uncontrolled barking and a habit of chasing motorcycles.[2] After working with the dog, Weatherwax gained control of the barking but was unable to break Pal of his motorcycle-chasing habit. Peck was disappointed with the results and gave the dog to Weatherwax in exchange for the money Peck owed him.[3] Weatherwax, in turn, gave the dog to a friend, but when he learned that Eric Knight‘s 1940 novel, Lassie Come-Home, was being considered as a feature film by MGM, Weatherwax sensed Pal was the dog to fill the role, and bought Pal back from his friend for US$10.00.[4] Peck later tried to reclaim him after he became famous as Lassie, but Weatherwax’s legal ownership was upheld.[3] Rudd’s brother Frank Weatherwax, who trained dogs for such films as The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T[5] and The Wizard of Oz,[6] assisted Rudd in training Pal.
MGM films
The first MGM "Lassie" film was planned as a low budget, black and white children’s film. Pal was among 1,500 dogs who auditioned for the title role, but was rejected because he was male, his eyes were too big, his head too flat, and a white blaze ran down his forehead. A female prize-winning show collie was hired to play the title character. Weatherwax was hired to train the star, and Pal was hired as a stunt dog.[4]
During the course of filming, a decision was made to take advantage of a massive flooding of the San Joaquin River in central California in order to obtain some spectacular footage for the film. The female collie was still in training and refused to enter the raging waters created by the flood. Weatherwax was on the site with Pal and offered to have his dog perform in a five-stage shot in which Pal would swim the river, haul himself out, lie down without shaking the water off his coat, attempt to crawl while lying on his side and finally lie motionless, completely exhausted.[7] Pal performed exceptionally well and the scene was completed in one take. Weatherwax said director Fred M. Wilcox was so impressed with Pal during the sequence that he had "tears in his eyes." In response, producers released the female collie and hired Pal in her stead, reshooting the first six weeks of the filming with Pal now portraying Lassie.[3] MGM executives were so impressed, they upgraded the production to an A film with full advertising support, top publicity and filming in Technicolor. Pal went through his paces with enthusiasm, rarely required multiple retakes, and did his own stunt work.[8]
Pal’s success in Lassie Come Home in 1943 led to six more MGM films: Son of Lassie (a sequel to Lassie Come Home), Courage of Lassie, Hills of Home, The Sun Comes Up, Challenge to Lassie, and The Painted Hills. In his earlier years with MGM, Rudd Weatherwax was assisted by Frank Inn,[9][10] who, for fourteen years, trained Lassies[6] and later supplied animals for the 1954 Lassie television series.[11]
Following the The Painted Hills in 1951, MGM executives felt Lassie had run her course and planned no future films featuring the character. MGM executives then sought a way to break Weatherwax’s contract. Weatherwax was concerned about protecting Pal and the Lassie image he had created from future diminishment at the hands of others. In lieu of US$40,000 in back pay owed him by the studio, Weatherwax bargained for and received the Lassie name and trademark.[12]
Television series
Pal’s last appearance as Lassie in "The Inheritance", the premier episode of the television series, Lassie; Tommy Rettig as Jeff Miller
Following their departure from MGM, Pal and Weatherwax went on the road performing an 18-minute program at dog shows and department stores. Television producer Robert Maxwell convinced Weatherwax that Pal’s future lay in television. Together, the men created a boy-and-his-dog scenario about a struggling family on a weatherbeaten farm in Middle America.[13]
The field for the role of the boy in Lassie was narrowed to three young actors, but the final decision was left to Pal. After spending a week with the boys at Weatherwax’s North Hollywood home, Pal seemed to like eleven-year-old Tommy Rettig more than the other two. Rettig won the role based on Pal’s response, and filming for the two pilots began in the summer of 1954, with Pal portraying Lassie in both.[14]
After viewing the pilots, CBS executives immediately signed the 30-minute show to its fall 1954 schedule. Pal retired after filming the two pilots, and his son, Lassie Junior (who was three-years-old and had been in training for a couple of years), stepped into the television role. Pal would come to the show’s studio home at Stage One of KTTV in Los Angeles every day with his son during filming. He had a bed behind the set, and was respectfully termed The Old Man. Series star Tommy Rettig later recalled, "When Rudd would ask Lassie, Jr. to do something, if you were behind the set, you could see The Old Man get up from his bed and go through the routine back there."[15]
Death
By 1957, Pal was growing blind, deaf, and stiff, and rarely visited the Lassie set. Series star Jon Provost later recalled, "As young as I was, I recognized how much that dog meant to Rudd. Rudd loved that old dog as much as anyone could love an animal or person."[16]
Pal died in 1958, and, for months, Weatherwax slipped in and out of deep depression. Robert Weatherwax, Rudd’s son, later recalled, "It hit him very hard when [Pal] died. He buried him in a special place on the ranch and would often visit the grave. Dad would never again watch an MGM Lassie movie. He just couldn’t bear to see Pal. He didn’t want to have to be reminded of just how much he loved that dog."[17]
Legacy
In 1950, Rudd Weatherwax and co-author John H. Rothwell co-wrote a book about Pal’s life called The Story of Lassie: His Discovery and Training from Puppyhood to Stardom.[18]
Several descendants of Pal played the fictional Lassie character following their progenitor’s death. On the original television series (1954 – 1973), Pal’s son, Lassie Junior, and his grandsons, Spook and Baby, worked the first several seasons. Mire appeared in a few of the Ranger seasons, and Hey Hey worked the final two syndicated seasons.[19]
The casting of non-Pal bloodline collies in the role of Lassie has met with protest. In 1997, a Lassie television series debuted on the Animal Planet network but without a Weatherwax-trained dog as Lassie. A protest campaign was waged, and producers brought a ninth generation Weatherwax dog to the show.[20] The 2005 – 2006 remake of the original Lassie movie provoked comment when a non-Pal bloodline collie was cast in the title role.[21] Robert Weatherwax has disputed the casting of non-Pal bloodline dogs in the role of Lassie.[22]
Rin Tin Tin 
· Dogs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1928 movie ad
Rin Tin Tin (often billed as Rin-Tin-Tin in the 1920s and 1930s) was the name given to several related German Shepherd dogs featured in fictional stories on film, radio, and television.
Origins
The first of the line (c. September 10, 1918 – August 10, 1932) was a shell-shocked pup found by American serviceman Lee Duncan in a bombed-out dog kennel in Lorraine, France, less than two months before the end of World War I. He was named for a puppet called Rintintin that French children gave to the American soldiers for good luck. The dog returned at war’s end with Duncan to his home in Los Angeles, California.[1] In colour he was a dark sable, with very dark eyes.
Nicknamed Rinty by his owner, the dog learned tricks and could leap great heights. He was seen performing at a dog show by film producer Charles Jones, who paid Duncan to film Rinty. Duncan became convinced Rin Tin Tin could become the next Strongheart.
Early films
The dog’s big break came when he stepped in for a recalcitrant wolf in The Man From Hell’s River (1922). Rin Tin Tin would be cast as a wolf or wolf-hybrid many times in his career, though not looking like one.
His first starring role was in 1923’s Where The North Begins, playing alongside silent screen actress Claire Adams. This film was a huge success and has often been credited with saving Warner Brothers from bankruptcy. It was followed by Shadows of the North (1923), Clash of the Wolves (1925), A Dog of the Regiment (1927), and Tiger Rose (1929).
Although primarily a star of silent films, Rin Tin Tin did appear in four sound features, including the 12-part Mascot Studios chapter-play The Lightning Warrior (1931), co-starring with Frankie Darro.
Radio
Between 1930 and 1955, "Rin Tin Tin" (though not always portrayed by the original dog) was heard in three different radio series, beginning April 5, 1930 with The Wonder Dog, in which the original Rin Tin Tin did his own sound effects until his death in 1932, when Rin Tin Tin, Jr. took over. This 15-minute program was broadcast Saturdays on the Blue Network at 8:15 p.m. until March 1931 when it moved to Thursdays at 8:15 pm.
In September 1930, the title changed from The Wonder Dog to Rin Tin Tin. Don Ameche and Junior McLain starred in the series, which ended June 8, 1933. With Ken-L Ration as a sponsor, the series continued on CBS from October 5, 1933 until May 20, 1934, airing Sundays at 7:45 pm.
The final radio series was broadcast on Mutual from January 2, 1955 to December 25, 1955 a 30-minute program heard Sundays at 5:00 p.m. Sponsored by National Biscuit for Shredded Wheat and Milk-Bone, the series featured Rin Tin Tin’s adventures with the 101st Cavalry. The show starred Lee Aaker (born 1943) as Rusty, James Brown (1920-1992) as Lieutenant Ripley "Rip" Masters and Joe Sawyer (1906-1982) as Sergeant Biff O’Hara.[2]
Death and posthumous recognition
Following Rin Tin Tin’s death in 1932 in Los Angeles (in the arms of actress Jean Harlow, according to Hollywood legend), his owner arranged to have the dog returned to his country of birth for burial in the Cimetière des Chiens, the renowned pet cemetery in the Parisian suburb of Asnières-sur-Seine. He was 14 years old.[1]
"Rin Tin Tin" was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1623 Vine St.[3]
DogsAreTheCoolest 