Favorite Show Puppies - 1950's
If you're anything like me, you have some favorite puppies that starred in or were on TV Series you watched.
There are too many to put in one poll, so I've broken it down and am starting with the shows from the 50's. If you not old enough to know them, you've prolly at least heard of them so please vote. The poll is multiple choice so choose all that apply!
There are too many to put in one poll, so I've broken it down and am starting with the shows from the 50's. If you not old enough to know them, you've prolly at least heard of them so please vote. The poll is multiple choice so choose all that apply!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by cinemaphile on -
I've gotta go with Petey. He edges out Lassie by a wet nose.
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Permalink Reply by Cat G on -
Don't worry, Jessie. This is just the start! I couldn't put all show dogs in one poll or it would have been enormous. The next group will be out later today for the 60's.
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Permalink Reply by DARKSIDEAS on -
Petey can do anything, but vote fore himself. So i vote forhim@netflix.com
its a tie between him and the dog from outer space in Oz.
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Permalink Reply by Cat G on
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It looks like Petey will be the winner, but like I told Jessie, this is just the beginning. I could only come up with three from the 60's but 4 from the 70's so I'll combine them into one poll.
Here's the real info on the current group.
#1 Petey the pup - White American Pit Bull Terrier (registered with the UKC in 1936 as a Staffordshire Terrier) seen in Hal Roach's Depression era Our Gang and The Little Rascals comedies. Petey ("Pete") the Pup sported a thin black circle around its right eye (sometimes left). He appeared in such comedy shorts as Lazy Days (1929); Fly My Kite (1931); For Pete's Sake (1934); and The Pooch (1932). Over the run of the Our Gang Comedies, a number of dogs played the role of Petey the Pup whose character appeared through 1938. Other sources have described Petey as a Pit Bull, and a Bull Dog. Pete the Pup also appeared in 1930s ad campaigns as Tige the Dog for Buster Brown Shoes. ("I'm Buster Brown. I Live in a show. That's my dog, Tige. He lives there, too.") Pete is buried at the Aspen Hill Pet Cemetery, 13630 Georgia Avenue in Silver Springs, Maryland (some claim he's buried in Calabasas, California).
Petey
#2 Asta - Wire-haired terrier on the detective comedy THE THIN MAN/NBC/1957-59. Asta resides with Nick and Nora Charles (Peter Lawford & Phyllis Kirk), a pair of wealthy socialites who spent their spare time solving crimes with the assistance of Asta (who helped them sniff out the clues).
The THIN MAN was based on a story by Dashiel Hammett. In the novel the dog was described as a schnauzer. In the movie version, Asta was played by Skippy who was trained by Rudd Weatherwax (died in 1985). Asta won the 1959 & 1960 PATSY Award (the Oscar of the animal world) .
Asta
#3 Lassie - Female collie dog on the canine adventure LASSIE/CBS/1954-71 (the longest running half-hour dramatic series in TV history). Lassie originally belonged to Jeff Miller (Tommy Rettig), a young boy who lived on a small farm near Calverton with his widowed mother Ellen Miller (Jan Clayton) and his Grandpa (George Cleveland). Later the Millers adopted a small boy named Timmy (Jon Provost) who became the companion of Lassie when the Millers sold the farm and left Timmy in the custody of the new owners Ruth Martin (Cloris Leachman/June Lockhart) and Paul Martin (Jon Shepodd/Hugh Reilly). When the Martins moved to Australia, forest ranger Corey Stuart (Robert Bray) adopted Lassie as did two other forest rangers, Scott Turner (Jed Allan) and Bob Erickson (Jack De Mave) later in the series. The final season of the series found Lassie wandering aimlessly around the country with no master. She then mated with a male collie and had a litter of puppies. The concept of the Lassie TV series was based on the movie Lassie Come Home (1943) starring Roddy McDowall and Elizabeth Taylor which, in turn, was derived from the Eric Knight book Lassie Come Home (1940) which was an expanded version of his 1938 short story written for Saturday Evening Post about a faithful Yorkshire collie who traveled some 1,000 miles to find his young master, Joe. Eric Knight came up with idea for Lassie while telling a story to young daughter one night. The family dog "Toots" was the prototype for Lassie. Animal trainer Rudd Weatherwax owned the collie used in the original Lassie motion pictures. This celebrity canine (a.k.a. "Pal") began life as a lowly pup who was given to Weatherwax to cure the dog of his habit of chasing cars. When the owner never returned, Rudd trained his new dog and soon Lassie the legend was born. Because of Lassie's ability to always make a profit for its film producers, the collie earned the nickname of "The Mortgage Lifter." The Lassie character also barked her way through a radio series from 1947-50 and on the animated cartoon spin-offs LASSIE'S RESCUE RANGERS/ABC/1973-75 and the 1996 Japanese cartoon MEIKEN RASHII (a.k.a. THE FAMOUS DOG LASSIE). A sixth generation of Lassie look-alikes starred in the feature film The Magic of Lassie (1978) with Jimmy Stewart. In 1989, actress Dee Wallace Stone starred in the revival series THE NEW LASSIE/SYN/1989-91. Jon Provost (Timmy in the original series) had a recurring role as the uncle of 10-year-old boy named Will (Will Nipper), the dog's current master. TRIVIA NOTE: Although the Lassie character is a female, all the dogs used for the entire life of the franchise were males dogs (their coats are thicker). Tommy Rettig, who played Jeff Miller, the first TV master of Lassie the Dog was reportedly chosen by Lassie, who nuzzled the boy out of a group four child actors. The producers took Lassie's affection for the boy as sign he was right for the part. For a nice summary article on Lassie read Debbie Goldstein's article "Lassie Celebrates 50 Years Of Stardom" Dog World May 1993 p. 12-14
Lassie
#4 Neil - Ghostly St. Bernard seen (and not seen) on the sitcom TOPPER/CBS/ABC/NBC/1953-56. Neil was an inebriated mountain rescue dog working in Switzerland. When American tourist Marian Kerby (Anne Jeffreys) first saw Neil, she remarked "First time I saw a St. Bernard who couldn't carry its own liquor." When an avalanche killed Marion, George, her husband (Robert Sterling) and Neil, their ghosts returned to haunt the Kerby home which had since been sold to a stuffy banker named Cosmo Topper (Leo G. Carroll). Neil preferred drinking martinis (olives up) and brandy. Neil's real name is Buck. The role of Neil the dog was played by St. Bernards raised by Beatrice Knight of the Sanctuary Kennels in Oregon. The series was based on the movie Topper (1937) which was inspired by the novel The Jovial Ghosts written by Thorne Smith. In the novel, the dog is called Oscar. In the movie the Kerby's owned a wire terrier named Mr. Atlas (played by Skippy) who later played "Asta" in the TV series THE THIN MAN.
Neil
#5 Rin Tin Tin - German shepherd on the canine military adventure THE ADVENTURES OF RIN TIN TIN/ABC/1954-59 (sponsored by National Biscuit Company and Milk Bone Dog Biscuits). Rin Tin Tin was the canine companion of Rusty (Lee Aaker), a young boy orphaned when his parents were killed in an Indian raid. Adopted by a cavalry troop known as "The Fighting Blue Devils," Rusty (promoted to Corporal) and his pet Rin Tin Tin lived at Fort Apache, a frontier outpost located in the Arizona Territory of the late 1800's. Lt. Rip Masters (James Brown), Sgt. Biff O'Hara (Joe Sawyer) and Cpl. Boone (Rand Brooks) were Rusty and Rin Tin Tin's close friends. When trouble rose its ugly head, Corporal Rusty cried "Yo, Rinny!" and the heroic German shepherd leaped into action biting bad guys, fighting wild animals and saving people from disasters
Rin-Tin-Tin
#6 Yukon King - Alaskan husky dog on the northwest adventure SERGEANT PRESTON OF THE YUKON/CBS/1955-58. According to the program's opening Yukon King was the "swiftest, and strongest lead dog, breaking the trail in the relentless pursuit of lawbreakers in the wild days of the Yukon." Yukon King originally debuted on the 1947 radio program CHALLENGE OF THE YUKON where Yukon King was raised by a wolf named Three Toes and later rescued from the attack of a wild lynx by Mountie officer Frank Preston (Richard Simmons), a Royal Northwest Mounted Policeman assigned to the Yukon Territory of the 1890s. "On, King! On, you huskies!" was a popular phrase used on the series. Yukon King (of Malamute breed) was trained by Beverly Allen.
Yukon King
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