Asta, star of The Thin Man movies, was a wire-haired terrier named Skippy. After appearing in the first movie, he adopted the name of his character and was thereafter known as Asta. That first movie, based on the detective comedy novel by Dashiel Hammett, was released in 1934 and starred William Powell and Myrna Loy. Powell and Loy were not allowed to befriend Asta, as his trainer believed this would interrupt his concentration. Perhaps as a result, Asta bit Myrna Loy during filming! A bright and inquisitive character, Asta's demeanor prompted one critic to wonder why characters Nick and Nora Charles needed a child when they had "such a pleasant dog."
Asta was trained by his owners, Henry East and Gale Henry East and by Frank Weatherwax. Due to his appeal, the popularity of terriers soared. In his heyday, Asta earned $200 per week, while his trainers earned just $60. Asta went on to star in The Awful Truth (1937), Bringing Up Baby (1938), and in Topper Takes a Trip in 1939. Asta's progeny continued to play his part in The Thin Man series, with Asta, Jr. starring in the final installment, Song of the Thin Man.
The original role of Asta, as written by Dashiell Hammett, was for a Schnauzer, not a terrier.
Babe, the 1995 Australian film, is based on the children's novel by Dick King-Smith, called BABE, THE GALLANT PIG. The title character is a pig, raised on a farm, that longs to be a sheepdog. The voice of Babe is provided by Christine Cavanaugh, a very popular voice-over actress who has also provided voices for "The Rugrats," "King of the Hill," and many other shows.
Babe's character was filmed using a combination of real Yorkshire pigs and an animatronic model. Because baby pigs grow so quickly, 48 pigs were required for filming! A make-up artist added a toupee and eyelashes to each and computer magic made the pigs' snouts appear to "speak."
The movie employed 56 animal trainers to work with the nearly 1,000 animals on set. The head animal trainer, Karl Lewis Miller, appears in the movie as the man who buys three of Fly's puppies.
Ben, the leader of a pack of trained, telepathic rats, actually starred in two movies in rapid succession. Willard, which premiered in New York City in 1971, tells the story of Willard, an awkward man who is made fun of a work and eventually forced out of his job. His only real friends are his pet rats, Ben and Socrates and their ever-increasing pack of friends. When one of the rats is killed at work, Willard gives vent to his pain and frustration by having the pack terrorize the coworkers who had tormented him.
In 1972, Ben was released. In this story, Ben befriends a young boy who is bullied at school. Ben and his pack of murderous friends begin to control the boy and the swarm becomes more violent and irrational. When authorities finally kill the pack the boy is bereft until he learns that Ben is still alive.
The theme song, "Ben" was performed by Michael Jackson and became a #1 pop single. "Ben" won a Golden Globe for Best Song and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Benji, star of movies and a television series, was originally named Higgins and was adopted from a Burbank, California animal shelter. Higgins was trained by his owner, Frank Inn, an animal trainer. Higgins first starred in Benji in 1974, by which point he was 15 years old, rather old for a dog! The character of Benji is a loveable mutt with a knack for being in the right place at the right time, generally helping someone out of a tight spot. Higgins, who suffered from arthritis and respiratory problems, retired soon after his first movie. Although an intelligent and hardworking dog, Higgins could become problematic and cranky. The role of Benji has been played by various of Higgins' descendants.
Based on the 1877 book written by Anna Sewall, Black Beauty tells the story of the life of a horse. Ms. Sewall intended, in part, to call attention to the plight of service animals at the turn of the century. Made into a movie in 1946, Black Beauty's star was an American Register Saddle-Bred Stallion named Highland Dale. Born in 1943 in Missouri, Highland Dale acted throughout the 40s, 50s, and 50s, appearing both in movies and on television. When he was just 18-months-old, Highland Dale began his training with Ralph McCutcheon. Among his many tricks were playing dead, untying knots, and laughing or whinnying on command. For his work, Highland Dale earned $5000 per week and was insured for more than $250,000.
Because of his work in the television show "Fury," Highland Dale was often called Fury. In addition, McCutcheon nicknamed him Beaut and always referred to him by that name. McCutcheon's Beaut was an energetic, intelligent horse that especially liked to roll in the mud just after taking a bath, so that he would need to be bathed again. The horse lived at stables in Van Nuys, California, but had access to McCutcheon's swimming pool!
Beauty developed breathing problems in later life and died of natural causes in 1972.
Beasley, the Dogue de Bordeaux (French Mastiff), who played Hooch in Turner and Hooch was a one-hit wonder. Born in 1978, his role as Hooch was his only movie role. In the movie, Hooch's owner is murdered and he is adopted by Scott Turner (played by Tom Hanks), the detective investigating the murder.
Turner is a neat-freak and his adoption of Hooch, a beer-swilling dog, turns his life and his apartment upside-down. With Hooch's help, however, Turner is able to solve the murder, receive a promotion on the force, and marry the vet who cares for Hooch.
During the 2006 Academy Awards, Tom Hanks appeared in a comedic skit in which he, among other things, thanked Hooch!
Kong is a fictional giant ape who lived on Skull Island, somewhere in the Indian Ocean. He is discovered by an American film crew, nicknamed King Kong, and brought to New York City. Once in New York, King Kong escapes from his captors, climbs the Empire State building, and is ultimately shot down by circling airplanes.King Kong, the movie released in 1933, featured groundbreaking cinematography and used special effects such as stop-motion models, animatronics, rear-projection, and trick photography. In the classic movie, remade in 1976 and again in 2005, Kong is a 25-foot tall gorilla, between 120 and 150 years old, and the last of his kind. The 1976 movie won an Oscar for Special Effects. The 2005 version won three Academy Awards for Visual Effects, Sound Mixing, and Sound Editing. In 1934, Son of Kong was released, which chronicled the discovery of Kong's son on Skull Island. A short-lived animated television series, aired in 1966, featured King Kong and his friends, the Bond family. To accurately voice the title role in the 2005 movie, actor Andy Serkis studied gorillas in zoos and in the wild in Rwanda. His figure was used for motion capture; computer graphics completed the giant gorilla.
Lassie is the iconic animal sidekick and helper. First appearing in a short story written by Eric Knight, in The Saturday Evening Post in 1938, the Lassie phenomenon continues to this day. That Post article turned into a book, Lassie Come Home and then a radio program, many movies, and a long-running television show.
The first Lassie was played by Pal, a Rough Collie. Pal was owned by Frank and Rudd Weatherwax, animal trainers. MGM Studios had cast another Collie to play Lassie in their movie, Lassie Come Home. Legend has it that at the start of filming, the Sacramento River flooded in northern California. Producers decided to use a stunt double, Pal, to get some footage of a dog in the water. Pal performed so far above expectations that the role was recast. As MGM head Louis B. Mayer is reported to have said, "Pal went into the water and Lassie came out."
Lassie was born on June 4, 1940 and died in 1958. Pal's progeny have filled in for their famous father in subsequent movies and television specials.
In the 1957 movie Old Yeller, adapted from the book by Fred Gibson, Travis Coates is a young boy left with his mom and younger brother on their ranch while his dad works on a cattle drive during the 1860s. Travis soon finds a mongrel dog, whom he names Old Yeller. At first the family is reluctant to take on another animal, but in various scrapes with raccoons, snakes, and bears, Old Yeller proves his loyalty and his worth.
Old Yeller was played by a Yellow Labrador mix named Spike. Spike was rescued from an animal shelter in Van Nuys, California and trained by Frank and Rudd Weatherwax.
Sterling North's autobiographical novel, published in 1963, tells the story of an unusual friendship between a boy and a raccoon. Set in Wisconsin in 1917, Rascal was a hugely popular movie in which Rascal causes all sorts of mischief but brings a lonely boy joy as he deals with the death of his mother and the frequent absences of his father. The book won a Newbery Honor in 1964. Sterling North was a former literary editor for newspapers in Chicago and New York when he wrote RASCAL. The Disney movie, filmed in California, was released in 1969.
Sterling North's childhood home was been preserved by the Sterling North Society and visitors can see, among other artifacts, the wooden highchair in which Rascal sat while eating sugar cubes. The barn, behind the house, featured an entrance hole just for Rascal.
In 1973, Disney aired the movie on national television during its series, "The Wonderful World of Disney." Rascal was, and continues to be, an international sensation.
NATIONAL VELVET, written by Enid Bagnold and published in 1935, tells the story of a young English girl named Velvet Brown who attempts to race her horse, The Pie, to victory in the Grand National Steeplechase. Velvet's horse, won in a local raffle, is nicknamed The Pie because his is a piebald. First made into a movie in 1945, National Velvet starred Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Rooney. The Pie was played by King Charles, a grandson of the great racing champion Man O'War, whose owner had trained him as a show-jumper. Taylor so loved the horse that arrangements were made, after filming, for her to keep the horse. King Charles was trained by Karl Lewis Miller.
NATIONAL VELVET also became a television series (1960-1962) for NBC. The sequel to National Velvet, International Velvet starred Tatum O'Neal and was released in 1978.
THE WIZARD OF OZ was written by L. Frank Baum and published in 1900. One of the book's starring characters is a little dog named Toto, the pet of a Kansas farm girl named Dorothy. Toto's breed is never specified in the book, but the illustrator, W.W.Denslow, drew a dog that looks a lot like a Cairn Terrier. When casting began for the famous movie production, the casting department had the most trouble casting the part of Toto, because of the confusion about his breed.
Toto was played by a dog named Terry, who was in fact a female dog although she is referred to as "he" throughout the movie. Terry was acquired by animal trainer Carl Spitz, more than three years before filming began. Terry was a very shy dog, but soon warmed up and became comfortable working in front of the camera. Spitz received $125 per week for Terry's work.
Free Willy, the movie released in 1993, features the friendship between a tough 12-year-old boy and the giant orca whale he befriends at a local aquarium. When he learns that the whale is due to be killed by the aquarium owners, he risks everything to free his friend.
Willy was famously played by Keiko, a Genus Orca whale born near Iceland in 1976 and captured off the coast of that country in 1979. He was first sold to the marine park industry. In 1993 he starred in Free Willy and was trained by Jeff Foster. After the movie, Keiko was virtually forgotten until he was found, living in miserable conditions, in a Mexican aquarium. An international fund raiser was set in motion and, as a result, Keiko was bought from the aquarium and sent to the Oregon coast. From there he was airlifted to Iceland in 1998 to prepare him for release to the wild. He was trained and released in 2002, but he missed human company! He swam 870 miles to Helsa, Norway in September, 2002. There, residents were delighted by his presence and played with him constantly until local animal authorities finally had to ban anyone from approaching him. He was cared for by whale keepers until he died, suddenly, in 2003. Keiko was 27 years old when he died, which is considered old for a captive whale but young for a wild one.
Keiko also starred in Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995) and Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997). The name Keiko means "The Lucky One" in Japanese. In his prime, Keiko was 24 feet long and weighed six tons. Keiko was buried at Taknes in Halsa County, Norway. His grave is next to the ocean. To commemorate the anniversary of his death, 300 Norwegian schoolchildren placed flowers on his grave on January 4, 2004.
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