For almost as long as movies have existed, animal actors have been a part of them. When television became a household phenomenon, animals became a part of the television programs people were watching (Robinson, 2004). From The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin to Paul Anka on Gilmore Girls, the use of animals as actors is big business in Hollywood. People generally like animals and enjoy seeing them on screen; in addition, since animals are a part of our lives and most people have at least one pet, it creates more realism in movies and television when animals are included. And, it is not only dogs who are featured on television. Animals of all sorts are featured, any animal that can be trained, or at least carried in a cage can appear on television as someone’s pet, or in another role as a wild animal or a stray.
Do a Google search for “animal actors” and many, many pages of results will come up. A great many of these results are animal actor talent agencies. Yes, animal actors have agents to represent them, just like their human counterparts (Presnal, 2001). Animal actors are paid, just like human actors, and their owners and/or trainers want to make sure their animal is getting the best possible deal from directors and producers. That is where the talent agent comes in. Not only does the talent agent have the contacts necessary to find work for the animals, but he or she negotiates with the people in charge of productions in order to get good financial deals for the animal actors, and to make sure that they are well-treated while on the set. Just like with human actors, an animal actor’s career in Hollywood is going to be a lot harder if he or she does not have a good animal talent agency to represent them.
Animal actors occasionally become as famous as some human actors. Probably one of the best known animal actors is Morris the Cat, the mascot for Nine Lives brand cat food. Morris, a large, orange tabby cat, has been appearing in commercials and print advertising for Nine Lives cat food since the late 1960s. Morris has appeared in movies, and has “authored” three books, thus proving Morrris’s popularity with the public. The original Morris was discovered at a Chicago animal shelter in 1968 by professional animal handler Bob Martwick. Morris has been portrayed by several different cats over the years; as Morrises become old and/or sick, they are replaced by younger look-alike cats. Nine Lives is still using Morris as their official spokescat, and the current Morris lives in California with his handler, Rose Ordile (“Morris“, 2006).
Another well-known animal actor was the collie who played Lassie on the long-running television program. Like Morris, Lassie has been portrayed by many different dogs over the years, the earliest being in 1943 in the movie “Lassie Come Home”, which was based on a book by the same name. Lassie went on to star in several other movies, as well as a television series that ran from 1954 to 1974 (“Lassie“, 2006). The original collie in this series was actually a male dog (even though the character of Lassie is a female) named Pal. Pal came from a collie farm in California, and his original owner paid Weatherwax Animal Handlers to train him for the television series. When the original owner couldn’t pay the training bill, Weatherwax Animal Handlers took over ownership of Pal. Pal was bred with several female collies, and had hundreds of puppies. Nine direct descendants of the original Pal have also played Lassie in a number of film and television productions.
Rin Tin Tin was one of the most popular of the early animal actors. This German shepherd was found by an American serviceman in a bombed-out dog kennel in France, shortly before the end of the first world war. The serviceman named the dog Rin Tin Tin, after a French puppet in a popular children’s stage show there, and brought the dog back to the United States after the war (Bartel, 1997). The dog learned to do many impressive tricks, and was soon discovered by a Hollywood talent agent while performing at a dog show. Rin Tin Tin went on to star in many movie shorts and full length movies. The Rin Tin Tin television series of the 1950s did not star the original Rin Tin Tin, however, as the original dog died in 1932. However, the spirit of Rin Tin Tin lived on in the series named after him, showing just how popular the dog was with audiences.
One particularly popular television dog from recent times is Eddie Crane, Frasier’s dog on the popular television sit-com, Frasier. Eddie’s real name was Moose, and he was a Jack Russell terrier who had lots of television experience by the time he was picked to play the role of Eddie. Moose was the youngest and largest puppy in his litter, and was a handful for his original owners. They were not able to housebreak him, and he had a penchant for chewing on everything, as well as chasing cats. Eventually at a loss as to what to do with him, his owners gave him to Birds and Animals Unlimited, a company that trains animals for television and movies (“Frasier“, 2006). Moose’s new owners/trainers found him to be very trainable, and, after six months of training, Moose was good enough to win the role of Eddie. Birds and Animals Unlimited continued to officially own Moose throughout his life. Because “Frasier” lasted so long on television, Moose was bred to produce puppies for possible replacements. His son, Enzo, did eventually take over the role after 8 years, and had been used as a stunt double for Moose for some time before that. Moose spent the last 6 years of his life in retirement with his trainer and several other animals, including Enzo, before dying of old age at the age of fifteen and a half. Moose was widely mourned in the television world when he died, because he was such a well-known and beloved animal actor.
There have, of course, been many other animal actors who have gained tremendous popularity through their work. Benji the dog, Mr. Ed the horse, Trigger the horse, even the black cat on “Sabrina the Teenaged Witch” have all become household names at some point in their careers (Wilmeth, 2002). While dogs, cats, and horses are the most commonly used animals in films and television, this is only because they are the most common animals to be kept as pets by people, and are thus the most familiar animals to many. It is not uncommon for movies, particularly movies set in remote and dangerous settings, to use animals that are normally wild, such as lions and elephants and reptiles of various kinds. In fact, an entire television series, “Gentle Ben” was created around a bear (Totton, 2003). These animals are, of course, trained and are considered as tame and safe as any animals of these sorts can be. Still, it is usually only the actors who have scenes with these animals, and their trainers, who are allowed to get close to them on the set, for safety reasons.
There are really no particular breeds of animals that do best in front of the camera. It all depends on the personality of the animal. One cocker spaniel, for example, may do very well in front of the camera and may handle the pressures of acting quite well, while another cocker spaniel may not be able to handle all of the people, lights, and activity. Sometimes, television and movie productions have to go through quite a few animal actors before they find one with not only the look they want, but the temperament necessary to do the job.
In general, domestic animals are the most reliable in their training, and more predictable in their behavior than wild or exotic animals. Still, their ability to be trained and to act depends as much on personality for exotic animals as it does for domestic ones (Wynne, 1999). It is almost a certainty that an animal will have to go through some very specific training for whatever movie or television role he or she gets, but in order to be accepted as a client by just about any animal talent agency, an animal will have to know some basic obedience training at the outset (Harper, 2001). This is to ensure the safety of the animal as well as the actors and crew during auditions. Other than basic obedience training, however, animal actors are often not required to know much else. That all will come with the specific training once they get the job. At the outset, all producers and directors are looking for is an animal that has the right look for the role, and can respond to basic commands. If an animal has that, and gets the role, that animal has a shot at fame and fortune and becoming a beloved household name, just like the likes of Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, and Morris.
Bibliography
Bartel, Pauline. (1997) Amazing Animal Actors. Taylor Publishing: New York.
“Frasier.” (1993-2004). Los Angeles: Paramount Productions.
Harper, Jennifer. (2001). “Calling All Cats and Canines.” Insight on the News, Vol. 17.
“Lassie.” (1954-1974). Los Angeles: MGM Productions.
“Morris.” (2006) Internet Movie Database. www.imdb.com
Presnal, Judith. (2001). Animals with Jobs. Kidaven Press: New York.
Robinson, Dee. (2004). “Animal Biographies.” History Today, Vol. 54.
Totton, Mary Louise. (2003). “Narrating Animals on the Screen of the World.” The Art Bulletin, Vol. 85.
Wilmeth, Don B. (2002). “Bibliography of Published Sources in English on Actors and the History of Acting in the West Since 1950: A Tentative Checklist.” Theatre History Studies.
Wynne, Clive. (1999). “Do Animals Think?” Psychology Today, Vol. 32.
