Hollywood – Gone To The
Dogs?
by: Kirsten Hawkins
There is no
question that people in America love dogs.
One look at popular culture in our country
will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that
Americans have a love affair with dogs.
Movies and TV shows about dogs go in and out
of popularity and stories like Old Yeller
and Where the Red Fern Grows are considered
timeless classics. Only in America, however,
do dogs manage to achieve celebrity status.
Rin Tin Tin
Rin Tin Tin
was Hollywood’s first recognizable canine
star. The German Shepherd was featured in 26
films for Warner Brothers Pictures and is
generally credited with having saved the
studio from bankruptcy during the silent
film era. The original Rin Tin Tin died in
1932 at the age of 13, but his bloodline and
his fan club exist to this day.
Lassie
Ask someone to
name a famous dog and you will probably get
the name Lassie every time. The star of
several television series, many movies, and
the subject of countless books, Lassie is
probably the most recognizable canine star
in American TV and movie history.
Interestingly, all of the dogs to portray
Lassie over the years have been male. The
original collie to portray Lassie was
actually named Lad and was the star of the
memorable original television series as well
as several movies, most memorably the
original version of Lassie Come Home.
Benji
In the 1970’s
a would-be filmmaker named Joe Camp started
pitching a “dog movie” around Hollywood. He
was told repeatedly that the film would
never work, so he decided to produce the
film independently. Once the film wrapped
Camp had new troubles because no
distribution company would release the film.
Again, Camp relied upon himself to
distribute his family movie worldwide.
Camp’s gamble paid off and Benji, starring a
lovable mixed breed dog that was adopted
from an animal shelter (the original Benji
was the dog Higgins who had worked on the TV
show Petticoat Junction) became a huge hit.
Over the years there have been five Benji
movies, television programs and specials,
comics, and a ton of Benji merchandise.
