Famous dogs in movies: the real stories behind the stars

Part 1

Why these dogs stuck with audiences

Toto in The Wizard of Oz was played by a female Cairn Terrier named Terry, even though the character was written as male. Rin Tin Tin, the German Shepherd whose name was later used for a line of successor dogs, was a real animal rescued as a puppy in France. The gap between the character you remember and the dog who played it is easy to miss once you only know the finished film.

Terry's trainer, Carl Spitz, used hand signals to cue her silently. That kind of precise, repeatable cueing is different from the basic obedience work you might do with your own dog at home. If you ever teach your dog a hand signal for sit or stay, you are using a simple version of the same idea film trainers relied on.

Part 2

Early film dogs who set the template

Rin Tin Tin was a male German Shepherd born in Flirey, France, in 1918. American soldier Corporal Lee Duncan found him, his mother, and his litter mates in a damaged kennel after the Battle of Saint-Mihiel. Duncan kept Rin Tin Tin and a sister puppy he named Nanette, brought them to the United States, and began training the surviving dog. Rin Tin Tin's film debut came in 1922 in The Man from Hell's River, after Duncan offered him as a replacement for an uncooperative wolf.

His first starring role, Where the North Begins in 1923, was a hit, and he went on to appear in 27 Hollywood films. Along with the earlier film dog Strongheart, Rin Tin Tin helped make German Shepherds popular as family dogs. His films were profitable enough to help Warner Bros. succeed in its early years as a studio. If you have ever wondered why German Shepherds became such common family dogs, these early film careers are part of the answer.

Part 3

Lassie: a role played by Pal first

The character of Lassie appeared on screen in the 1943 film Lassie Come Home, played by a dog named Pal. Rumor holds that Pal was paid more for the role than Elizabeth Taylor, who was a child actor just starting out at the time, though his exact salary has not been confirmed. You may know Lassie mainly as a character rather than a single dog, which fits how studios often credited animal roles at the time.

Part 4

Toto and the dogs of classic studio films

Toto in The Wizard of Oz was played by Terry, a female Cairn Terrier born in 1933. Terry had already appeared in films such as Ready for Love and Bright Eyes before she was cast in The Wizard of Oz in 1939. Filming began in October 1938, and Terry appeared in nearly every major scene.

Terry was paid 125 dollars a week for her work on the film, more than some of the human actors playing the Munchkins earned. During filming she was accidentally stepped on by an actor playing one of the Wicked Witch's guards and took about two weeks to recover before finishing the role.

• Terry died in 1945 at the age of 11.
• She was buried at trainer Carl Spitz's ranch, though the grave was later destroyed during freeway construction.
• A memorial for Terry with a bronze statue was put up at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in 2011.

Part 5

How trainers prepare a dog for a movie set

Carl Spitz, who trained Terry, used hand signals to direct her silently during scenes.

After Rin Tin Tin died, later dogs carrying his name took over the role in films, radio, and television. For the 1950s television show, the intended dog performed poorly in a screen test, so a trainer's dog named Flame Jr. played the part instead.

Part 6

What happened to these dogs after filming

Rin Tin Tin died in 1932 at Lee Duncan's home in Los Angeles. He was buried in Duncan's backyard before later being reburied in a pet cemetery near Paris. Several of his descendants have been bred to continue the bloodline, and some have worked as service and therapy dogs. If you follow a working dog's pedigree the way Rin Tin Tin's owners did, you can see how a line continues for generations.

Terry worked in films both before and after The Wizard of Oz.