TLW's Animal Actorscope |
By T.L. Winslow (TLW), the Historyscoper™ |
© Copyright by T.L. Winslow. All Rights Reserved. |
Original Pub. Date: Oct. 7, 2015. Last Update: May 7, 2018. |
Westerners are not only known as history ignoramuses, but double dumbass history ignoramuses when it comes to animal actor history. Since I'm the one-and-only Historyscoper (tm), let me quickly bring you up to speed before you dive into my Master Historyscope.
In May 1922 Irving Cummings' The Man From Hell's River debuts, becoming the debut (as a wolf) of German Shepherd wonder dog Rin Tin Tin (Rin-Tin-Tin) (Rinty) (1918-32), who was born in a trench in France during WWI and found in a bombed dog kennel by Cpl. Lee Duncan, and saved along with his sister Nannette, then shipped to Los Angeles, Calif., where Nannette dies. On July 1, 1923 Chester M. Franklin's Where the North Begins debuts, written by Lee Duncan, owner of Rin Tin Tin, who stars along with Claire Adams, becoming a giant hit and rescuing Warner Bros. from bankruptcy; Rin Tin Tin goes on to appear in 24 more films, many written by up-and-coming screenwriter Darryl F. Zanuck, who rises to producer. Rin Tin Tin is voted the most popular film star in 1926, and has four sons who become dog stars playing him; he is later buried in France and his bloodline continues in a Tex. kennel; he is stationed at Ft. Apache.