Daisy (dog actor)

Last updated
Daisy
Born
Spooks

1937
Died1960
OccupationCanine actor
Years active1938–1954

Daisy (originally named Spooks) was a canine actor who appeared in more than 50 Hollywood films during the 1930s and 1940s. He was especially well-known for appearing in the Blondie franchise. [1]

Contents

Biography

Daisy—a cocker spaniel–poodle-terrier mix—was originally named Spooks because his owners noted his timidness as a pup. [2] Born around 1937, he was owned by dog trainer Rennie Renfro, who bought him for $3. [3] [4] [5] He also learned tricks from legendary trainer Rudd Weatherwax. [4]

Daisy was known for his expressive face and trick gestures (averting his eyes; putting his paw in his mouth in panic; leaping across the screen like a flying projectile, etc.). Besides his work in the Blondie comedies, Daisy also appeared with Laurel and Hardy and The Three Stooges, among other stars. Daisy is the main character in two 1945 comedy features: Life with Blondie and Hollywood and Vine . Reportedly, Renfro and Daisy made $1,000 a week, and Renfro used the money to buy them a house in Toluca Lake, California. [6] [7] He was also noted to have had a five-year feud with actress Rita Hayworth. [8] His last known film appearance came in 1954, in the Columbia Pictures comedy short Kids Will Be Kids.

Daisy and his "pups" had their own dog food brand that they promoted in public appearances.

Selected filmography

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis O'Keefe</span> American actor (1899–1957)

Dennis O'Keefe was an American actor and screenwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shemp Howard</span> American comedian and actor (1895–1955)

Shemp Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He was called "Shemp" because "Sam" came out that way in his mother's thick Litvak accent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarence Kolb</span> American vaudeville comedian (1874–1964)

Clarence William Kolb, sometimes given as C. William Kolb, was an American vaudeville performer and actor known for his comedy routines that featured a Dutch dialect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerome Cowan</span> American actor (1897–1972)

Jerome Palmer Cowan was an American stage, film, and television actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Jenks</span> American actor (1902–1962)

Frank Jenks was an American actor and vaudevillian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Carroll (actor)</span> American actor (1906–1979)

John Carroll was an American actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Hale</span> Canadian-born film and television actor (1891–1966)

Jonathan Hale was a Canadian-born film and television actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Kennedy (actor)</span> American actor (1885–1965)

Thomas Aloyisus Kennedy was an American actor known for his roles in Hollywood comedies from the silent days, with such producers as Mack Sennett and Hal Roach, mainly supporting lead comedians such as the Marx Brothers, W. C. Fields, Mabel Normand, Shemp Howard, El Brendel, Laurel and Hardy, and the Three Stooges. Kennedy also played dramatic roles as a supporting actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marion Martin</span> American actress (1909–1985)

Marion Suplee, known professionally as Marion Martin, was an American film and stage actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grant Mitchell (actor)</span> American actor

John Grant Mitchell Jr. was an American actor. He appeared on Broadway from 1902 to 1939 and appeared in more than 125 films between 1930 and 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chester Clute</span> American actor (1891–1956)

Chester Lamont Clute was an American actor familiar in scores of Hollywood films from his debut in 1930. Diminutive, bald-pated with a bristling moustache, he appeared in mostly unbilled roles, consisting usually of one or two lines, in nearly 250 films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald MacBride</span> American actor (1893–1957)

Donald Hugh MacBride was an American character actor on stage, in films, and on television who launched his career as a teenage singer in vaudeville and went on to be an actor in New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Wallace</span> English-American composer (1887–1963)

Oliver George Wallace was an English composer and conductor. He was especially known for his film music compositions, which were written for many animation, documentary, and feature films from Walt Disney Studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Dunn</span> American actor (1900–1968)

Ralph Dunn was an American film, television, and stage actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emory Parnell</span> American actor (1892–1979)

Emory Parnell was an American vaudeville performer and actor who appeared in over 250 films in his 36-year career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esther Dale</span> American actress (1885–1961)

Esther Dale was an American actress of the stage and screen.

Larry Lee Simms was an American aerospace engineer and former child actor who appeared in 36 films between 1937 and 1951.

Abby Berlin was best known as a director of feature films and television productions. He began on Broadway and Vaudeville as part of a comedy team with Ken Brown in the 1920s. By 1939, he had moved to Hollywood, where he worked as an assistant director, before getting his opportunity to direct his own films with 1945's Leave It to Blondie. He was married at least twice, his first wife, Jean, committed suicide after arguing with him; his second wife was B-movie actress Iris Meredith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edythe Elliott</span> American actress (1886–1978)

Edythe Elliott was an American character actress active primarily during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blondie (film series)</span> American comedy film series based on the comic strip Blondie

The Blondie film series is an American comedy film series based on the comic strip of the same name, created by Chic Young. The series featured Penny Singleton as Blondie Bumstead and Arthur Lake as Dagwood Bumstead. Concurrently the film adventures were continued, with the same cast reprising their roles, in the Blondie radio series.

References

  1. Parsons, Louella O. (10 Mar 1946). "Animal Expert Tells of Handling Lions and Gulls". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  2. Beck, Ken; Clark, Jim (2002-03-30). The Encyclopedia of TV Pets: A Complete History of Television's Greatest Animal Stars. Thomas Nelson. ISBN   978-1-4185-5737-9.
  3. Parsons, Louella O. (23 Aug 1939). "Tony Pastor Film Will Relive Times of Noted Troupers". The Courier-Post. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  4. 1 2 "Nondescript Pup Climbs to Film Film Fame in Movie". The Miami News. 11 Dec 1938. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  5. "Dogs Get "Romp With" Instead of "Stand In"". The Evening Sun. 29 Jun 1937. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  6. "High-Salaried Canine". The Record. 16 Sep 1941. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  7. "Poor Raft Poisoned by Make-Up". The Detroit Free Press. 8 Oct 1943. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  8. Todd, John (10 Aug 1944). "In Hollywood". The Times. Retrieved 2019-11-23.