Pete the Pup
| Other names | Petey, Lucenay's Peter |
|---|---|
| Species | Canis familiaris |
| Breed | American Pit Bull Terrier |
| Sex | Male |
| Born | September 9, 1929 |
| Died | January 28, 1946 |
| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1929-1938 |
Pete the Pup (September 9, 1929 – January 28, 1946) was an American dog actor known to portray Pete, the dog with the ring around his eye in Hal Roach's Our Gang comedies series (later known as The Little Rascals) during the 1930s. He was well-known for the circle around his eye, applied by Hollywood makeup artist Max Factor.[1]
Dog actors
Pal the Wonder Dog
The first dog actor to play Pete was an UKC registered American Pit Bull Terrier named Pal the Wonder Dog (sired by Tudor's Black Jack x Keller Peggy O'Neill and bred by Earl Tudor), born in 1924 as a descendant to Colby's Pincher,[2][3][4][5] and it is claimed that he had a natural mark around his right eye and that some dye was applied to create the circle, credited as an oddity in Ripley's Believe It or Not. Pal started his career as Tige in the Buster Brown series in the 1920s. When he was about six months old in 1925, Pal appeared in the Harold Lloyd film The Freshman.[6]
Pal was poisoned and died in 1930.[7]
Lucenay's Peter (Pete the pup)
After Pal's death. his trainer and owner Harry Lucenay used a male of Pal's offspring to play Pete in the series. Pal's son, named Lucenay's Peter (sired by Pal the Wonder Dog x Keller Peggy O'Neill) was a UKC/AKC dual-registered American Pit Bull Terrier/American Staffordshire Terrier, mostly known as Pete the Pup,[8] bred by A. A. Keller and born in 1929. This second Pete was used following Pal's death and strongly resembled the first Pete, but with the circle around his left eye. Lucenay's Peter first appeared as a puppy in Pups Is Pups and was nearly full-grown in his second appearance in School's Out. The second Pete's last Our Gang appearance was The Pooch in 1932. The plot involves a dog catcher who tries unsuccessfully to catch Pete and euthanize him.
Roach next used a number of unrelated dogs to portray Pete in Our Gang films until 1938, beginning with Hook and Ladder (1932).[7] Lucenay's Peter died of old age on January 28, 1946 in Los Angeles at the age of 16 years and 4 months, two years after the Our Gang series ended. Pete is buried at the Los Angeles Pet Memorial Park in Calabasas, California.
Other dog actors
In the 1994 feature film remake of The Little Rascals, Pete is portrayed by an American Bulldog dog actor named Petey.[9]
In the 2014 film The Little Rascals Save the Day, Pete is portrayed by Jules, a female mongrel dog actor who participated in a 2014 Shelter Pet Project television commercial.
See also
References
- ^ Martin, Rick (2007). Circus Tricks for Your Dog: 25 Crowd-Pleasers That Will Make Your Dog a Star. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 97. ISBN 978-1-57990-816-4.
- ^ "Favorite well known dog, past or present - Page 1". www.pedigreedatabase.com.
- ^ "Pedigree Database: PAL THE WONDER DOG". pedigree.gamedogs.cz.
- ^ "THE AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER BEGINNINGS IN THE CINEMA". www.fiapbt.net.
- ^ Pal, the Wonder Dog, and his offspring Pete
- ^ Maltin, Leonard; Correll, Richard; Bann, Richard W. The Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection Giftset. Vol. 2 – disc one.
- ^ a b Maltin, Leonard and Bann, Richard W. (1977, rev. 1992). The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang, pp. 281–283. New York: Crown Publishing/Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0-517-58325-9
- ^ "Breed Info". Staffordshire Terrier Club of America. Archived from the original on 2023-06-01. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
- ^ "American Bulldog Movies". Reel Dogs. 2015-04-20. Archived from the original on 2023-04-07. Retrieved 2019-07-14.