old school Animal Actors

1. Rin Tin Tin

Actor | The Night Cry

The first 'Rin Tin Tin', who along with his heirs starred in numerous films and television series, was discovered during World War I, September 15, 1918, by US Air Corporal Lee Duncan and his battalion in Lorraine, France. At a bombed out dog kennel, Duncan found a mother Shepherd Dog and her ...

2. Terry

Actress | The Wizard of Oz

Without question, the most known dog in movie history. Many dogs tried to eclipse Toto's success, most recently, The Men In Black dog. Most don't know that Toto has an autobiography that's available in most stores. She almost lost her life when she broke her foot in The Wizard of Oz. Toto (Terry) ...

3. Strongheart the Dog

Actor | White Fang

Strongheart, the German shepherd who was a canine superstar of American cinema, was born and raised in Imperial Germany, where he was trained to be a police dog and assigned to the German military during World War I. Called "Etzel von Oringer," the German shepherd was born on October 1, 1917, ...

4. Asta

Actor | After the Thin Man

Asta was Hollywood's foremost canine scene-stealer, a charismatic dynamo of a wire-haired terrier (real name Skippy) born sometime during 1931. Universally adored by depression-era movie audiences after being cast as the four-legged sidekick of retired private detective Nick Charles and his wife ...

5. Pal the Dog

Actor | Thru the Flames

Pal the Dog was a very intelligent Rough Collie dog who began his movie career at the age four when he was teamed up with actor Wallace Reid. He would go on to become a favorite of young movie goers throughout the country for almost a decade. Pal died at the age of fourteen in Hollywood.

6. Pete the Dog

Actor | Beginner's Luck

Pete the Dog was born as Pal. He was known for Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde (1925), Bear Shooters (1930), The First Seven Years (1930), and Dog Heaven(1930). He of course is best known for playing Spanky's dog in The Little Rascalls. He died on January 28, 1946 in Los Angeles, Californians, USA.

7. Cheetah

Actor | Tarzan Escapes

Cheetah was born in 1932 in Liberia. He was an actor, known for Tarzan Escapes (1936) and Hollywood - The Second Step (1936). He died on December 24, 2011 in Florida, USA.

8. Tony the Horse

Actor | Silver Valley

Tony the Horse was an acting horse and the companion of Western-star Tom Mix. It was the first horse labeled as 'Wonder Horse' and became very famous through appearances in over two dozen films. Tony is known for The Arizona Wildcat (1927), Silver Valley (1927) and Six-Shooter Andy (1918). It died ...

9. Trigger

Actor | Hollywood Canteen

Trigger, Roy Rogers' beautiful Golden Palomino stallion, and co-star with Roy in many of his movies and Roy's TV show, was often billed as "the smartest horse in the movies".

The two of them appeared in dozens of westerns in the 1930s and 40s, always chasing and thwarting the bad guys, and working ...

10. Nissa the Leopard

Actress | Siren of Atlantis

Nissa the Leopard is known for Siren of Atlantis (1949).

11. Dynamite

Dynamite is a black panther, not a leopard, despite appearing in The Leopard Man. And in Cat People, Dynamite is compared to a leopard by the foreboding zoo keeper.

12. King Charles

King Charles was born in 1937. He is an actor.

13. Molly

Actress | Francis Covers the Big Town

Though she was best known as Francis the Talking Mule, her real name was Molly. Molly was known for Francis Goes to the Races (1951), Francis (1950) and Francis Goes to West Point (1952). Molly won a prestigious award In 1951, when she became the very first animal to win the coveted Picture Animal ...

14. Mister Ed

Self | Mister Ed

Mister Ed was born in El Monte, California, and his real name was Bamboo Harvester. He was a palomino show horse that had his own show. On the Mr. Ed show, he played a talking horse that only spoke to his owner Wilber. Bamboo Harvester actually had a stunt double who stepped in often. He died in ...

15. Highland Dale

Actor | The Return of Wildfire

Highland Dale was born on March 4, 1943 in Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for The Return of Wildfire (1948), Black Beauty (1946) and The High Chaparral (1967). He died in 1973 in California, USA.

16. Spike

Actor | The Silent Call

Spike was born in 1952 in California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Silent Call (1961) and Lassie (1954). He died in 1962 in California, USA.

17. Mitzie

Actress | Flipper

Mitzie was born in 1958. She was an actress, known for Flipper (1963). She died in 1972 in Dolphin Research Institute and Center Grassy Key, Florida, USA.

18. Flipper

Actor | Flipper

Flipper was played by five female dolphins; Susie, Patty, Squirt, Scotty and Kathy. The five dolphins performed all of Flipper's scenes except the famous tail walk, a trick they were unable to master completely. A male dolphin named Clown was brought in for scenes involving the tail walk. The ...

19. Duke

Actor | Somewhere in Sonora

Duke is known for Somewhere in Sonora (1933), The Telegraph Trail (1933) and Ride Him, Cowboy (1932).

20. Tarzan

Actor | Drum Taps

Tarzan "The Wonder Horse" was a star of Movies, Circus, and Rodeo.

When Ken Maynard bought Tarzan around 1925 for $50 in Newhall, California, he found his perfect co-star. Tarzan received billing in many of Maynard's movies from then on.

Ken named his prize steed Tarzan after the fictional hero of ...

21. Cameo the Dog

Actress | Misbehaving Ladies

Cameo the Dog is known for Misbehaving Ladies (1931), Legend of Hollywood (1924) and Frisco Sally Levy (1927).

22. Ace the Wonder Dog

Actor | The Rookie Cop

Ace the Wonder Dog is known for The Rookie Cop (1939), Orphans of the Street (1938) and The Monster Maker (1944).

23. Buck

Actor | Call of the Yukon

Buck is known for Call of the Yukon (1938), The Country Beyond (1936) and Melody Trail (1935).

24. Dynamite the Horse

Actor | Courage of the North

Dynamite the Horse is known for Courage of the North (1935), Timber Terrors (1935) and Gold (1932).

25. Luke the Dog

Actor | The Cook

Luke the Dog was an English Staffordshire Bull Terrier, featured in one- and two reel comedy shorts (mainly for Keystone) between 1914 and 1920. The athletic animal was owned by silent actors Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle and his wife Minta Durfee, who acquired the canine as a six months-old puppy from ...