Pal (dog actor)

Pal was the name of a famous dog, the first to portray Lassie, a famous Rough Collie. Pal was owned by animal trainers Frank and Rudd Weatherwax, and was born June 20, 1940.

Related Topics:
Dog - Lassie - Rough Collie - Animal trainer - Frank - Rudd Weatherwax - June 20 - 1940

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pal's big break came in 1943, during the filming of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) film Lassie Come Home. The studios had decided to use a show collie trained by Frank Inn to portray the title character. However, a snap decision was made to take advantage of a massive flooding of the Sacramento River in northern California in order to obtain some spectacular footage for the film. As the collie was still in training, MGM hired Pal as a stand-in for the river scene. Although the work was considered complicated for an animal actor, the dog performed exceptionally well.

Related Topics:
1943 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Lassie Come Home - Show - Frank Inn - Sacramento River - California - Stand-in - Actor

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

According to legend, after seeing the first prints, the head of MGM, Louis B. Mayer, stated that "Pal had entered the water, but Lassie had come out", and a new star was born. Pal retired at the age of five years old, but a long line of Pal's descendants have continued to portray Lassie, most recently in a 1994 update of the original film.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~