Giving
an Animal Its Due: Animal Actors Searching for
Respect in TV Show Reference Resources
by Jerome A. Holst
Every year
hundreds of television shows are produced in
Hollywood, but within the publishing industry
that documents the activities of the
entertainment industry, there seems to be a
conspiracy afoot to keep TV animal actors from
getting their just rewards. Consistently, the
writers and researchers who document TV
programming neglect to credit TV animals with
acting roles in the many research databases
and books that provide acting credits to TV
performers. From such high profile animals
like Mr. Ed or Lassie, to the average
work-a-day dogs, cats, and other critters that
appeared on various TV shows over the years,
the existence of their contributions are being
minimalized.
Now why should these TV animal stars be denied
the privilege of having their names recorded
for posterity? If you prick their paws do they
not bleed? (I'm only referencing Shakespeare
to make a point so don't report me to the SPCA).
And while some animal actors may appear in
opening credits of such shows as the family
drama Life Goes On (Arnold the
Semi-wonder carries his food bowl in hopes of
getting fed) or on the sitcom
Married with Children (Buck the dog gets
in line for money from his master Al Bundy),
the labors of these TV animals are soon
forgotten once these shows get recorded by TV
researchers.
To illustrate my claim, I randomly chose ten
(10) TV programs that featured animal actors.
Then I tried to
find out whether these animals appeared in the
actor's credits lists in standard TV reference
resources including books and websites. The
results across the board proved that TV
Program researchers and compilers of actor
screen credits routinely neglect to give TV
animal actors credit for their contributions.
Internet resources such as
The Internet
Movie Data Base,
TV Tome,
Epguides
and TV Chronicles all came up negative. Only TV
Chronicles was the best of the four but then
again they only documented one out of ten in
the survey. They credited the role of Flipper
to a dolphin named Susie. For the chart below:
0 = no credit for the role X= given credit
for the role.
|
Program |
Character |
Imd |
Tom |
EpG |
Chr |
|
Caroline in the City
|
Salty the Cat |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Empty Nest |
Dreyfus the dog |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Flipper |
Flipper the dolphin |
0 |
0 |
0 |
X |
|
Frasier |
Eddie the dog |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Fury |
Fury the horse |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Green Acres |
Arnold the Pig |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Mad About You |
Murray |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Life Goes On |
Arnold the Semi Wonder Dog |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Magnum PI |
Apollo and Zeus |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Please Don't Eat the
Daisies |
Ladadog |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Next, I thumbed
through the most relevant TV books that
document TV programs and actors who played on
the above shows. The books used included
The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network
and Cable TV Shows by Brooks and Marsh;
Total Television by Alex McNeil;
Television Character and Story Facts by
Vincent Terrace;.and Harry and Wally's
Favorite TV Shows by Harry Castleman and
Walter Podrazik. In every case, there were ten
out of ten times that no TV animal actor
credits could be found.
All the books
surveyed included a summary of each show and a
list of characters. Now, the name of the TV
character animal may have been mentioned in
the summary but rarely did I find an entry
with the real name of any animals who may have
played a role on such programs. Ironically on
the sitcom Frasier, the show's credits
list "Dan Butler as Bob 'Bulldog'
Brisco" but nowhere listed is the name of the
real dog (Moose) who plays the role of Eddie,
Martin Crane's pet dog.
Why this is happening is anyone's guess. Maybe
there is a logical reason. Maybe, the animals
don't have a Screen Actor Guild (SAG) card and
so can't legally be listed in the credits as
an actor?
Or maybe TV researchers and writers are simply
showing their distain for another species by
saying that they are not worthy of such
praises. After all they're just animals. Well,
I say that is just plain unfair. If TV animal
actors are good enough to act on cue, to make
us laugh and to earn a paycheck for their
trainers and owners, then they should, at the
very minimum, be given the acknowledgement of
an acting credit in reference books and
databases.
After all, if a
TV reference book can include a human actor's
credit like "Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Frasier
Crane" (on Frasier) then why can't the
same writers and compilers of these TV books
and databases place a simple entry like "Moose
the dog as Eddie the dog" (on Frasier) so that
future readers and researcher of these books
can easily find the real name of such
animals.
So how do we change the attitudes of the
writers and compilers of reference books on TV
programs and electronic databases to include
the real names of TV animals actors. Well, I
could suggest we carry signs out in front of
studio lots and cry foul in support of these
animals. But, since I live on the East Coast
and I can't afford the air fare, I'll
recommend a more reasonable approach. Contact
animal rights organizations and let them know
your opinion on the topic. Let them know that
you believe that TV animal actors have the
same right as their human counterparts to get
credit where credit is due.
So start by
sending your concerns to the following
organizations listed below and see if we can't
get a grass roots movement going to support
our animal friends on television. Are you with
me? Ruff! Meow! Moo! Oink! Now that's the
spirit.
PETA:
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
Screen Actor's
Guild
Animal Concerns Organization
ScrewedCentral
American Kennel Club
Hollywoodpaws
