Chances are good that you’re already pretty familiar with Rin Tin Tin.
Along with Lassie and the heroic husky Balto, Rin Tin Tin is one of the most famous and celebrated dogs in history, with a fascinating, heroic past — not to mention, movie-star good looks!
In many ways, Rin Tin Tin mixed a Balto-esque history of heroism with Lassie’s acting chops. Not only was he a canine war hero, he was also a surefire hit at the box office!
While all of us undoubtedly love the sweet and silly pups in our own lives, we have to admit, very few dogs live up to Rin Tin Tin’s well-deserved reputation.
After all, while most of our household pets were engaged in important activities like “taking a nap” and “guarding the house from passing joggers,” Rin Tin Tin was taking the whole world by storm!
Read on below to learn more about this impressive pooch, his incredible backstory, and the film career that made him a household name!
Rin Tin Tin had a uniquely challenging start in the world. He was born on one of Europe's battlefields in the middle of WWI.
In fact, he may never have been discovered if an American fighter pilot named Lee Duncan hadn't gone into the French countryside looking for a place to land his plane and discovered a bombed-out town containing a bedraggled half-collapsed dog kennel.
Inside the kennel was a starving German shepherd dog and her litter of five puppies — all originally destined to be trained as German army canines before the town was destroyed.
Duncan rescued all six dogs and brought them back to his base.
There, the mother dog and three of the siblings found loving homes with officers that Duncan served with.
Duncan decided to rear two of the dogs himself, a male and a female, and named them Nanette and Rin Tin Tin, after a pair of French dolls often given to the American soldiers for good luck.
When the war ended, Duncan managed to bring his two beautiful German shepherds home to America with him, though Nanette tragically became sick in quarantine and died.
Duncan adopted another female GSD puppy and brought both the puppy and Rin Tin Tin, called Rinty for short, to his home in Los Angeles.
There, he and a friend who worked in silent films exercised with the dogs, and taught Rin Tin Tin a number of impressive tricks!
Rin Tin Tin suffered a terrible health setback when he broke his front leg, but nine months later, he was up and running again, and Duncan decided to try to get him cast in films.
Soon, Rin Tin Tin was tapped to play a wolf in a movie, and quickly got a lot of work as an obedient, well-trained stand-in for many wolf roles.
Slowly but surely, he began to break out of his wolf-type cast and began to get the beloved, loyal dog roles that made him famous.
Ultimately, movie stardom ended up being as easy as finally getting his big break!
In 1923, he starred in a movie called Where The North Begins, playing a dog raised by wolves in the wilderness, who becomes a loyal companion and protector to the protagonist.
In that role, Rin Tin Tin proved his chops as a canine action hero, and the movie was a huge box office success.
In fact, after his appearance in Where The North Begins, Rin Tin Tin became arguably one of the hottest stars in Hollywood.
His turn in the film is widely credited with saving Warner Brothers from bankruptcy, and by extension, protecting the whole film industry. For his good deeds, the mayor of Los Angeles even awarded Rin Tin Tin a key to the city.
Needless to say, agents were lining up around the block to cast him in movies where brave dogs protect their humans.
Rin Tin Tin, who was born in 1918, lived an incredible 14 years, an exceptionally long life for a dog.
He passed away comfortably at home in 1932 with Duncan at his side.
But even as the original Rin Tin Tin left the world, his name lived on. Duncan honored his legacy by raising a succession of German shepherds, who continue to fill the role of Rin Tin Tin in film and television for decades to come.
Did you know the fascinating history behind one of Hollywood's most celebrated dogs? Let us know in the comments, and don't forget to SHARE with film buffs and dog lovers alike!
