Pete The Pup
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Pete the Pup (original, 1924 – June 1930; second Pete, September 9, 1929 – January 28, 1946) was a
character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
in
Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr. Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, and screenwriter, ...
's '' Our Gang'' comedies (later known as ''The Little Rascals'') during the 1930s, otherwise known as "Pete, the dog with the ring around his eye", or simply "Petey". The original Pete (sired by "Tudor's Black Jack") was a UKC registered
American Pit Bull Terrier The American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) is a dog breed recognized by the United Kennel Club (UKC) and the American Dog Breeders Association (ADBA), but not the American Kennel Club (AKC). It is a medium-sized, short-haired dog, of a solid build, ...
named "Pal, the Wonder Dog", and had a natural ring almost completely around his right eye; dye was used to finish it off. The second Pete was an American Staffordshire Terrier named Lucenay’s Peter. He was well known for having a circled eye which was added by Hollywood make-up artist
Max Factor Max Factor is a line of cosmetics from Coty, Inc. It was founded in 1909 as Max Factor & Company by Maksymilian Faktorowicz. Max Factor specialized in movie make-up. Until its 1973 sale for US$500 million (approximately $ billion in 2017 dolla ...
and credited as an oddity in ''
Ripley's Believe It or Not ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' fea ...
''.


Career

When he was about six months old, Pal the Wonder Dog made an appearance in the
Harold Lloyd Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.Obituary '' Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55. One of the most influential film c ...
film '' The Freshman'', in 1925. Pal first started out as "Tige" in the '' Buster Brown'' series in the 1920s. It was during this time that he acquired the circled eye, and when he was recruited to appear in the ''Our Gang'' comedies later that year,
Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr. Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, and screenwriter, ...
simply left it on, creating one of the most recognized dogs in film history. Trainer and owner Lt. Harry Lucenay used one of Pal's offspring as Pete in the series after Pal was poisoned and died in 1930. 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. The dog, named Lucenay's Peter, was bred by A. A. Keller. The second Pete looked very similar to the first Pete but was a mirror image; the circle around first Pete's right eye was around the left eye of his son, the second Pete. The second Pete appeared as a puppy on ''
Pups Is Pups ''Pups Is Pups'' is a two-reel comedy short subject, part of the '' Our Gang'' (Little Rascals) series. It was produced and directed by Robert F. McGowan for Hal Roach, and originally released to theatres by M-G-M in 1930. It was the 100th (12th ...
'' and was nearly full-grown on his second appearance, '' School's Out''. The second Pete's last ''Our Gang'' appearance was ''
The Pooch ''The Pooch'' is a 1932 ''Our Gang'' short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was the 115th (27th talking) ''Our Gang'' short that was released. Plot The film follows cheerful vagrant Stymie and the younger Spanky as they trek thro ...
'' in 1932. The plot had a
dog catcher An animal control service or animal control agency is an entity charged with responding to requests for help with animals ranging from wild animals, dangerous animals, or animals in distress. An individual who works for such an entity was once kno ...
who attempts to catch Pete and euthanise him, but is unsuccessful. After Lucenay was fired from the ''Our Gang'' series in 1932, he retired Peter to
Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
, where he was photographed with children at the Steel Pier. Beginning with '' Hook and Ladder'' (filmed the same year), an unrelated dog played Pete, after which, various unrelated dogs would play the role through 1938. A parody of Pete appeared briefly in the 1935 Bob Hope short ''Watch the Birdie'', which was produced by
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
In the 1982 cartoon series produced by Hanna-Barbera, he was voiced by
Peter Cullen Peter Claver Cullen (born July 28, 1941) is a Canadian voice actor. He is best known as the voice of Optimus Prime in the original 1980s ''Transformers'' animated series, reprising the role many times since 2007. He has also voiced many other ...
. In the 1994 feature film remake of ''
The Little Rascals ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'', Pete is an American Bulldog, and in the 2014 movie ''
The Little Rascals Save the Day ''The Little Rascals Save the Day'' (titled ''The Little Rascals 2: Rascals' Beginning'' in development) is a 2014 American direct-to-video comedy film released by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Succeeding the 1994 film, it is the second ...
'', Pete is a mutt. In his last years Tommy "Butch" Bond made public appearances with a similar Pit Bull Terrier he claimed was a descendant of the original Pete the Pup.


Death

Roach used a number of unrelated dogs to portray Pete in ''Our Gang'' until 1938. Lucenay's Peter continued on and died of old age on January 28, 1946, in
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, at age 16 years/4 months, two years after the ''Our Gang'' series ended. Pete is buried at
Los Angeles Pet Memorial Park The Los Angeles Pet Memorial Park, formerly called the Los Angeles Pet Cemetery, is a pet cemetery located in Calabasas, California, United States.Calabasas,
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
County, California, United States.


See also

*
List of individual dogs This is a list of individual famous actual dogs; for famous dogs from fiction, see List of fictional dogs. Actors Advertising * Axelrod, Basset Hound, appeared in commercials and print ads for Flying "A" Service Station advertisements in ...


References


External links

* * * *
Training film with Pete and Harry Lucenay (ca 1932)Pal The Wonder Dog And PetePal the wonder dog – online pedigree
{{Our Gang Our Gang Dog actors Fictional dogs 1929 animal births 1946 animal deaths 1924 animal births 1930 animal deaths