- Pete the Pup directs here, for the Don Marquis character, see Pete the Pup (archy and mehitabel)
Pete the Pup was a famous dog character in Hal Roach's Our Gang comedies (later known as The Little Rascals) during the 1920s and 1930s. Otherwise known as "Pete, the Dog With the Ring Around His Eye", or simply "Petey", he was famous for having a circled eye that was added on by Hollywood make-up artist Max Factor and credited as an oddity in Ripley's Believe It or Not. The original Pete (sired by Earl Tudor's "Black Jack") named Pal the Wonder Dog had a natural ring almost completely around his eye; dye was used to finish it off. When he was about six months old, he made a cameo appearance in the Harold Lloyd classic The Freshman, in the 1925.[1] Pal first started out as "Tige" in the Buster Brown series in the 1920s, It was during this time that he obtained the circled eye, and when he was recruited to appear in the Our Gang comedies later that year, Hal Roach 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 passed away. This dog, named "Lucenay's Peter", was dual-registered as an AKC American Staffordshire Terrier and as a UKC American Pit Bull Terrier. Lucenay's Peter was whelped (born) September 6, 1929, and bred by A. A. Keller. A few other dogs played Petey, but Lucenay's Peter was the most famous. After being fired from the Our Gang series in 1932, Harry Lucenay retired Peter to Atlantic City, where he was photographed with children at the famed Steel Pier. Roach used a number of unrelated bulldogs to portray Pete in Our Gang until 1938. Pete became as recognizable and popular as the kids in the gang. Pal the Wonder Dog appeared in Our Gang comedies until 1930, and according to Our Gang member Jean Darling died mysteriously. Urban legend has it that Pal died after someone fed him meat laced with glass. This is completely unproven, and the conventional thinking is that Pal died of natural causes/old age. Lucenay's Peter continued on and died of natural causes in 1946.[1]
References
- ^ Commentary by Leonard Maltin, Richard Correll, and Richard W. Bann, from the The Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection Giftset, Volume 2 - disc one
