I wonder how many people know the true story of Rin Tin Tin. Sadly, these days, most probably don’t even know who he was. But in his day, Rin Tin Tin was a movie star!
A canine movie star!
Yep, you heard me right!
It all started during the horrors of World War 1.
The year was 1918 in the Lorraine part of France. Corporal Lee Duncan was an American soldier caught up in the bloody conflict. On September 15, his unit was investigating a bombed out kennel when they discovered among the wreckage a German Shepherd mother with a litter of 5 puppies.
Duncan took two of the puppies, naming them Rin Tin Tin and Nanette, after a couple of puppets popular with French children. Sadly the others didn’t survive.
Duncan realized how intelligent Nanette and Rinty (Rin Tin Tin’s nickname) were. He sought out the German Army Kennel Master, who had been captured, to learn more about the two and German Shepherds as a breed.
Duncan started training them and was impressed with how quickly they took to it. After the war came to an end, Duncan was sent home aboard a ship across the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, Nanette came down with distemper during the voyage and died.
Only Rinty was left.
Duncan took him back to Los Angeles where in 1922, Rinty began his movie career.
He starred in some 2 dozen movies and is credited by many with saving Warner Bros Studio from bankruptcy. He also received the most votes for Best Actor for the First Academy Awards, though it was decided to give the award to a human instead.
Rin Tin Tin passed away on August 10, 1932 in his front yard in the arms of famous actress Jean Harlow, who lived in the same neighborhood.
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