The Highest Paid Animal Actors

Rin Tin Tin in the 1929 film Frozen River

By Langley Cornwell

Animals don't really care about money, but nevertheless, when it comes to animal actors, they do indeed get paid. Some animal actors receive a hefty fee for their performances, and that pay would make any human drool. Who are the highest paid animal actors? Check these out.

Rin Tin Tin the Dog 

This beloved pooch starred in 26 films for Warner Brothers and commanded a cool $6,000 each week. In today's money, that would equal $78,000 per week! With that income, he could feed himself and thousands of his friends a healthy diet of CANIDAE dog food. Rin Tin Tin earned Warner Brothers so much money, in fact, that he was responsible for bringing the studio back from the brink of bankruptcy in 1930. Rin Tin Tin was a German shepherd dog that was rescued from a battlefield during World War I by an American soldier named Lee Duncan. Duncan trained "Rinty," his pet name for his dog. Rin Tin Tin became a beloved movie icon and was rumored to have received the most votes for the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1929, but the Academy would only give the award to a human. The original Rin Tin Tin died in 1932. (Read more about this famous animal actor in The True Story of Rin Tin Tin).

Keiko the Whale

This killer whale made a killing financially, thanks to his depiction of Willy in the Free Willy films. He earned a grand total of over $36 million for his role! Eventually, Keiko gained his own freedom in 2002, as he was returned to the open ocean. Sadly, Keiko died in 2003 in Norway from a bout with pneumonia, but his work lives on after his passing.

Bart the Bear

This big guy starred in a number of roles in the 80s and 90s, and was reportedly paid $1 million for his work in the movie The Edge. Bart was an Alaskan brown bear of the Kodiak bear subspecies. He starred in movies such as The Great Outdoors with John Candy and Dan Aykroyd, and Legends of the Fall with Brad Pitt. He earned more than $6 million during his entire career but passed away in 2000 from cancer at the age of 23.

Pal as Lassie

Pal the Dog

Pal was the first canine to play Lassie the hero dog on the big and small screen, and earned as high as $4,000 per week. Today, that would equal a whopping $51,000 per week! Woof-woof! Pal lived until the ripe old age of 18, but passed away in 1958. He sired a long line of Rough-Coat Collies that would follow in his footsteps by portraying the legendary Lassie. (Read more about Lassie in How Lassie Became One of the World’s Most Popular Dogs).

Moose the Dog 

Moose, a Jack Russell Terrier, played Eddie in the television series Frasier, and reportedly earned $10,000 per episode during his time on the show. As he became older, his son Enzo eventually took over the role. Moose passed away from natural causes in 2006 at the age of 15.

Crystal the Monkey

Perhaps the highest paid animal actor in today's times is Crystal the Monkey. Crystal is a Capuchin monkey and has starred in television and more than 20 feature films. You may recognize Crystal from The Hangover Part II and Night at the Museum. But for starring in the television series Animal Practice, this monkey was set to earn the sweet sum of $12,000 per episode or $264,000 for a full season. Not too shabby for a 20-year-old monkey! Unfortunately for Crystal, Animal Practice was canceled due to low ratings, but the monkey shouldn't have to worry as she seems to have plenty of work available to her.

Animal actors certainly earn their pay as they have to be trained to recognize cues and instructions. While most of these high paid animal actors have passed on, their legacies and memories remain.

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Cats in Commercials

By Julia Williams

It used to be that the only time you’d ever see a cat in a TV commercial was when they were advertising some cat food or other. One finicky cat even became a household name as a result of those ads, but felines doing things on cue besides eating? That was rare back in the day.

Dogs on the other hand, were seen in television ads a lot more frequently. I’m guessing this was partly because dogs are typically easier to train than cats and therefore easier to “direct” in the commercials, and also to portray the “man’s best friend” motto.

Nowadays, cats in commercials are just as prevalent as dogs. Yay for the kitties! It’s about time cats got equal ad time on the boob tube.

Here are a few of my favorite TV commercials featuring cats.

Cats in TV Commercials 

The Cat’s Pride Fresh and Light kitty litter commercial elicits a giggle every time I watch the “kitty masseuse” karate chop the girl’s back, and when they both relax after the massage with cucumber slices over their eyes, I just lose it.

Cats skydiving to the tune of “I Believe I Can Fly” are featured in an ad for Folksam, a Swedish insurance company. Yeah, having nine lives probably does make the act of hurtling toward the ground at warp speed more fun! The video went viral as a result of animal lovers who thought the cats were actually skydiving. They weren’t – it’s called special effects, people! – but it’s still a cute commercial. The insurance company wrote: “Note that we love cats and that this movie is obviously the trick shot. We have of course followed the Animal Welfare Act and not thrown out a few cuties from an airplane.”

If you want to see more memorable cat ads, just search “funny cat commercials” on YouTube. You could waste an entire day  enjoy yourself immensely watching all of the cute cat commercials. Just don’t do that at work, unless you work from home like I do!

Photo by Cloudzilla

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The PATSY Awards for Animal Actors

By Langley Cornwell

Actors who give an especially great performance in a movie or television series are usually awarded with an Oscar or an Emmy. That's all well and good, but what about those actors from the animal world? Animal actors are just as deserving of awards for exceptional performance so in 1939, the PATSY Awards were created to do just that.

What are the PATSY Awards?

Created by the Hollywood office of the American Humane Association, PATSY was originally an acronym for Picture Animal Top Star of the Year. In 1958, the PATSY Awards were expanded to include television performers and the acronym Performing Animal Television Star of the Year was added.

The PATSY Awards were originally created with the intent to honor animal performers after a horse was killed during the filming of the movie “Jessie James,” starring Tyrone Powers.

The first actual recipient of a PATSY came in 1951 when Francis the Talking Mule was honored. Who presented Francis with the first PATSY? None other than Ronald Reagan himself, the actor-turned-President who was known for his work with a chimpanzee in the Bonzo movies.

The PATSY Awards were given in four categories: Canine, equine, wild and special. Since there are so many Famous Cat Actors, I wondered why cats didn’t get a category all to themselves. It turns out that cats were thrown into the “special” category along with pigs, goats and everything in between.

The PATSY Awards were given annually until 1986 when the awards ended due to lack of funding.

Who were some of the PATSY winners? 

Francis the Talking Mule won several PATSY Awards. Other movie and television performance winners in the equine and canine categories include Shaggy the dog, from “The Shaggy Dog,” Lassie the dog, from “Lassie,” Spike the dog, from “Old Yeller” and Flicka the horse, from “My Friend Flicka.”

While the majority of PATSY winners come from the equine and canine categories, there are plenty of winners from the wild and special categories.

Remember Arnold the pig from the television series “Green Acres?” Arnold won two PATSY Awards. Orangey the cat won two PATSY Awards, one for “Breakfast at Tiffany's” and one for “Rhubarb.” Pyewacket the cat won a PATSY in 1959 for the motion picture “Bell, Book and Candle.”

Some wild animal winners of PATSY Awards include Jackie the lion, who won several PATSY Awards during the early 1950s. Other unusual wild animals earning PATSY's include Esmerelda the seal (1955 – “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”), Samantha the goose (1957 – “Friendly Persuasion”), Henry the rabbit (1959 – “The Geisha Boy”), Herman the pigeon (1960 – “The Gazebo”), Sydney the elephant (1963 – “Billy Rose's Jumbo”), Raunchy the jaguar  (1964 – “Rampage”), Flipper the dolphin (1966 and 1967 – “Flipper”) and Vindicator the steer (1967 – “The Rare Breed”).

Even though the PATSY Awards ended in 1986, the idea behind the awards hasn't been forgotten. Broadway actress and animal advocate Gretchen Wyler founded the Genesis Awards in 1986 as a means of recognizing individuals in the news and entertainment media who raise awareness about animal issues. Even though the Genesis Awards did not replace the PATSY Awards, this awards ceremony became a new means of keeping animals in the entertainment industry in the spotlight.

In 2011, the American Humane Society created a new award to honor animal performers. Dubbed the “Pawscars” as a play on the Oscars, this award was described as an animal version of an Oscar-like awards ceremony. The American Humane Society is responsible for overseeing and disclaiming that animals were not harmed during the making of a film or television show.

Although the PATSY Awards are no longer given, the glamorous years of Hollywood and the PATSY Awards were a special time. PATSY Award winners may have passed on, but their legacy in the entertainment industry continues to be remembered.

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Animal Actor Higgins, of Petticoat Junction and Benji Fame

By Langley Cornwell

One of the most beloved and well known animal actors during the 1960s and 1970s was a scruffy little shelter dog named Higgins. This pup played all sorts of roles, but is probably best known as the dog on the Petticoat Junction TV show and as the title role in the movie Benji. As a kid, I was crazy about every show and movie that had a prominent animal actor, but the movie Benji was a particular favorite. I’m certain this movie was a contributing factor in establishing my lifelong passion for animals.

Higgins was discovered by Frank Inn, a Hollywood animal trainer and true animal lover. Inn was known to visit animal shelters and take home all the healthy pets because he couldn’t stand for them to be euthanized. He kept and trained the ones that he thought had potential as an animal actor and he found loving homes for the rest. There was a time when Inn and his assistants had over 1,000 animals in their care.  

It was during one of Inn’s shelter sweeps at the Burbank Animal Shelter when he found a special little tan-and-black mixed breed puppy. Inn believed this little pup was a combination of Border Terrier, Cocker Spaniel, Miniature Poodle and Schnauzer. With Frank Inn’s incredible talent as a dog trainer and this puppy’s natural abilities, the dog went on to become what some people consider the best animal actor of our times.

Higgins first major national role was of the dog (creatively called Dog or sometimes called Boy, as in “Here, Boy”) in Petticoat Junction. Higgins appeared in 163 episodes from 1964 to 1970, and even though he was un-credited in this role, it introduced him to millions of fans. During that time, he also made guest appearances on Green Acres and Beverly Hillbillies. Even though he was from Burbank, California, Higgins must have had a southern accent.

For outstanding performance in television sitcoms, Higgins won a Patsy (Performing Animal Television Star of the Year) award in 1967. He also scored a coveted cover photograph and a feature article in TV Guide magazine. What made this little dog so special was his precious, expressive face; he was able to convey a vast range of emotions on that sweet face.

His trainer, who had trained thousands of animals over his long career, noted that Higgins was able to learn a new routine or trick every week, and he could even remember them for years! Because of the dog’s incredible memory, Inn was able to combine tricks so that Higgins could do increasingly complex stunts. In fact, Inn once told a reporter that Higgins was the smartest dog he’d ever worked with. That’s a big deal, especially when you consider that Inn also trained Lassie.

After an illustrious career in television, in 1971 Higgins starred in a movie with Vincent Price and Zsa Zsa Gabor titled Mooch Goes to Hollywood. He was 11 years old, and retired after that movie.

But Higgins’s turn at stardom wasn’t quite over. In 1974, at the age of 14, Frank Inn agreed to bring Higgins out of retirement so he could star as the loveable mongrel in Joe Camp’s movie, Benji.

Higgins only starred in the first Benji movie. His daughter Benjean took over the role in the sequels. This talented animal actor spent the rest of his days beside his best friend and trainer Frank Inn, and lived to the age of 17.

Are there any other Benji lovers out there? What’s your favorite dog movie?

Read more articles by Langley Cornwell