For almost ninety years the Weatherwax family, Walter Weatherwax and his seven children, have been in the motion picture business. Most of that time as dog trainers, but in the early years, some of them acted. The total number of movies they have done are in the thousands.

Below are a few of their favorite movies.

"The Jucklins" 1920
Frank Weatherwax played the role of Johnny Aimes.

"Heidi" 1920
In this original silent version, Frank Weatherwax played "Peter the goatherd".

"Little Lord Fountleroy" 1921 with Mary Pickford.
Frank played a bully in this movie until Lord Foutleroy (played by Pickford) beats him in a fight.

"The Sheik" 1921, Starring Rudolf Valentino, Agnes Aires
In the famous scene where Valentino, on horseback, chases Agnes Aires then lifts her off of her horse onto his own, it was Bill Weatherwax who doubled Valentino, while Frank Weatherwax doubled Agnes Aires.

"The King Fisher's Roost" 1922
Walter Weatherwax played the role of Bill Jackson.

"The Crow's Nest" 1922
Rudd Weatherwax played the role of "Estaban" as a boy.

"A Game Chicken" 1922
Max Weatherwax played the role of Jo Jo.

"The Ten Commandments" 1923
The oldest boy, Judd Weatherwax, was the prop man in the original silent version of this movie. Dogs came under the heading of props back then.

"The Covered Wagon" 1923. Paramount.
Walter Weatherwax plays a wagon driver in this classic movie about pioneers moving west.


"The Thin Man" 1934 with Myrna Loy and William Powell.
In the early "Thin Man" movies, the dog "Asta" was trained and worked by Frank Weatherwax. Asta was owned by Henry East.

"Stage Door" 1937
How did a cat get in here? In this movie Frank Weatherwax worked a cat.

Some actors believe that you should never appear with a child or an animal because they will steal the scene. Nonsence. Eve Arden knew better. In almost every scene in this movie she is with the cat. In one scene the cat is draped over her shoulders as if she was wearing it.

"Blondie" 1938 starring Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake
Rudd Weatherwax trained and handled the dog "Daisy" in this series of movies.

"The Wizard of Oz" 1939
"Toto" was trained and handled by Jack Weatherwax. He was owned by Carl Spitz. Frank Inn began his dog training career helping Jack with the training. Years later Frank Inn acheived fame as the trainer of "Benji".

"Reap the Wild Wind" 1942 Ray Milland, Paulette Goddard
This was the first movie by the Weatherwax's favorite dog, Rommy. Cecille B. DeMille spotted Rommy in Frank Weatherwax' car, and told Frank to take the dog home and train him because he had a part for him.

"George Washington Slept Here" 1942 Jack Benny, Ann Sheridan
Rommy's second movie.

"Lassie Come Home" 1943, MGM
The original name of the collie which worked in this classic was "Pal", but after shooting the first scene he became "Lassie". Pal was originally trained by Frank, but Rudd worked him in this and the following "Lassie" movies.

"Air Force" 1943
In this movie, you can hear the voice of Frank Weatherwax telling Rommy to give one of the actors a kiss.

"Without Love" 1945
Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Lucille Ball and Rommy together in one movie. You can't have a better cast than that.

"The Yearling" 1946
Not only did Mac Weatherwax train the dogs used in this movie, but in parts of the bear fight sequence, he was the bear.

"Thunder in the Valley" aka "Bob, Son of Battle" 1947
This movie, taken from the book, "Bob, Son of Battle", is one of my favorites. Of course the dog who played "Rud Wull" was one of my favorite dogs.

"Five Thousand Fingers of Dr. T." 1953 Tommy Rettig
It was on this movie that Frank Weatherwax met child actor Tommy Rettig and recommended him for the Lassie TV series.

"Hondo" 1953, starring John Wayne
John Wayne used to tells the story that he won Lassie from Rudd Weatherwax in a poker game while filming this movie. The truth is the he only won the collie who worked with him in "Hondo". Do you think that John Wayne would have given the dog back if it had been Lassie?

"Fangs of the Wild" 1954
"Buck" was a mixture of German Shepherd and Collie. He was born in the Los Angeles Animal Shelter. Despite being a friendly dog who loved people, Spike could put on the best fight scene of any dog. Some say that if he had not died unexpectedly, he would have gotten the "Old Yeller" role.

"Lure of the Swamps" 1957
Frank Weatherwax hunted hard to find the right dog for this movie. He wanted to buy him from his owner, but the owner would not part.

"Old Yeller"1957, Disney
The best dog movie ever made. Frank both trained and worked this lopped eared mongrel whose real name was "Spike". Spike did every scene in the movie himself, except for the bear fight scene.

In that bear fight scene, the director wanted to declaw the bear and put wires on him for control. Frank Weatherwax objected to the wires because the dog could get entangled in them. The humane man objected to declawing the bear.

They ended up just putting pads on the bears feet and not using wires. If you watch the scene closely you will notice that the bear is so surprised by the dog that he is backing up and the dog is winning the fight.

"A Dog of Flanders" 1959 David Ladd, Donald Crisp
Again, Spike had the title role. Notice that Spike's left ear flops to the side while his right ear flops forward. If you see the opposite of this, then you know that the picture has been reversed.

"Island of the Blue Dolphins" 1964, Celia Kaye
Spike's son, "Junior" co-starred in this movie, playing two roles.


"Wild and Wonderful" 1964 Tony Curtis
A French poodle whose real name was, "Marquis". One of the smartest dogs Frank ever trained. The dog did everything in this movie except talk.


"Goodbye Charley" 1964 Tony Curtis
This dog was trained and handled by Rudd's son, Robert.

"Junior Bonner" 1972 Steve McQueen, Robert Preston
"Old Yeller''s grandson was also called "Spike". Perhaps because he looked so much like his grandfather. In one of the rodeo scenes, they put Spike in with the cows not knowing what he would do. The director kept telling the cameraman to keep the camera on the dog. They got some great action shots.

One day while they were making this movie Frank Weatherwax heard Steve McQueen talk about motorcycle racing. Frank mentioned to Steve that his nephew had just won an important race in England.

Steve called Frank on that statement and said that he knew the winner of that race because they had been frends for years. It took a while before Frank and Steve discovered that they were both talking about Bud Ekins. Bud is the son of Frank's younger sister, Peggy, and had been a close friend of Steve McQueens since they were teenagers.

If you watch the motorcycle chase scene in "The Great Excape", keep your eye on the Germans in the motorcycle with the sidecar. That is Steve McQueen driving and Bud Ekins is his passenger. Bud Ekins also did the motorcycle jump for Steve in that movie..

"Sounder" 1972, Sicilly Tyson
Frank Weatherwax worked the hound who has the title role in this movie. The weather was hot and muggy. The pay was low. Several crew members quit.

To save the movie the producer offered a to share the prophets with the crew as a bonus. Despite its low budget the movie was a hit and received several academy award nominations, including Best Picture, best Actress, and Best Actor. Nobody ever saw any of that bonus money.

"Call of the Wild" 1976
A made for TV version of the famous story. Possibly the best version made. Certainly the most beautiful dog to play the part. He a mixture of Saint Bernard and Collie. He was named "Burbon" after his color.

One day at home Frank heard noise outside. Looking through the window he saw Burbon dragging his nine year old grandson accross the lawn by the cuff of his pants. Frank yelled out, "Leave that dog alone," to which the grandson resplied, "You're kidding."

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Today, the tradition of movies and dog training is being carried on by Rudd's son: Robert Weatherwax.

It is recommended that you visit one of the Lassie web sites to learn about the other movies starring Lassie.