Skippy

Skippy was born in 1931 or 1932 (sources very). Skippy was a wire fox haired terrier who was trained by by his owners Henry East and Gale Henry East. His assistant trainers were Frank and Rudd Weatherwax and Frank Inn.

Skippy began his training when he was three months old, and he made his first professional appearance at the age of one year.

Skippy's break through role was as Asta in The Thin Man (1934) starring Myrna Loy and William Powell. In The Thin Man, he played the playful pet dog of Nick and Nora Charles, tugging them around town, hiding from danger and sniffing out corpses. Nick Charles said it best "Asta, you're not a terrier, you're a police dog." He also appeared in After the Thin Man (1936). Later Thin Man movies actually featured an Asta look-a-like as Skippy had retired.









Skippy was so popular as Asta, he is sometimes credited as Asta in his later movies.

Skippy's next big appearance was as "Mr. Smith" in the 1937 film The Awful Truth, where his character was the subject of a custody dispute between his owner's Lucy and Jack Warner (Cary Grant and Irene Dunne).







In Bringing Up Baby (1938), Skippy played "George," the bone hiding pup belonging to Susan (Katharine Hepburn) Aunt Elizabeth.





In 1938, Skippy played "Mr. Atlas" in Topper Takes a Trip which would be his last film appearance.

Skippy also was featured in The Lottery Lover (1935) as Pom Pom, It's A Small World (1935), Sea Racketeers (1937), and I Am The Law (1938).

Skippy was one of the highest paid canine actors of his era. At a time when most canine actors in Hollywood films earned $3.50 a day, Skippy's weekly salary was $250.00.

Skippy retired from the silver screen 1n 1939.