Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Tuesday Tails: Toto

Today's post is a reprint from the Wizard of Oz: The Official 75th Anniversary Companion, by Jay Scarfone and William Stillman.

While Frank Morgan's reputation for scene stealing was legendary, he might have met his match in his canine cast mate. According to Beverly Allen, kennel man to Toto's trainer and owner, Carl Spitz, Dorothy's little (female) cairn terrier was not above upstaging a costar. Allen reported, "[Spitz] used to say little Toto would steal a scene from Judy Garland."

A November 8, 1938, M-G-M press release explained that Dorothy's pet was discovered "after a search that covered all parts of the country, the testing of hundreds of dog actors, and receipt by Mervyn LeRoy, the producer, of letters and pictures from every city in the United States." But Toto was found closer to home; Spitz's Hollywood Dog Training School was located right in the San Fernando Valley. The five-year-old, seventeen-pound pup was no stranger to working in motion pictures, having gotten her start opposite Shirley Temple in Bright Eyes (1934). At the time, Toto's name was Terry, but following the popularity of The Wizard of Oz her name was permanently changed.


The Wizard of Oz brought Toto newfound fame, prompting some theatres to raffle off look-alike dogs as publicity stunts. The hottest "signature" among autograph collectors quickly became Toto's paw print. Tongue in cheek, Toto's co-trainer Jack Weatherwax told the International News Service, "She's a wonderful little dog; very stylish when dressed up; and a great little actress." In autumn 1940, Spitz took Toto on the road with five other famous canines in a tour that played theatre stages nationally. Spitz answered questions about proper feeding and training before putting his dogs through reenactments of their on-screen stunts, which climaxed in his Great Dane, Prince Carl, simulating a ferocious attack on a man.

Child actor Martin Spellman worked with Toto when they appeared together in Son of the Navy (1940). He attested to the little dog's appeal, saying, "I have always had dogs my whole life and many were very smart, but Toto was the smartest dog I have ever known." He continued, "I was aware that I was working with Toto [from The Wizard of Oz]. What I wasn't aware of is that I would fall in love with her and she with me. For three wonderful weeks she was my dog. And I missed her when the picture ended like I hoped she missed me." Judy Garland was similarly affected. When she arrived in New York to promote The Wizard of Oz in August 1939, she told interviewer Julie McCarthy she was sad because she missed Toto and even longed to get a dog of the same breed for her very own.

After The Wizard of Oz, Toto continued performing in other pictures, including a 1942 Three Stooges comedy. As was true of all dog actors, she only responded to silent hand cues given from out of camera range (watch her carefully in The Wizard of Oz to see her look off camera for her trainer's direction). Toto passed away during the World War II years, but on June 18, 2011, a permanent memorial honoring her was erected at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.

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