Golden Age Stars and Their Dogs

Film stars with their pets have always attracted attention and it’s rare that a major celebrity of the screen would decline an opportunity to pose with a four-legged friend. Sometimes the pet was as famous as the pet parent. Here are a galaxy of vintage stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood who seem only too happy to be upstaged.

First, Anna May Wong shows off her dachshund circa 1938:

Buster Keaton wants to be sure he can always find his canine pal circa 1930:

John Barrymore shared some inspired comic moments with this St. Bernard at the beginning of MOBY DICK (1930):

Bette Davis seems entranced by this dog as she waits between filming scenes circa 1937:

Douglas Fairbanks Sr.evidently considers this German Shepherd his equal, circa 1920:

W.C. Fields famously observed that “any man who hates kids and dogs can’t be all bad” but he got along nicely with his co-star in IT’S A GIFT (1934):

Jean Harlow with one of her many dogs, circa 1935:

Rudolph Valentino inspired much grieving with his untimely death in August 1926. But none grieved more than his dog who was adopted by Rudy’s brother, Alberto. Regardless, the dog pined away for his master until his own passing some years later:

Warner Oland, famous as Charlie Chan, doted on his schnauzer Raggedy Ann and was a proud papa when she had this litter:

Star meets Star: Al Jolson meets Rin Tin Tin on the Warner Bros. lot in 1928:

Carole Lombard and friend in 1932:

Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein wants to chat with Rin Tin Tin during his 1929 visit to the United States:

George Arliss seems perplexed as he juggles his wife’s dog and business papers, circa 1925:

Finally, a poignant photo commemorating the passing of Lon Chaney, the Man of 1,000 Faces, who left us much too soon in 1930 at the age of 47. The photo shows two of Lon’s most precious possessions – his makeup case and his dog: