Rin Tin Tin, a German Shepherd found by a US soldier in France during WWI, became a famous film and TV star. The original dog made 26 movies, with descendants continuing the legacy. Lee Duncan, Rin Tin Tin’s owner, trained and showed dogs from the bloodline, and the legacy continues today.
Rin Tin Tin is perhaps the most famous German Shepherd in the world. He rose from obscurity in WW1 Europe to become an international star of American film and TV. The original Rin-Tin-Tin made 26 movies with Warner Brothers Studios between 1922 and 1932. His descendants made many more movies, as well as a 1950s TV show. The bloodline continues today, with hundreds of descendants, but only ten special dogs have been officially named Rin Tin Tin.
On September 10, 1918, a United States soldier named Lee Duncan found the original Rin-Tin-Tin as a newborn puppy in Lorraine, France. His combat unit came across a litter of puppies and a mother dog in a bombed out building and set out to rescue them. Duncan chose one of the male puppies and named him RinTinTin, after a popular French puppet.
After the war, Lee Duncan returned to the United States with Rinty, as the dog was nicknamed. Duncan had learned a great deal about the German Shepherd breed while in Europe, and he enjoyed teaching Rin Tin Tin how to perform canine tricks. The dog displayed extraordinary agility and intelligence and his talent soon caught the attention of Warner Brothers Film Studios. “Man From Hell River” was Rinty’s first film and he was an instant celebrity. At the height of his fame, Rin Tin Tin received 10,000 letters a week and his films literally saved the studio from bankruptcy.
After the original’s death, Duncan continued to train and show German Shepherd dogs from the Rin Tin Tin bloodline. Duncan freely admitted that the next dog in line to perform, known as Junior, did not live up to his expectations. Duncan soon turned his attention to Rinty III, and he and the dog helped train K9 military units during World War II.
Oddly enough, he was the fourth dog in line to catch the name Rin Tin Tin II. Number Four worked alongside another descendant designated as Rin Tin Tin IV, who starred in the TV show “The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin” from 1954 to 1959. The TV series captivated both children and adults with the adventures of a boy named Rusty (Lee Aaker) and his heroic dog in the Old West. Overall, four different German Shepherds were used to film the TV show.
Although Lee Duncan died in 1960, his love of German Shepherds lives on in the bloodlines of the famous Rin Tin Tin. Descendants of the original dog are still making appearances and starring in films, including “Rin Tin Tin, A Living Legacy,” released in 2006. Reruns of the TV show are also popular in some markets. The beautiful legacy of Lee Duncan’s special dog is loved and preserved around the world by dog lovers young and old.
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