"
Just now watching Matt Dillion on that, I'd think?, buckskin.
Thoughts?
I can't remember the name of Matt Dillon's nag but several of us
Gunsmoke writers used to jokingly refer to his horse as "Dr. Ross," and would use the name in a script. I.e., "Matt runs out from the Marshal's Office, jumps on Dr. Ross and rides away."
(For those who don't know, "Dr. Ross" was a canned dog food.)
As for "eight Lassies," that is true. Each Lassie knew several "tricks" so whatever "chore" Lassie was supposed to do on camera per the script, there was always one of the Lassies that could perform it.
Same with a popular Canadian dog show called
The Littlest Hobo. "Hobo" was a German Shepard pooch who ran around in Canada, hooking up with people who needed some kind of help and Hobo would help them out. The trainer had six identical male German Shepards, all of whom he'd taught a bunch of tricks. I wrote for that show when I was sent to Toronto by Columbia Pictures.
It was interesting to be on the set and watch the trainer handle the dogs for the camera work. Lots of hand signals and sometimes screaming by the trainer.
One thing about writing for a "dog show." The dialog for the "star" was easy.
L.W.
