Uggie, Canine Actor, Dies at 13

  Dead Famous

Dead, Uggie, born December 1, 2002 and died August 7, 2015 of prostate tumour was a trained Jack Russell Terrier famous for his roles in Water for Elephants and The Artist. His memoir Uggie, My Story was published in the United States, UK and France in October 2012.

The campaign “Consider Uggie” was launched in December 2011 on Facebook by S.T. VanAirsdale, an editor at Movieline, for Uggie to receive a real or honorary Oscar nomination.

BAFTA announced that he would be ineligible for one of its awards, while he received a special mention at the Prix Lumière Awards in France. He won the Palm Dog Award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Uggire’s earliest roles were in commercials and minor roles in the films What’s Up Scarlett, Wassup Rockers (2005) and Mr. Fix It (2006) alongside David Boreanaz. His first named role, and big break, was as “Queenie” in the romantic drama Water for Elephants, alongside actors Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon. He appeared in “The Incredible Dog Show” from August 2010 onwards, a tour of dogs with different tricks, which toured the United States and South America; his trick was riding a skateboard.

He went on to appear in the 2011 silent movie The Artist, and it was this role which brought him to the attention of mass media, with some critics describing him as “stealing every scene”.

He had two stunt doubles in the film, named Dash and Dude, who were colored to look more like Uggie, but Uggie did most of his own stunts and the doubles were barely required.

Uggie and his trainers for the film, Sarah Clifford and Omar Muller, spent three days with the film’s star Jean Dujardin to teach the French actor the verbal commands and hand signals Uggie needed in a scene. B

ecause it was a silent film, Clifford said jokingly that she could call out commands while the film was rolling.