Carl Spitz
{{Short description|Dog trainer in Hollywood}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Carl Spitz
| image = Carl Spitz close up.jpg
| caption = Carl Spitz at his kennel the Hollywood Dog Training School
| birth_date = {{birth_date|1894|8|26}}
| birth_place = Germany
| death_date = {{death_date and age|1976|9|15|1894|8|15}}
| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| burial_place = Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery
| occupation = Dog trainer
| years_active = 1926–1976
}}
Carl Spitz (August 26, 1894 – September 15, 1976) was a Hollywood dog trainer, most famous for owning and training the female Cairn Terrier Terry, who portrayed Toto in the 1939 MGM fantasy film The Wizard of Oz. Spitz developed the method of using silent hand signals to direct an animal.Daryl Chen, [https://www.rd.com/culture/wizard-of-oz-facts/ "56 Weird and Wonderful Facts about ‘The Wizard of Oz’"], Reader's Digest, accessed July 12, 2018.
Career
Spitz was born in Germany where he trained military and police dogs in WWI.Robin R. Cutler, [https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/09/wizard-of-oz-such-mad-fun-excerpt "Scholarly Munchkins, an Encounter with Clark Gable, and More Surprises from the Set of The Wizard of Oz"], Vanity Fair, September 12, 2016. He trained under Konrad Most, a pioneer of dog training.{{cite journal | last = Burch | first = Mary R|author2=Duane Pickel | title = A toast to Most: Konrad Most, a 1910 pioneer in animal training | journal = Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis | volume =23 | issue =2 | pages =263–4| year =1990| doi = 10.1901/jaba.1990.23-263 | pmid = 16795731 | pmc = 1286234}}Gail Fisher, [https://archive.today/20141218210625/http://www.alldogsgym.com/history-of-dog-training/training/clicker/a-brief-history-of-dog-training-70-years-of-clicker-training "A Brief History of Dog Training - 70 years of Clicker Training"], [https://www.alldogsgym.com/ AllDogsGym.com], retrieved July 12, 2018. Spitz emigrated to the United States in 1926 and opened the Hollywood Dog Training School.[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1958/11/13/83423554.html?pageNumber=45 "Three Keys in Dogdom,"] [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1958/11/13/83423554.html?pageNumber=45 Archived] via the TimesMachine,The New York Times, November 13, 1958. According to screenwriter Jane Hall, Spitz went through the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, “picking out whatever tricks or mannerisms Toto was supposed to have” and trained Terry accordingly. Spitz also trained Buck, the St. Bernard from the movie Call of the Wild, starring Clark Gable.[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1952/05/11/93369762.html?pageNumber=272 "Kings of the Cinema Kennels,"] [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1952/05/11/93369762.html?pageNumber=272 Archived] via the TimesMachine,The New York Times, May 11, 1952. Spitz would later go on to become the man responsible for setting up America's WWII War-Dog Program. He appeared on You Bet Your Life on 22 February 1950, where he states that he was from "near Heidelberg".
He died in 1976, in Los Angeles County, California at the age of 82 and was buried in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in the Great Mausoleum in the Iris Columbarium section.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Portal|Biography}}
- {{IMDb name|id=0819141|name=Carl Spitz}}
- {{Find a Grave|3048}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spitz, Carl}}
Category:German emigrants to the United States
Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
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