Strongheart

File:Trimble-Strongheart-1921.jpg and Strongheart (1921)]]

Born October 1, 1917, Etzel von Oeringen was a male German Shepherd dog bred by a private breeder, Robert Niedhardt of Quedlinburg, Germany.{{cite journal |date=October 31, 1922 |title=Stud Book Report |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kr5YAAAAYAAJ&q=Etzel+von+Oeringen+October+1%2C+1917&pg=PA1076 |journal=The American Kennel Gazette and Stud Book |publisher=American Kennel Club |volume=34 |issue=10 |page=1076 |access-date=2016-08-01}} Etzel was trained in Berlin as a police dog and served in the German Red Cross during World War I.{{cite news |date=June 25, 1929 |title=Dog Hero of Films Dies |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9805E2DF1130E33ABC4D51DFB0668382639EDE |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=2016-07-30 }} His owner was left in poverty after the war, and was unable to even support the dog. Concerned that Etzel would end up in less humane hands, he declined larger offers and instead sent the dog to a friend who operated a reputable kennel in White Plains, New York.{{cite book |last=Trimble |first=Laurence |author-link=Laurence Trimble |date=1926 |title=Strongheart; The Story of a Wonder Dog |location=Racine, Wis. |publisher=Whitman Publishing Company |oclc=4451141 }} At age three, Etzel was brought to the United States to be sold.{{cite magazine |date=December 1921 |title=The Story of Strongheart |url=https://archive.org/stream/phodec21chic#page/n649/mode/1up |magazine=Photoplay |pages=48, 97–98 |access-date=2016-07-30 }}

At the sixth annual show of the Shepherd Dog Club of America, October 15–16, 1920, Etzel placed third in his class. He was described as "immense in body and hind leg formation, in body and legs a trifle better than either of the dogs above him".{{cite magazine |last=Muss-Arnolt |first=G. |date=December 1920 |title=The Shepherd Dog Specialty Show |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aHcCAAAAYAAJ&q=Etzel+von+Oeringen&pg=PA480 |magazine=Dogdom |location=Battle Creek, Michigan |publisher=F. E. Bechmann |volume=21 |issue=10 |page=480 }}

Etzel was seen by film director Laurence Trimble, who had owned and guided Jean, the Vitagraph Dog, the first canine movie star in the United States. Trimble recognized Etzel's potential and persuaded Jane Murfin, a screenwriter for his films, to buy the dog. A new name, Strongheart, was suggested by the publicity department of First National Pictures, which released his first film.{{cite web |url=http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/strongheart/ |title=Hollywood Star Walk: Strongheart |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=2016-07-31}}

File:Strongheart-Jule-1924.jpg

Trimble trained Strongheart and directed him in four rugged outdoor adventure films scripted by Murfin: The Silent Call (1921), Brawn of the North (1922), The Love Master (1924), and White Fang (1925). Strongheart became the first major canine film star,{{cite news |date=February 10, 1954 |title=Laurence Trimble Dies |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B05E3DB1638E23BBC4852DFB466838F649EDE |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=2015-11-28 }} preceding the fame of Rin Tin Tin, also a male German Shepherd, by two years.{{cite web |url=https://wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu/pioneer/ccp-jane-murfin/ |title=Jane Murfin |last1=Buck |first1=Julie |date=September 27, 2013 |website=Women Film Pioneers Project |publisher=Center for Digital Research and Scholarship, Columbia University Libraries |access-date=2016-08-26 |archive-date=2015-04-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411131336/https://wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu/pioneer/ccp-jane-murfin/ |url-status=dead }}

In 1929, while being filmed for a movie, Strongheart accidentally made contact with a hot studio light and was burned, which caused a tumor to form, and ultimately caused his death.{{cite web|title=Strongheart|url=http://www.walkoffame.com/strongheart|website=walkoffame.com|accessdate=12 July 2017}}

Strongheart died June 24, 1929, at Murfin's home.

File:Brawn-of-the-North-Flyer-front.jpg

Virtually all of Strongheart's films have been lost.{{cite book |last=Orlean |first=Susan |author-link=Susan Orlean |date=2011 |title=Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend |location=New York |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-1-4391-9013-5}}{{Rp|61}} A print of The Love Master (1924) survives in France, at the National Center of Cinematography and the Moving Image.{{cite web |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.64/default.html |title=The Love Master / Laurence Trimble [motion picture] |publisher=Performing Arts Encyclopedia, Library of Congress |access-date=2016-07-30 }} The Return of Boston Blackie (1927) survives from a 16mm print{{cite web |url=http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/R/ReturnOfBostonBlackie1927.html |title=The Return of Boston Blackie |website=Progressive Silent Film List |publisher=Silent Era |access-date=2016-07-30 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN1VyUhnDyI

|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/IN1VyUhnDyI| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=The Return of Boston Blackie |date=16 June 2013 |publisher=YouTube |access-date=2016-07-30}}{{cbignore}} and is available on region-free DVD.{{cite web |url=http://www.silentera.com/video/returnOfBostonBlackieHV.html |title=Home Video Review, The Return of Boston Blackie |website=Progressive Silent Film List |publisher=Silent Era |access-date=2016-07-30 }}

Strongheart was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 8, 1960. His star is located at 1724 Vine Street.{{cite web |url=http://www.walkoffame.com/strongheart |title=Strongheart |website=Hollywood Walk of Fame |publisher=Hollywood Chamber of Commerce |access-date=2016-07-30}}

Strongheart's popularity inspired Doyle Packing Company to adopt his name and photograph for a canned dog food in 1932.{{cite web |url=http://www.trademarkia.com/strongheart-dog-food-74188712.html |title=Strongheart Dog Food |publisher=Trademarkia |access-date=2016-07-30}}John Morrell & Co. v. Doyle et al., No. 6446, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, 97 F.2d 232; 1938 U.S. App. Lexis 3747. May 9, 1938. Strongheart Dog Food did a respectable business, especially in the Midwest,{{cite news |last=Lazarus |first=George |date=September 5, 1985 |title=Beatrice Puts Dog-food Brand On Selling Block |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1985/09/05/beatrice-puts-dog-food-brand-on-selling-block/ |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |access-date=2016-07-30 }} and ninety years later (as of 2025) was still being made.{{cite news |last=Tighe |first=Theresa |date=August 12, 2002 |title=Myrtle the Affectionate Turtle Who Comes When Called Isn't a Tall Tale |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/141233202/ |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |access-date=2016-07-30 }}

File:Strongheart-Book-1926-FC.jpg

In the 1926 picture book Strongheart; The Story of a Wonder Dog, Trimble wrote the story of how Strongheart came to the United States and was chosen for motion pictures, of his training, and of his progress in films culminating with White Fang.

J. Allen Boone wrote two books, Letters to Strongheart (1939){{cite book |last=Boone |first=J. Allen |author-link=J. Allen Boone |date=1939 |title=Letters to Strongheart |location=New York |publisher=Prentice-Hall, Inc. |oclc=6598887}} and Kinship with All Life (1954),{{cite book |last=Boone |first=J. Allen |date=1954 |title=Kinship with All Life |url=https://archive.org/details/kinshipwithalll00boon |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Harper |oclc=4343590}} about animal communication and the survival of the dog's soul after death. Both books were reprinted many times and remain classics of the Spiritualist faith. Boone was a Washington Post correspondent who looked after Strongheart for an extended period while Murfin and Trimble were away on business. Boone and Strongheart reportedly formed a deep bond, and Boone believed the dog was a transformational being.{{Rp|62–63}}

Strongheart: The World’s First Movie Star Dog (2014) is a picture book for young audiences by Caldecott Medal winner Emily Arnold McCully.{{cite book |last=McCully |first=Emily Arnold |author-link=Emily Arnold McCully |date=2014 |title=Strongheart: The World's First Movie Star Dog |location=New York |publisher=Henry Holt and Company |isbn=9780805094480}} The New York Times praised her "meticulous job of recreating the quicksilver world of that bygone media age. The megaphones, bobbed hair and jodhpurs are all here. And in Etzel, a dog born and bred to be strong and brave, she has given young readers a rare portrait of a Hollywood hero who was just as heroic off-screen as on."{{cite news |last=Marcus |first=Leonard S. |date=November 9, 2014 |title=Unexpected Heroes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/books/review/the-right-word-roget-and-his-thesaurus-and-more.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=2016-07-30 }}

Strongheart: Wonder Dog of the Silver Screen (2018) is a novel for ages 8–12 by Candace Fleming and illustrated by Caldecott Medal winner Eric Rohmann.{{cite web |last1=Fleming |first1=Candace |title=Strongheart: Wonder Dog of the Silver Screen |url=https://www.candacefleming.com/books/bk_strongheart.html |accessdate=23 June 2018}} Kirkus Reviews said, "Like a silent movie plot, Fleming’s narrative is full of adventure, romance, and suspense."{{cite web |title=STRONGHEART |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/candace-fleming/strongheart-fleming/ |website=Kirkus Reviews |accessdate=23 June 2018}} The book received a starred review in Booklist.{{cite book |title=Booklist Review: Strongheart: Wonder Dog of the Silver Screen. |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Strongheart-Wonder-Dog-of-the-Silver-Screen-Candace-Fleming/pid=9102703 |via=Booklist |accessdate=23 June 2018}}

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• {{IMDb name|id=1237575|name=Strongheart}}
• [http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=470918-etzel-von-oeringen Etzel von Oeringen] at the Pedigree Database

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Category:1917 animal births

Category:1929 animal deaths

Category:Dog actors

Category:German shepherds