Frank Inn - Animal Trainer - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TV DVD Fan · 12-22-2005, 06:14 PM

He seems to have done a great job with Arnold the Pig of spinoff GA. And I heard he did a great job (an even better one, actually) with the dog from PJ. Unfortunately, I have only access to 20 of the season one episodes (thanks to MPI), so I can't speak for myself, but does anyone know how "Dog" performed on PETTICOAT JUNCTION?

Pat

tv star collector · 12-22-2005, 07:39 PM

The pooch who played "Dog" (real name: Higgins) was an excellent animal actor, in my opinion. He went on to even greater fame as the original Benji of movie fame. According to Frank Inn's book, THE PHENOMENON OF BENJI (1978), the huggable hero was rescued from the Burbank Animal Shelter. Inn (who had been training animals for movies and TV for over 30 years) received a call about "a real cute puppy" they had. He was about six weeks old, "a real mutt. He was cute, sort of. But mostly he looked lonely and afraid." Inn said that he began training Benji right away and proved to be smarter than any dog he had ever owned. After making his debut on Paul Henning's THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES, Higgins/Benji was signed for the new PETTICOAT JUNCTION series and, in the seven years of the show's run, he never missed a performance.

When the series ended, Inn decided that Benji had earned his retirement.
Little did he know that Benji's greatest success, which would make him
world famous, was yet to come.

EmpressDR · 12-27-2006, 08:03 PM

I remember an interview Inn did, saying that he wondered why Mr. Higgins wasn't SUPER popular during PJ's run, as he was post-Benji?
Well, I'd say that many of PJ's fans liked the little dog, and wanted to see more of him, but he didn't have as much screen time nor plots as Arnold Ziffel the Pig on Green Acres. Arnold overshadowed Mr. Higgins.

Haha. Just remembered a scene on "Benson," where Benson had made a deal with the devil. Benson could rescue this or that person or stop a deadly storm --in other words, he could save lives, if he won a trivia contest with the devil. He nearly got stumped on the question: "What was the pig's name on Green Acres?"
Benson came through with "Arnold Ziffel." The later, seeing all the people who had been spared death Benson said, "Thank you, Arnold Ziffel."

My favorite film that Benjy/Higgins starred in was "Oh Heavenly Dog." Chevy Chase, a detective, is murdered, and is reincarnated to a dog--played by Mr Higgins/Benjy. I do NOT care what critics say about it. I enjoyed it.
The dippy critics didn't seem to get that it was based on a reversal of the plot of 'You Never Can Tell" about a dog reincarnated to a human. It had been showing on late night TV for years, and was popular amongst fans of car-dealership-sponsored late-night-movies I liked BOTH movies.

"You Never Can Tell," starring Dick Powell.
http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movie...ml?v_id=118005

FredScuttle · 02-18-2007, 07:49 PM

On the Ultimate Collection DVD extra with the interviews on it, Frank Cady said that the dog was better trained than some human actors!

liane49 · 04-13-2013, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tv star collector

The pooch who played "Dog" (real name: Higgins) was an excellent animal actor, in my opinion. He went on to even greater fame as the original Benji of movie fame. According to Frank Inn's book, THE PHENOMENON OF BENJI (1978), the huggable hero was rescued from the Burbank Animal Shelter. Inn (who had been training animals for movies and TV for over 30 years) received a call about "a real cute puppy" they had. He was about six weeks old, "a real mutt. He was cute, sort of. But mostly he looked lonely and afraid." Inn said that he began training Benji right away and proved to be smarter than any dog he had ever owned. After making his debut on Paul Henning's THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES, Higgins/Benji was signed for the new PETTICOAT JUNCTION series and, in the seven years of the show's run, he never missed a performance.

When the series ended, Inn decided that Benji had earned his retirement.
Little did he know that Benji's greatest success, which would make him
world famous, was yet to come.

You have to have alot of patience to be an animal trainer. Sometimes it takes months to have the animal do one trick.

12-22-2005, 06:14 PM	#1
TV DVD Fan Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 07, 2005 Posts: 2,602	Frank Inn - Animal Trainer He seems to have done a great job with Arnold the Pig of spinoff GA. And I heard he did a great job (an even better one, actually) with the dog from PJ. Unfortunately, I have only access to 20 of the season one episodes (thanks to MPI), so I can't speak for myself, but does anyone know how "Dog" performed on PETTICOAT JUNCTION? Pat
	__________________ Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Sarah Connor: Maybe if you spend your life hiding who you are, you might finally end up fooling yourself. - From the episode "Gnothi Seauton."

12-27-2006, 08:03 PM	#3
EmpressDR Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 22, 2004 Location: California Posts: 279	Mr. Higgins vs Benjy I remember an interview Inn did, saying that he wondered why Mr. Higgins wasn't SUPER popular during PJ's run, as he was post-Benji? Well, I'd say that many of PJ's fans liked the little dog, and wanted to see more of him, but he didn't have as much screen time nor plots as Arnold Ziffel the Pig on Green Acres. Arnold overshadowed Mr. Higgins. Haha. Just remembered a scene on "Benson," where Benson had made a deal with the devil. Benson could rescue this or that person or stop a deadly storm --in other words, he could save lives, if he won a trivia contest with the devil. He nearly got stumped on the question: "What was the pig's name on Green Acres?" Benson came through with "Arnold Ziffel." The later, seeing all the people who had been spared death Benson said, "Thank you, Arnold Ziffel." My favorite film that Benjy/Higgins starred in was "Oh Heavenly Dog." Chevy Chase, a detective, is murdered, and is reincarnated to a dog--played by Mr Higgins/Benjy. I do NOT care what critics say about it. I enjoyed it. The dippy critics didn't seem to get that it was based on a reversal of the plot of 'You Never Can Tell" about a dog reincarnated to a human. It had been showing on late night TV for years, and was popular amongst fans of car-dealership-sponsored late-night-movies I liked BOTH movies. "You Never Can Tell," starring Dick Powell. http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movie...ml?v_id=118005
	Last edited by EmpressDR; 12-27-2006 at 08:24 PM.

12-22-2005, 07:39 PM	#2
tv star collector I Love Susie Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Oct 18, 2005 Location: South Carolina Posts: 4,486	The pooch who played "Dog" (real name: Higgins) was an excellent animal actor, in my opinion. He went on to even greater fame as the original Benji of movie fame. According to Frank Inn's book, THE PHENOMENON OF BENJI (1978), the huggable hero was rescued from the Burbank Animal Shelter. Inn (who had been training animals for movies and TV for over 30 years) received a call about "a real cute puppy" they had. He was about six weeks old, "a real mutt. He was cute, sort of. But mostly he looked lonely and afraid." Inn said that he began training Benji right away and proved to be smarter than any dog he had ever owned. After making his debut on Paul Henning's THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES, Higgins/Benji was signed for the new PETTICOAT JUNCTION series and, in the seven years of the show's run, he never missed a performance. When the series ended, Inn decided that Benji had earned his retirement. Little did he know that Benji's greatest success, which would make him world famous, was yet to come.

02-18-2007, 07:49 PM	#4
FredScuttle Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 31, 2005 Posts: 477	On the Ultimate Collection DVD extra with the interviews on it, Frank Cady said that the dog was better trained than some human actors!