Movieline Remembers: 65 Years of Television Pets
Ben, Gentle Ben (1967 - 1969)
Classification: Bear (American Black)
Played By/Voiced By: Bruno the Bear/Candy Candido
Memorable Storyline: Ben and his best friend, an 8-year-old boy played by Clint Howard, miraculously outsmart jewel thieves in one episode.
Arnold Ziffel, Green Acres (1965 -1971)
Played By: Arnold the Pig (When Arnold's trainer, Frank Inn, died in 2002, Arnold's ashes were placed inside Inn's coffin and buried with him, per the trainer's request.)
Classification: Pig (American Yorkshire)
Memorable Storylines: Raised as the son of Fred and Doris Ziffel, Arnold goes to school, plays the piano, paints and plays practical jokes on his classmates. In one episode, Arnold inherits a fortune because he is able to predict the weather with his tail.
Thing, The Addams Family
Played By: Ted Cassidy (who also played Lurch)
Classification: Human Hand
Memorable Storyline: Although Thing usually performs household duties like lighting Gomez's cigars and fetching the mail, he leaves the house on special occasions. In one particular episode, Thing sneaks into Gomez's briefcase, rides to court with him and then jumps out during a trial.
Dino, The Flintstones (1960 - 1966)
Voiced By: Jerry Mann (in one episode)
Classification: Dinosaur (Generic sauropod/prosauropod type)
Memorable Storyline: In "The X-Ray Story," Dino's X-rays get mistaken for Fred's. No word yet about how personally Fred took it. Based on the error, Wilma believes Fred has the illness Dino has, and becomes as woeful as her wan frame allows.
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Comments
where is Brandon?! What about Punky Brewster... i'd like to speak to the manager.
What about Florida's own Flipper? He outswam a tidal wave in one memorable episode.
yes! Marcel is included and thus, mes amis, is how i came up with my nom de snark. Marcel was always the smart one amongst the friends. the smart monkey.
I've got a call into PETA to see if it's acceptable to classify a horse as a pet, but, if it is, where the heck is Mr. Ed on this list?
No Mister Ed?
How do you honestly forget Scooby-Doo?
I still remember Matthew with Ross, and when Matthew grab Ross`s finger. They are happy when having each other.
Scooby-Doo is a pretty big ommition. Nonetheless, it's rather interesting how forgettable the characters are at first glance, then realizing when they are showcased like this list, just how big of a role these animals really had on their respective shows.