Tribute to Luke, Pit Bull Movie Star (1910s) Best Friend

Before there was such a thing as a "bad breed" there was Luke, a pit bull terrier who appeared in many films with his master, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle (1887-1933), from 1914 to 1920, along with Buster Keaton and Al St. John.

Born in 1913, he became one of the first canine film stars, earned $150 a week for his master and was very popular with audiences. A high energy companion to the slapstick antics of his human costars, he was a natural for early comedy shorts. Very people oriented, friendly and agreeable to the oddities that came with working in comedy pictures at the time, in the course of his career he fearlessly performing such stunts as jumping from great heights, climbing two story ladders, running across rooftops, and leaping from one moving car to another. In addition he never failed to chase off the bad guy or save the lady in distress.

Clips are from:
Butcher Boy (1917)
Coney Island (1917)
The Cook (1918)
Fatty's Faithful Fido (1915)
Fatty's New Role (1915)
Fatty's Plucky Pup (1915)
The Garage (1919)
The Hayseed (1919)
The Knockout (1914)

Song is You're My Best Friend, by Queen

Hope you enjoy Luke! Please comment!

Honors:)
#61 - Top Favorites (1-23-08) - Pets & Animals
#78 - Most Discussed (1-24-08) - Pets & Animals
#38 - Top Favorites (1-24-08) - Pets & Animals
#76 - Top Rated (1-24-08) - Pets & Animals

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Luke
• Dog
• dogs
• pit
• bull
• pitbull
• American
• Staffordshire
• terrier
• Amstaff
• APBT
• AST
• SBT
• silent
• movies
• comedy
• Roscoe
• Arbuckle

[turbo6732]

Hats off to Luke the Dog! Excellent video and I like tghe way Luke helps grind the pepper in the butcher shop. Top-Notch!!

[ReelDogs]

Thanks for commenting!

[yetiman100]

Does anyone know what is the name of the movie where luke is standing on a pole and barking as his master is fishing on the beach? Thanks

[ReelDogs]

I'm pretty sure that was from Coney Island (1917). It's part of a DVD set called The Best Arbuckle/Keaton Collection. You can get it on Amazon, or I think it's on Netflix also. Thanks for watching!

[salakerz324]

pit bulls are so wrongly accused!

[zbmf00]

Excellent Video !!!!!

[GR8TM4N]

If there is a dog heaven, this dog has certainly earned it! if only to giving smiles to so many people ... :-) God bless Luke !

[TalisLMc]

@yetiman100 Actually that clip is from "The Cook" It's a good one and it's on Youtube :)

[CornersFive]

@preservationhall01 It sounds like you've got a wonderful dog there .... and he's got you! The only pit I know is a perfect love,

[preservationhall01]

@CornersFive I have a little pit that looks just like Luke-short tail, coloring and all-that's how my interest in "Luke" movies started. They are the sweetest, most loving, loyal, sympathetic companion a human could ever want. A few scumbags have taught them to fight and terriers do so because they are so eager to please their owners-and the whole breed gets a bad rap. What political stupidity.

[preservationhall01]

@CornersFive

[CornersFive]

@preservationhall01 Actually "The Butcher Boy," done for Arbuckle's Comique unit, was Buster Keaton's first film. But "The Cook" sure is wonderful, isn't it? I love Luke's final entrance, plunging through the ceiling right onto the middle of the dining room table. Keaton used Luke in one of his own shorts, "The Scarecrow" -- he mistakes him for a mad dog, but learns better. They shake on it, agree to be friends and Luke runs off for more adventures. That dog was pure adrenaline and love.

[preservationhall01]

@ReelDogs That scene is from "The Cook" an Arbuckle movie which had been lost for years. It was found in the basement of an Amsterdam museum seveal years ago and has been restored. I hope to have it up on YT in several months. Check out my channel for "The Hayseed" which Luke definitely "stars" in. I believe The Cook may have been Buster Keaton's first movie.