Rags to Rainbow: Toto (Terry) the Dog

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Did you know that Toto was a lil lady pup named Terry who used to pee on the rug? Well in this episode, Toto tells ALL. And she tells it in first person! Our main source for this episode was an adorable book called I, Toto, which was written by Willard Caroll after he discovered a scrapbook that shed light on Terry's life and featured her favorite cheddar biscuit recipes.  

Happenstance led to Toto becoming the family dog of famed dog trainer, Carl Spitz, who taught Toto every trick in the book and took her on auditions where Terry rubbed paws with stars like Shirley Temple and Clarke Gable until she landed her famous role as Toto in The Wizard of Oz.

Join us for this adorable episode where Marissa voices Toto to PERFECTION with a voice that sounds like a 1930's Cindy Lauper. It's adorable, it's hilarious, and it's a tearjerker. After our last to episodes, this one should be a lovable breath of fresh air mixed with dog breath :)

As promised, here's the recipe for Toto's favorite cheddar biscuits:
2 cups flous
1 tbs salt
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups heavy cream 
(see more details on instagram @deadandkindoffamous)

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Episode Transcript

Marissa (00:17):
Hello and welcome to Dead and Kind of Famous, where
we dig into the life stories ofdead folks who enjoyed a touch
or two of fame in their time.

Courtney (00:26):
And now reside permanently in the Hollywood
Forever Cemetery.

Marissa (00:30):
I'm Marissa Rivera and I know nothing.

Courtney (00:33):
And I'm Courtney Blomquist and I know all, or way
too much.
Anyway, Though the star of thisepisode is indeed cold and dead
, I can guarantee you that thisepisode is going to be warm and
fuzzy.

Marissa (00:45):
Oh good, that's a good change.

Courtney (00:47):
Yes, I know.

Marissa (00:49):
It was a little skinny old bird I was like we need to
lighten it up.

Courtney (00:53):
Lighten it up this is our cutest episode and cutest
subject yet and her name wasToto, aka Terry, aka Judy
Garland's famous scene-stealingsidekick in the Wizard of Oz.

Marissa (01:06):
And yes, she was a female, of course she was Worked
twice as hard and still gotmistaken for a guy.
That's right.

Courtney (01:15):
Now, toto is not, in fact, buried at Hollywood
forever, but she does have abeloved memorial statue there,
and that's what we're going tolook at right now, so I'm going
to show it to you, okay, um Ididn't know this was there.

Marissa (01:28):
I've been to the holly .
I mean, obviously we've.
I've lived in los angeles foralmost 15 years, which is no, no
hold on.
I moved in 2010 and it's 2024,um, so yeah, almost 15 years.
That's how math works.
Oh wow, that's crazy.
And I've never I've gone toHollywood Forever Cemetery

(01:50):
several times over the years.

Courtney (01:53):
And.

Marissa (01:53):
I don't remember this statue.

Courtney (01:57):
It is there.
I'll show you the picture rightnow.
I also have a very bad memory.

Marissa (02:02):
Well, which is part of why I don't know anything,
because nothing sticks.

Courtney (02:07):
This is cute too, because you can see some of the
things that people have left forToto, like lollipops and change
a hairbrush.
I feel like we can do better.
I've got better suggestions.
It says this monument isdedicated to the memory of the
beloved Toto from the 1939 filmthe Wizard of Oz.

(02:27):
After the death of Toto,originally named Terry, in 1945,
owner and trainer Carl Spitzburied the Cairn Terrier on Not
the Cairn Terrier, by the way,cairn.
Cairn Cairn Terrier cairn cairncairn terrier on his ranch in

(02:52):
studio city, the 1958construction of the ventura
freeway destroyed her restingplace.
I know how dare they.
I know we give you.
This is on the other side ofthe memorial.
We give you this new home 53years later, as there's no place
like home.
Rest in peace, dear friend.
The Toto Memorial Committee.
I know, and it was there's anentire committee.

(03:15):
I know they did it in 2011,.
June 18th 2011.

Marissa (03:19):
Oh, this is sweet and warm and fuzzy.
It's really really cute.

Courtney (03:24):
It's adorable and it says in memory of Toto on the
front and people tie littlescarves around her neck.
It's so cute Because there's alittle cute puppy on top that
looks just like Toto.
Oh my goodness.

Marissa (03:35):
It's very, very sweet, Very sweet.

Courtney (03:37):
You know I'm an idiot, I could have just clicked on
this picture.
I hate myself.

Marissa (03:42):
Anyway, wow, we know technology so well.
Good thing, we're doing apodcast.

Courtney (03:50):
Okay.
So go ahead, Marissa, and guessToto's obituary, even though
I'm well aware that you know whoshe is.

Marissa (04:01):
Okay, Well, I'm going to do Toto's obituary through
her voice.
The lens of herself, Please dobecause I'm going to need it.

(04:25):
Yeah, okay.

Courtney (04:29):
That was actually just Toto's rendition of Somewhere
Over the Rainbow which she hasmemorized, of course.
Oh, my goodness, well, that wasperfect, loved it.
Also, I just want you to knowWell, you'll see, you'll see.
So let's just get into the realstory.
Let's get into it.
So the main source that I usedfor the story is a book called I

(04:50):
toto by willard carol I likethat font.

Marissa (04:54):
I know you can.
It's cute.
You can definitely look through.

Courtney (04:57):
It's so, so cute, it's the stupidest, cutest book.
I mean, like it's not stupid,it's just stupid cute.
So, uh, by willard carol and tobe honest, I I don't know how
much of this story Carroll wroteand how much he found.
I say this because the bookstarts with its origin story,
and that story is this thebulldozed site of Carl Spitz's

(05:22):
Hollywood dog training school inthe San Fernando Valley.
The area was being entirelyoverturned to make way for a
wider freeway and many did noteven know that it used to be the
site of a famed canine school.
But Carol had just been payinga visit to Alice Spitz, the
surviving wife of famed dogtrainer Carl Spitz, in an effort
to learn more about Toto, andit was she who had told him of

(05:44):
the original location of herhusband's school.
12, well, sorry, 1-2-3-5, Idon't know how do you say this
number?

Marissa (05:51):
1-2-3-5-0.

Courtney (05:53):
1-2-3-5-0 Riverside Drive, and also had let him know
that this had been the site ofToto's burial.
And by complete happenstance,Carol arrived on the site,
nudged at some dirt with hisshoe and hit something solid a
nine by nine square box.
Stop it I know, and in that boxwas an autobiographical

(06:13):
scrapbook that told the lifestory of Toto, whose name was
actually Terry, a diehard Wizardof Oz fan since his childhood.
Carol had arrived here with theintention of getting a better
sense of Terry's life, and nowhe had become the man who had
stumbled upon her life story,which is amazing.

Marissa (06:30):
It truly is.
That's so wild.

Courtney (06:33):
Yeah, that said, I wonder how much of the book was
written when Carol discovered it.
It's written in first personfrom Toto's perspective.
So you truly.

Marissa (06:42):
I know she handed me the book, guys, but I did not
open it because I don't want anyspoilers?
Yeah, yes, oh my God, You'rekidding, it's so cute.

Courtney (06:55):
You're going to have to come up with a voice that's
like a words voice for Toto.

Marissa (07:00):
Okay, just so you know you got it.

Courtney (07:02):
Yeah, that's what I was hinting at before.
Okay great.
It's written in first personfrom Toto's perspective and
contains recipes and opinionatedtales of the various sets Terry
worked on Opinionated tales.

Marissa (07:12):
Oh, it's opinionated.
Ooh, terry's going to spill thetea, it's right and it's
entirely adorable.

Courtney (07:19):
Yes, keeping it for Iris for when she gets older.
But it has enough insiderknowledge that, if I had to
guess, I'd say that it wasTerry's guardian and trainer,
carl Spitz, and his wife Alice,who probably had a heavy hand in
the creation of the book.
But that's just my own hunch.
So, all that said, let's goahead and get into it let's go.

(07:40):
Terry was a scruffy CairnTerrier who became the star we
all know and adore as her mostnotable role, toto.
She is, without a doubt, one ofthe most famous dogs of all
time.

Marissa (07:51):
Yeah, it's really like her and Lassie.
Yeah, and like the dogs and catfrom Homeward Bound, in that
order.

Courtney (08:03):
Speaking of other famous dogs.
If you're wondering what ittakes to become a bark gable in
this, town.

Marissa (08:12):
Oh, can't wait for all the dog puns.

Courtney (08:15):
Yes, um know that terry had many things going for
her from the get.
For starters, she was born inthe right place at the right
time.
Born in 1933, she was smack dabin the middle of the golden age
of canine film stars.
This adorable moment of furrystar power largely began with
the discovery of rin tin tin,who found stardom with the film

(08:39):
man from hell's river and wenton to star in 26 other films 26.

Marissa (08:45):
This dog has worked more than me.

Courtney (08:48):
Before his death.
As the story goes, it was in1918 that the German shepherd
Pup was rescued, along with hismother and siblings, from a
World War I battlefield by anAmerican soldier named Lee
Duncan.
The dogs were found huddledtogether in an abandoned kennel

(09:10):
An abandoned kennel, not akettle.
Lee rescued the dogs and keptRin Tin Tin to himself, training
him and helping him establishhimself in silent films.
Arguably the first dog tobecome a household name, rin Tin
Tin blazed the trail for a heapof fuzzy professionals,
including Pal, the Wonder Dog ofour gang, aka Little Rascals.
Oh yeah, and Pal also known asLassie.

(09:33):
So I guess Pal was a verypopular dog name in the 30s.

Marissa (09:37):
Yeah, Pal was the 1930s version of Buddy.

Courtney (09:43):
Yeah, your dog was named Buddy.
My dog was named Buddy.
My dog was named Buddy, yeah.

Marissa (09:46):
He does not seem like a pal, but you know, in 1930s he
would have.

Courtney (09:51):
Right, it's true, because it means the same thing.
And now today it's likeprobably just as basic as people
are.
It's like friend.

Marissa (10:00):
My dog friend.
My dog friend Middle name Kale.

Courtney (10:07):
But she was pretty darn close to LA, so it's
definitely still a plus whenstardom is your destiny.
But what wasn't so much of aplus was that Terry's original
guardians did not quiteunderstand her, not because she
was a dog without the ability tospeak, but because she kept
wetting the carpet, the bed, thecar and whatever else she

(10:28):
parked her paws upon.

Marissa (10:30):
No, Terry, that's a big no-no, yes, no, no peepees
in the house.
No, no, no peepees in the house, no.

Courtney (10:37):
So Terry's humans sought out the help of acclaimed
dog trainer Carl Spitz.
Now, Spitz was not typicallycalled upon for tasks as menial
as housebreaking.

Marissa (10:47):
He at this point no, no, no, he was a trainer to the
stars.
Maybe To the stars.

Courtney (10:53):
He, at this point had formed a reputation as
Hollywood's most respected andbona fide dog trainer.
Yeah see, yeah, and he'd earneda reputation by training and
handling big screen doggydarlings.
Spitz was a German bornimmigrant who had moved to the
US in 1926.
And he'd wasted no time inopening Spitz's Hollywood dog
training school just one yearafter his arrival Was this

(11:18):
timing is suspicious.
Wait why?

Marissa (11:23):
Was he a Nazi?
Oh no, Actually, I think.
Yes, wait why was he a nazi?
Oh no, actually, I thinkescaping.
Yes, I think he was escaping.
Okay, good to know.
Yeah, he was not a nazi dogtrainer.
I feel if, like, he might havebeen strict, but he wasn't
technically a nazi wouldn't thathave been if you were nazi in
19,.

Courtney (11:42):
wouldn't it have been a good time to stay in Germany,
though I guess you know what Imean.
That's when you're like yeahyou're right.

Marissa (11:52):
You're like oh, my people are gaining power.
I must stay.

Courtney (11:55):
Right, yeah, like they're not the people fleeing.
This was at a time whentraining dogs for the public was
, in Spitz's words, considerednonsense, considered nonsense.
The public was, in spitz'swords, considered nonsense,
considered nonsense.
There weren't any caesar milanswho had paved the way yet, but
spitz had always had a deep lovefor animals and a gift for

(12:16):
understanding them, so he'd beendedicating his life to training
dogs since 1919.
His original calling card whentraining dogs in Germany was
utilizing silent commands viagestures that could be used by
deaf dog owners.

Marissa (12:30):
Oh, cool yeah.

Courtney (12:32):
And this would become a skill that would serve him
well in Hollywood.
Shortly after his arrival inthe States, talkies had begun to
take off, and being able toguide an animal's performance
without making a sound was aninvaluable skill.
On these new, friends.

Marissa (12:44):
Wow, guide an animal's performance without making a
sound was an invaluable skill onthese new wow, yes, and even
think about that.
Yeah, that's amazing.

Courtney (12:49):
So it's kind of like a perfect he was just like the
perfect guy yeah, for this town.

Marissa (12:54):
Perfect like the perfect set of skills, perfect
timing exactly.

Courtney (12:57):
Wow, um.
After cutting his teeth,working with two great danes in
the al jolson film, big boyspitz found himself in steady
demand as a virtuoso dog handler, and dogs from his own school
began to make names forthemselves as well.
First there was Prince Carl.
Great name, yep, great name fora Great Dane, yeah, in the Most

(13:21):
Dangerous Game.
And then Buck Clark Gable, stBernard in Call of the Wild.

Marissa (13:27):
Wow.

Courtney (13:29):
Buck went on to find work in many films thereafter
and truly became the firsthousehold name to come out of
Spitz's kennel of star canines.

Marissa (13:37):
Wow, this is impressive.
Yeah, guys, I just spent thewhole day with my friend's puppy
today, and it is.
It was magical, but, dear God,training dogs is, it's
exhausting.

Courtney (13:51):
It's like I mean there's a reason.
People are just like I'm goingto hire someone.

Marissa (13:56):
And like silently too, which is like.

Courtney (14:00):
I feel like you, that to me that's like you have to
have that special touch.
Yes, you have to have thatspecial, that bond, that empathy
with an animal that is like aunique.
You know how to communicateExactly.
Other notable dogs includedPrince Musty, mr Pinky, fluff,
lucky Dog and Firefly, to name afew.

Marissa (14:19):
Oh, I like Firefly.

Courtney (14:21):
Yeah.

Marissa (14:21):
Also, I really like that TV show Keep going oh, like
firefly.
Yeah, also I really like thatuh tv show keep going oh, yeah,
yeah, yeah, that's right, or wasit a movie?

Courtney (14:27):
was firefly it was a tv show.

Marissa (14:30):
It was with um christina hendrix she was in it
for a second oh okay, she was,she had, she was in one episode.
She was like in one episode orshe might have like had a three
episode art.
I feel like she was like on thecover.
Well, maybe Firefly is themovie and they brought her back
for the movie.
I'll cut this out too.

(14:51):
Yeah Jesus, this is also justus hanging out, I know, I know.

Courtney (14:56):
Hanging out at like 10 , 20.
That's right.
Okay, but name dropping famousdogs is so much more fun than
famous people.

Marissa (15:07):
Yes, agreed.
Also, excuse me Musty, I knewhim, mr Pinky, yes, I also knew
him.

Courtney (15:16):
Wait, what's the dog's name that you hung out with
today?

Marissa (15:18):
Her name is Lila Lila oh, that's so sweet.
Lila Joe, lila Joe.

Courtney (15:24):
So sweet, so sweet.
I forgot that you hung out withthe dog.
I mean, like I didn't put ittogether, that you just hung out
with the dog.

Marissa (15:29):
Yes, this is the doggy day.
I love it.
This is the best day I love it.

Courtney (15:35):
But Terry, who was by far the smallest dog at Spitz's
Academy, would go on to make thebiggest impression, though
biggest impression Though shearrived as a timid carpet wetter
, spitz had patience and a waywith a little dog that allowed
her to truly find her light Musthave been.

Marissa (15:51):
she was anxious.

Courtney (15:52):
I know the way it's described in the book and
remember it's written firstperson from Terry herself, so
you need to do a dog voice,Marissa.
Okay, or whatever that is is asfollows whatever that is is as
follows Foist day, I love a1930s dog.

Marissa (16:15):
Now I'm going to do more dog voice.
First day, first hour.
This man, mr Carl, takes me outof my kennel and starts making
all these hand signals andrepeating things over and over.
I remember thinking he's sortof amusing, very animated, and

(16:36):
he certainly had patience.
It was all very repetitive, buthe was so sincere that all I
wanted to do was make him happy,so I decided to reward him.
Two days later I'm rollingaround lying on my back with my

(16:58):
paws in the air playing dead notmy favorite routine standing up
on my hind legs and barkingwhen requested.

Courtney (17:09):
Wow, that was so good.
Oh my God, I love that.
You just like right out of thegate.
You've been waiting for thisrole.

Marissa (17:19):
This is mine, this role is mine.

Courtney (17:23):
I am to play toto somebody make this movie where a
30 something woman plays thetiny dog.
Once she'd proven that shecould manage her excitable
bladder, terry was allowed intospitz's home, where she was

(17:44):
loved and adored by his wife andchildren.
And it's good that this was thecase, because, in the midst of
all this, the humans who haddropped Terry off for
housebreaking who Terry herselfrefers to in the book as the
screamers from Pasadena- thescreamers from Pasadena.

(18:05):
It's never going to get old.
Hadn't paid rent on Terry'sboarding.
Those stupid screamers, oh myGod, the stupid screamers.
So all of a sudden the Spitzeshad a family dog.

Marissa (18:18):
That's great.
Yeah, that's great.

Courtney (18:20):
And despite her ability to learn routines, no
one was putting pressure onTerry to become a star like the
other dogs at the academy.
She was just the family dog whoenjoyed eating the delicious
cheddar biscuits that Mrs Spitzmade whenever she was allowed.
Ah cute, yes, and there's acheddar biscuits recipe in the
book.

Marissa (18:39):
Stop it.
We might have to post that inthe notes, I mean, I think so I
think so.
I think so.

Courtney (18:45):
It's so, I think so.
It's so cute, this book, youguys.
I told her it's so cute.
Everything changed when ClarkGable came around with famed
columnist Hedda Hopper for aphoto op publicity stunt with
his co-star in Call of the WildBuck.
The St Bernard Gable playedwith Buck and rubbed his belly,
and all the while photos weresnapped of the meeting and then,

(19:06):
just as soon as he'd arrived,Clark Gable was leaving.

Marissa (19:09):
Bye.

Courtney (19:10):
But Terry was offended that Clark would leave without
meeting her first.
This is such a Trudy move.

Marissa (19:17):
It truly is.

Courtney (19:18):
Marissa's dog, yes.
So she howled and made a bigfuss from inside her little
kennel and she was loud enoughto draw Gable Hopper and Mr Carl
over to her.
Gable himself knelt down andsaid Do you want to do Gable?

Marissa (19:32):
Let's get a closer gander on this beauty.

Courtney (19:36):
And when Spitz opened the kennel door, Terry flew out
and knocked Clark Gable'sdentures right out of his head.

Marissa (19:43):
Damn.
Oh wait, so he was old here.
So hold on, no, he wasn't.
No, he had full dentures.
I mean, or were they likeflippers or something?
I don't know.

Courtney (19:54):
There were some kind of denture.
Yeah, he wasn't like he was inhis prime.
You know if he had like apublicity team following him
around for a movie.
He was in his prime.

Marissa (20:03):
He had fucking fake teeth.

Courtney (20:05):
I know, isn't that crazy I mean no, I know Not
really.

Marissa (20:09):
I mean I found that shocking as well.
People are like Hollywoodbeauty standards have gotten
crazy and it's like this hasbeen going on Right Since the
dawn of Hollywood.

Courtney (20:19):
Because they just couldn't do what are?
They called V?

Marissa (20:25):
Because they just couldn't do.
What are they called Veneers?
Yeah, so now it's veneers.
Now it's veneers.
Now they literally shave yourteeth down.

Courtney (20:28):
Into nubbins.

Marissa (20:28):
Into little scary ass nubbins.
It's crazy.
It's crazy looking.
And then they stick andporcelain.
They stick the stuff thattoilet bowls are made out of
into your head.
I just, Is it porcelain veneers?
I think so.

Courtney (20:47):
That's yes, yeah, I mean that's.
Another thing we don't knowabout is porcelain veneers.
I feel like I mean.

Marissa (20:56):
I still have my own teeth.

Courtney (20:57):
I do too, and I think that you know grinding down,
grinding down part is wild.

Marissa (21:04):
I'm like, do they put you to sleep for that?
Because they all of your teeth.
Well, I guess it's the teeth inthe front, but like that, it's
how long does it absolutetorture?

Courtney (21:14):
It sounds like you're paying all this money to have
somebody.
I mean torture you.
You're really torture you, yeah.

Marissa (21:20):
It's like that when you and for what, and for what,
to have a toilet mouth.

Courtney (21:29):
To have a stupid toilet mouth, now to have that
bright, beautiful Hollywoodsmile.
I mean, I've heard of a pottymouth, but my goodness, oh my
God.

Marissa (21:39):
Anyways, clark Gable had a potty mouth, yep anyways,
clark gable had a potty mouth.

Courtney (21:47):
Yep, um, so his so terry flew out and knocked clark
gable's dentures right out ofhis head.
Everyone crawled around untilthey were found and after clark
had discreetly popped them backin.

Marissa (21:55):
You didn't wash.
Jesus christ, I have invisignand let me tell you, like those
things after I eat, after theycome out of my head for any
reason, they are washed, brushed.
My teeth are brushed andflossed and like rinsed.
And, jesus Christ, he lost histeeth in a kennel and I was like

(22:19):
whoa, so embarrassing.
Lost his teeth in a kennel andwas like whoa, so embarrassing.
Gosh Can't be seen without myfucking doggy doo-doo dentures,
gross.
I'm so grossed out by ClarkGable.
This is Hollywood heartthrobClark.

Courtney (22:33):
Gable.

Marissa (22:34):
This is some tea Already.
She's spilling the tea.

Courtney (22:37):
I know she's spilling the pee and she's spilling the
tea.

Marissa (22:42):
That was so dumb, keeping it Absolutely.

Courtney (22:47):
Okay.
So everyone crawled arounduntil they were found and after
Clark had discreetly popped themback in, he said lesson for the
day take care of your teeth,because I guess he probably,
like I don't know, dipped orsomething.

Marissa (23:02):
Jesus Christ.

Courtney (23:03):
And that was Terry's first time meeting a Hollywood
star in human form at least andbecause she'd made an impression
with him, spitz started to havea hunch that Terry might be
able to make an impression withothers in Hollywood, so he
started taking her out onauditions.

Marissa (23:20):
Oh wow.
Yes, I guess dogs also have toaudition.
It can't just be a looks thing.
Yes, I guess dogs also have toaudition.
It can't just be a looks thing.
No, they have to have theskills to back it up.
No, unlike many of their humancounterparts.
God, I should know I'm all face.

Courtney (23:38):
Yeah, I feel like the amount of times I'm all face and
natural teeth and no talent,the amount of times Marissa has
been like and my scene partnerin this audition was well, they
were green it's like so it'sjust like your most.

Marissa (23:50):
It's like your most shady compliment or not.
Compliment it's like your mostshady, but like nice girl, like
they sucked, you know well,listen, we were all green, I was
green and I fucking sucked allthe time at auditions when I
first so you're like they'retemple, they temporarily suck,

(24:12):
that's like yeah, right, yeahthat's why you say they're green
, because they can.

Courtney (24:16):
You can't say they can graduate to another color, you
know it's like it's like karate.
Yeah, which belt you graduateto another color.
You know it's ripped for gross.
It's like karate.
Yeah which belt?
Okay, so one day, spitz andTerry showed up on the fox lot
and were led into a room with abunch of little terriers that
looked exactly like her Marissa,I'm sure this is I know that

(24:38):
feeling.

Marissa (24:39):
Yes, I know that feeling.
You walk into a room and it's abunch of bitches with your same
haircut.
It's wild.

Courtney (24:47):
You feel like you're in a mannequin factory.

Marissa (24:49):
Yeah, it's wild.

Courtney (24:52):
But they were no match for Terry and she was not
impressed.

Marissa (24:55):
In her recollection in I Toto Terry says In Aetoto,
terry says what a rowdy bunch,yapping and scratching and
squealing and growling andemitting these foul smells.
One little cur produced aseries of high notes which would

(25:20):
have made Kate Smith envious,envious.
I lay down and put my paws overmy ears and then, as if the
sound emanating from HerHighness with the tonsils Wasn't
excruciating enough, one mangycandidate scurried over to the
middle of that room and well,right there on the rug, and

(25:45):
we're not talking wee-wee.
Okay, I added the okay, andwe're not talking wee-wee.
As if that wasn't enough, thelittle guy stepped in it and
left tracks everywhere.
I closed my eyes and shook myhead.

(26:09):
Amateurs.

Courtney (26:14):
Why do I feel like this voice is Cindy Lauper?
That would compliment CindyLauper.
I know that she's a little dog.
She kind of is a little dog.
She's like a little like bright, spry little springy dog?

Marissa (26:32):
Yeah, she is.
She's a Cairn Terrier, yep.

Courtney (26:36):
Yep.
Eventually, terry pulled outall the stops for a room of
burly Hollywood bigwigs.
She played dead, she barked oncommand, she leapt over her
leash.
But they still weren't sure.
So they felt the need to callin the opinion of the star of
the film, an adorable actressnamed Miss Shirley Temple.

Marissa (26:56):
A chemistry read with Shirley Temple, I know.

Courtney (27:01):
So they took Terry to her bungalow where she impressed
both Shirley and her PomeranianChing Ching.
Problematic, problematic name.
Yeah yeah, is that like?
Like is a?
What kind of breed is aPomeranian?
Is that like a?

Marissa (27:18):
direct.
Okay, hold on.

Courtney (27:20):
I thought it was a Chinese thing, so maybe it is.

Marissa (27:22):
Is it?
It's a Peranian.
Is that like a direct okay?
Hold on I.
I thought it was a chinesething, so maybe it is is it?

Courtney (27:25):
it's a pomeranian or it's a chinese?

Marissa (27:27):
I think so, but that might be the other one that's
close to it.
Um, pomeranians, it might beenglish of northeastern europe.

Courtney (27:40):
Right, right, right, okay, um, but still, um, but
still is ching ching right,right, well, she was a child
amongst who should have knownbetter, right, right, but yeah,
at this time I don't you know,poor shirley, I'm pretty sure,
sure, terry was treated betterand it was Shirley who told Toto

(28:04):
she was hired for the veryfirst time.
Wow, because that's the kind ofclout Shirley Temple had at
like eight years old.

Marissa (28:10):
Yeah, she did.

Courtney (28:12):
So soon.
Terry was starring in a filmcalled Bright Eyes, with Shirley
Temple herself in the role ofRags.
This is the first, or this isthe film where Shirley Temple
sings the Good Ship Lollipop.
It looks like she's like notwearing pants.

Marissa (28:35):
I know.
All right, but there's a yeahthere's like another clip where
she like has toto, but it's yeah, you can't anyway, cute, very
cute, okay.

Courtney (28:50):
So it seems like a really cute, uh, really cute and
sweet film, but the plot isactually really depressing.
And this is it.
Having lost her father to aplane crash, five-year-old
Shirley Shirley Temple and hermother, mary Lois Wilson, live
with the Smith family, for whomMary serves as a domestic.
With the exception of Uncle NedCharles Sullen, the Smiths

(29:15):
don't much care for Shirley andshe greatly prefers spending
time with her godfather, pilotJames Merritt, james Dunn, when
Mary is killed in a car accident.
Jesus, Christ.

Marissa (29:28):
I know she loses both of her parents.

Courtney (29:30):
The distraught Shirley becomes the object of a bitter
custody battle between James andNed the 30s, am I right?
Depression era begetsdepressing plots, that's right.
Like what, the fuck what?
And then they're like let'ssing the good ship lollipop.
I mean, I guess you'd have toin a movie like that.

Marissa (29:46):
Jesus.

Courtney (29:48):
Yeah, horrible.

Marissa (29:49):
But Terry was a delight in it.

Courtney (29:51):
Terry was a delight.
Very quickly Terry foundregular work.
She went on to star in aParamount picture called Ready
for Love and then the UnitedArtists film Dark Angel with
Merle Oberon.
And it was on this set thatTerry discovered how much she
disliked working with windmachines.

Marissa (30:07):
Know what he does.

Courtney (30:08):
Let me tell you.

Marissa (30:09):
Let me tell you that little known secret in Hollywood
Nobody, nobody, likes windmachines.

Courtney (30:15):
I mean why would you?
No, it's kind of outside rightnow Kind of feels like a wind
machine.

Marissa (30:20):
Outside.
Okay, it's crazy.
We're having Santa Ana windsright now and it is insane and I
sound a little bit stuffed upbecause I can't.
I am from the wind picking upall that pollen and stuff and
like rained and like pollen waseverywhere, and then the wind
happened, and now I feel likeI'm getting sick.
But I know I'm not getting sick, it's just the wind.

(30:41):
The wind made me ill today, soI get it.

Courtney (30:44):
I'm with you, terry, on this one I feel like, yeah,
people in like cold weatherplaces are like this is the kind
of thing people in los angelestalk about.
This is what they complainabout.

Marissa (30:54):
The wind, really winds , oh my god.
And people from like the windycity City are like fuck off yeah
pretty much.

Courtney (31:02):
But soon after Dark Angel, Terry found her way to
working with yet another hugehuman star.
I mean, he was like a normalsize.

Marissa (31:12):
He was, but he was a star.

Courtney (31:14):
He was a big star.
He was a big star, right.

Marissa (31:15):
Normal size person, but it was a big star.

Courtney (31:18):
Right, right, right, mr Spencer Tracy, the film was
called Fury and it was filmed in1936.
And the plot of fury was thisan innocent man narrowly escapes
being burned to death by alynch mob and seeks revenge like
wow I mean jeez okay I yeah,another I mean yep, the

(31:41):
depression again.
I guess they were just likeyeah things to me.
I feel like the audience islike, yeah, this is, this is
what resonates right.

Marissa (31:48):
Art resonates the art.
What is?
It imitates life.
Yeah, yeah, which is like it'struly horrifying.

Courtney (31:54):
Yeah, um, but in a little foreshadowing to the
pinnacle of terry's, she playeda dog named Rainbow who gets
taken in from the rain bySpencer Tracy's character.
That's really cute, I know.
It's such a sweet shiningmoment in such a dark, weird
film.
After that, terry went on towork with legendary filmmaker

(32:18):
Cecil B DeMille in a Paramountfilm called the Buccaneer.
She was truly becoming a dogwho had worked with all the
greats.
And then at this point in thebook there's this hilariously
drawn out section about workingon a B movie called Barefoot Boy
on what was known as PovertyRow.
It is a true Hollywood bitchfest that is definitely coming

(32:39):
from Carl Spitz and beingfunneled into the voice of the
little female dog so that hecould be as freely bitchy as he
wanted to be, and it ishilarious.

Marissa (32:47):
Oh my God, Wait time out.
What is Poverty Row?

Courtney (32:50):
It was like you know pretty much.
It's like a term of saying OK.
Poverty Row is a slang termused to refer to Hollywood films
produced from the 1920s to the1950s by small and mostly short
lived B-movie studios.

Marissa (33:01):
Got Hollywood films produced from the 1920s to the
1950s by small and mostlyshort-lived B-movie studios Got
it, sheesh yeah.

Courtney (33:05):
So that's like an inside term Inside.

Marissa (33:07):
Inside Okay 1930s.

Courtney (33:11):
Okay, so this is the bitch fest, great.

Marissa (33:15):
The only refreshing thing was that there weren't the
customary three suits at theaudition.
Seems they could only affordone suit.
And what a suit that guy wore.
It didn't look like he had beenpressed, since Buck was a
puppet.
To top it off, he wore the sameone every day.

(33:40):
If you ask, ask me, he's theone who needed the flea bath
nail and trim.

Courtney (33:46):
Well, I'll stop there oh, but just real quick what
she's saying I'll stop there.
It's because in the book itkeeps saying that, like for
every movie, it's like she hadto get a flea bath, a nail trim
and an enema.
So that's what she's like.
I'll stop there.
Oh my gosh.

Marissa (34:04):
Poor thing.
Come to find out, though, thatMr Taddy ran the studio.
Anyway, they were so cheap atMonogram that they didn't even
bother to come up with a namefor my character.
Call it Terry.
The studio boss said that's itsname, ain't it?

(34:28):
I gave him a very mean look,that warned.
Watch who you're calling it.
Buddy.
That schlub worked us so hard,hour after hour with no breaks,
just to get the film in the can.
They even used one of thoserusty cans to put my grub in.

(34:51):
Boy, did I miss Shirley and Foxand Paramount?

Courtney (35:03):
I love it.
She's like excuse me, do youknow who I?

Marissa (35:08):
am.
Do you know?

Courtney (35:11):
Spitz I mean Terry goes on to say that the frumpy
studio boss got to the pointthat he was yelling for everyone
to pick up the pace and thatthey needed to finish the movie
by Saturday.
Or you're all through, I'mserious.
And that was when, again,according to the dog that
narrates this book in person, infirst person, and not Carl

(35:33):
Spitz Spitz lost his mind onthis man and said if you're so
serious, oh sorry, marissa, youknow what, why don't you do it?
Okay, german Spitz.
German said if you're soserious, oh sorry, marissa, you
know what, why don't you do it?
Okay, german.

Marissa (35:42):
Spits german I can't do a german accent uh how do you
do it um.

Courtney (35:52):
Hold on, let me think, if you're so, still not
sounding Russian.
Yeah, okay.
Why are you wearing that suit?
That's what it is.
Why are you wearing that suit?
And for that's terrible, ifyou're Wait, if you're.

(36:15):
That's Russian too.

Marissa (36:21):
Everything reverts back to Russian.
I can't.
That's exactly.
I can't go to.
I can't do German.
It ends up either Russian orEnglish, I don't know how.

Courtney (36:31):
Yeah, who ends that suit?
I don't know.
If you're so serious, then whyare you wearing that suit?
That's what he said, okay.

Marissa (36:39):
I will say if you're so serious, then why are you
wearing that suit?
That's what he said.
If you're so serious, then whyare you wearing that suit?

Courtney (36:46):
Heavens what a zinger, what a true, burn.

Marissa (36:52):
I really hated that suit.

Courtney (36:53):
Yep, and so, for the first time, terry was fired from
a job.
Wow.
But it was immediately afterthis icky and exhausting
experience that Terry's bigbreak and iconic faded role fell
into her little lapdog lap,because while Carl and Terry
were being pushed around on thatsubpar set, mgm had called.

Marissa (37:13):
They called baby.

Courtney (37:14):
They called and they were drooling over Terry for
their upcoming feature.

Marissa (37:19):
Practically panting at the thought.
That's right.

Courtney (37:22):
Terry.
So the day after being fired,Terry and Carl booked it over to
MGM and headed right into theoffice of the head of production
, Mervyn Leroy, without havingto make it past any suits at all
.
What?

Marissa (37:37):
a great day.

Courtney (37:38):
Yep Terry was becoming a big deal, as Terry aka Carl
says in the book.

Marissa (37:43):
Mr Leroy's the major mucky muck in this new movie.

Courtney (37:49):
And the new movie Terry was trotted in for was the
Wizard of Oz, the Wizard of Oz.
And Mr Leroy just looked Terryup and down, glanced at his copy
of the Wonderful Wizard of Ozand said she's the one.
Looks just like the dog on thecover.

Marissa (38:07):
Wow, that was it.
That was it.
Yep, she became offer only onthe spot, that's right.

Courtney (38:15):
And so Terry was booked to play one of
literature's most famous dogs,toto.
Literature's most famous dogs,toto.
Her cast mates included burtlarr as the cowardly lion, ray
bulger as the scarecrow,margaret hamilton as the wicked
witch who was referred to in thebook affectionately as maggie
terry loved her maggie and, ofcourse, judy garland as dorothy.

(38:36):
Contrary to her character inthe film, maggie hamilton was a
true dog person and befriendedTerry right away.
But the first time Terry sawher in her green Wicked Witch
makeup she had an accident.
So I guess the makeup achievedits frightening effect.

Marissa (38:49):
Wow, oh poor thing.
Poor Terry.
You know, you're like whathappened.
My friend, where'd she go?

Courtney (38:57):
Now, in the beginning, Buddy Ebsen was cast as the Tin
man, but after an allergicreaction to the aluminum powder
that was applied to his face,the role went to Jack Haley.

Marissa (39:07):
How much would that fucking suck to lose out on an
entire role because they can'tor won't change the makeup?

Courtney (39:17):
Well, I mean just because, yeah, it's like you're
getting hives and they're like,sorry, we got to keep shooting.

Marissa (39:25):
Bye, yeah Wild Jesus.
Sorry you, just you're not thatimportant and also like it's
something that, like they causedyou know yeah.

Courtney (39:33):
Oh, oh yeah.
I do feel like this time periodwas very like just keep it
moving, like you don't matter.
Whatever right um no unions yet, yeah, no no well, no, I think
it was all contract players.
Yeah, contract players.
At that point in time, theyswitched to a paste instead of a
powder to avoid the sameproblem.
And when I looked up theseactors, I did not realize that

(39:55):
buddy epson was the actor whoplayed jed.
Clamp it on the beverlyhillbillies and got and doc go
lightly and breakfast atTiffany's.
Are you familiar with either ofthose references?

Marissa (40:04):
Yes, I am Okay, I am actually that's good I feel yeah
, cause I feel we talked aboutbreakfast.
So he went on to be fine, ohyeah.

Courtney (40:17):
He was like a huge.

Marissa (40:17):
Yeah, he was fine, he was in a.
He was in one of those peoplewho's just in everything?

Courtney (40:20):
Was that the guy who got replaced, or?

Marissa (40:21):
the guy who got replaced, yeah, so he was like
okay, bye.
Yeah, yeah, and then kept itmoving, and if that isn't a
lesson to all of us actors andjust everyone in this industry,
like you can get replaced, butjust fucking keep it moving.

Courtney (40:37):
Keep it moving, that's right.
Also, the Wizard of Oz wasry'sfirst film in technicolor.
Before that she'd only beenfilmed in black and white.

Marissa (40:46):
You know when I first saw wizard of oz for the first
time.
I was living in puerto ricowith my family and we went to
the one blockbuster and, uh,rented wizard of oz and I put it
in our VHS player because itwas a VHS and it started playing

(41:07):
in black and white and I waslike we got the wrong one.
I was like, oh no, we got to goback.
We got the wrong one.
I was so annoyed.
I was like, oh, I was so upset.
And then, you know, and my momwas like, just keep watching it,
it gets better, it'll fixitself yeah yeah, it gets better

(41:29):
yeah, it's just a little glitchin the beginning.

Courtney (41:31):
Yeah, that's so funny.
And also it was terry's biggestand most important character,
yet not just because of the hypeand prestige, as she says, of
the film in Aitoto.

Marissa (41:41):
It's all about me.
I have the closest relationshipto anyone to Dorothy.
I'm why she runs away from homeand why she does all sorts of
things to save me from somethingcalled the Wicked Witch.

(42:03):
I'm in almost every scene inthe Blessed Picture.

Courtney (42:12):
Perfect but, as many accounts from other actors and
extras can confirm, working onOz was tough and full of
pitfalls.
For one thing, the directors ofthe film kept changing and in
total the film went through fivedirectors.

Marissa (42:27):
I did not know that.
I didn't know that eitherbefore.
That's crazy yeah.

Courtney (42:31):
Five.
I know, jeez, there was Norman.
I can't spell it.
T-a-u-r-o-g, so I'm going tosay Norman Taurog, taurog,
taurog yeah, taurog soundsbetter.
Norman Taurog who largelyworked on the film during
pre-production and earlytechnicolor tests, and after he

(42:53):
got pulled away to work on theAdventures of Tom Sawyer, he was
replaced by Richard Thorpe.
Thorpe lasted a couple of weeksonly and apparently no one was
happy with him the whole time.

Marissa (43:03):
In Aetoto, terry says A lot of whispering and many
late night meetings.
Rumors were flying.

Courtney (43:16):
It's truly such a perfect voice.
I like King Coker.
And then Thorpe was replaced byGeorge Cooker, who was never
really hired to direct, butrather to consult.
It was Cukor who made lastingchoices about Dorothy's
appearance.
She was originally desired tobe blonde, according to Terry.

Marissa (43:34):
In her new Cukor-approved Dorothy getup,
Judy looked a bit different.
Good, different, but different.
Her hair was styled and morebecomingly and her gingham apron
was better tailored.
Actually, she looked darnperfect.

Courtney (43:57):
I want to be Terry's friend if that's how she talks.

Marissa (44:01):
She looks different.
It was good.
It was good.
It was good.
She tried out a new look andyou know what she slayed, yeah.

Courtney (44:08):
It was head and tails above everything.

Marissa (44:14):
Can you imagine her being blonde?
No Right, not at all,especially because red was just.
You know, it's the iconic color, so I'd like to have her be a
redhead too.
I think Is she a redhead?
I think she's a brunette.
It's like Is she blonde?
Auburn, that's Auburn.

Courtney (44:32):
That's like brown.
That's Auburn.
Really, I always just thoughtshe was a brunette.
Okay, let's cut all this out.
Then came Victor Fleming, whois actually credited as the
film's director and responsiblefor the majority of actual
directing that can be seen inthe final film.

(44:53):
Then he left to replace Cukoronce again on Gone with the Wind
Jeez.

Marissa (44:59):
He's always cleaning up Cougar's messes.

Courtney (45:01):
I guess he was only a consultant or whatever he just
ended up doing more than I thinkhe was supposed to.
Or had agreed to.

Marissa (45:10):
Overworked and underpaid.

Courtney (45:13):
Unfortunately, we're all familiar.
Still an issue.

Marissa (45:18):
Still an issue, still a Hollywood practice there, yeah
, csl Exploitation.

Courtney (45:24):
We love it, we hate it .
The remainder of the scenes,which were just the sepia-tinted
Kansas scenes, were directed byKing Vidor.
That's like Vidor KingV-I-D-O-R, and it's just King.
I guess that's his first name.

Marissa (45:38):
His first name is King yeah.

Courtney (45:40):
It's also said that Mervyn Leroy, the film's
producer, also did someuncredited directing.

Marissa (45:46):
Everyone had their hands in the sheesh, yeah, but I
could see being completely okaywith having a completely
different director for theKansas scenes.
Totally, it's a whole othervision.

Courtney (45:55):
It's a whole other world, so the Kansas scenes.

Marissa (45:56):
Totally, it's a whole nother vision, it's a whole
nother world.
So I agree with that.
Yeah, that like that was coolyeah.

Courtney (46:03):
Yeah, absolutely.
But Terry was such a trueprofessional and rolled with the
punches until she had a veryunfortunate run in with a winky.
The winkies were the wickedwitch of the West's guards and
they kind of looked like thewitch.
And a royal guard fromBuckingham Palace had a baby.
Do you remember them?
I'll find it, hold on.

Marissa (46:23):
Oh my.

Courtney (46:24):
God, I know they're horrifying.

Marissa (46:27):
They're truly horrifying, yeah.

Courtney (46:30):
So like a furry.

Marissa (46:31):
Oh my God, Poor Terry.
And then, when she so this isher account of when she bumped
into this.

Courtney (46:37):
Yes, the Winkies were the creature so according to
Terry herself of the incident.

Marissa (46:43):
One day we were shooting and there were dozens
of these costumed horrorsmarching around, looking
menacing, and this lumberingbrute, who never watched where
he was, marched right past meand stomped on my paw.

(47:04):
Now that Winky liked his gruband he must have weighed about a
thousand pounds when he steppedon my foot.
I squealed.
I mean squealed.

Courtney (47:21):
And due to her injury, Terry was sent home Apparently.
Judy Garland herself told MGMbigwig Louis B Mayer in no
uncertain terms that Terryneeded a rest.
And it seems like Terry neededsomeone in her corner because
MGM had not been all thatunderstanding about injuries
during the filming of Oz.
Because MGM had not been allthat understanding about

(47:41):
injuries during the filming ofOz, Maggie Hamilton, the Wicked
Witch of the West, and her stuntdouble caught on fire and had
been expected to return to setthe next day what.
And they were furious when theoriginal Tin man was
hospitalized after inhaling thealuminum in his face paint and
promptly replaced him.
So that's what happened.
It was like his lungs.

Marissa (47:58):
And they were like you idiot.
Why did you?

Courtney (48:01):
breathe while you were having your makeup.

Marissa (48:05):
Oh my God, yeah, I thought he was having a.
It was like a total body insideand out reaction.

Courtney (48:13):
Yeah, they fucking almost killed him, yeah.
And then they're like what iswrong with you?

Marissa (48:17):
You're fired.

Courtney (48:19):
Fired.
Ridiculous but for Terry.
Mgm gave her and her littletrampled paw a rest and at first
Terry enjoyed the rest, butapparently she was worried that
MGM might also replace her,because she apparently jumped on
Mr Carl Spitz's bed and barkeduntil he said I get it, it,
you're ready to go back to work.
So not even 24 hours after thatdink of a winky stepped on her

(48:43):
foot.
A dink is like a, an insultthat jesse's mom, like my
mother-in-law, uses.
She's like never says anythingbad about anyone.
And she'll be like he was such adink dual income no kids, yeah,
yeah, I don't think that meansthat to her she's to her, it's
like a dick, but she's like I'llreplace the c with an n a dink.

Marissa (49:07):
A dink, as if your mother-in-law couldn't get more
adorable.
I know it's so cute.

Courtney (49:12):
um, after that dink of a winky stepped on her foot,
terry was back on set and shearrived.
As they were setting up thescene where the cast of
characters arrived at theEmerald City, and from across
the soundstage Terry could seeall her castmates were there,
with the addition of a littledog who looked just like her,
according to Terry.

Marissa (49:32):
Well, I just lost it One day, not even, and they
replaced me and off, I charge asfast as my little legs can take
me, if that fucker thinks she'sgonna.
If that fucker thinks she'sgonna have my part in this

(49:59):
picture, she's got another thingcoming.
Mr Carl chased after me, but Iwas dog obsessed.
I leapt onto that other dog andwent right for her throat.
The way I saw it, I wasjustified.
She stole my part.
Anyway, that usurper didn't putup a fight.

(50:21):
One instantly limped under mewhen I jumped her.
I stopped a moment and lookeddown.
Yep, I'd ripped open thatthroat.
But there was just this whitefluffy stuff pouring out and
everybody was laughing, pouringout, and everybody was laughing

(50:46):
and I got it.
It's not a real dog, it's astuffed item.
And I laughed along witheverybody else and I gave them
all a.
I knew it wasn't a real dog.
Look, I didn't think they wereconvinced, though.

Courtney (51:03):
Things went pretty well for Terry, with the
exception of the filming of theKansas scenes.
King Vidor had taken overdirection at that point, and the
first thing they filmed was thetwister, which required eight
wind machines.
Terry hated wind machinesbecause they were scary, and she
was just a tiny dog In herwords.

Marissa (51:24):
I was blown away halfway to Sunday and back again
and again and again.

Courtney (51:33):
But luckily the next day of filming was the somewhere
over the rainbow scene.
Terry had been trained by MrCarl to sit very still on a
piece of cold farm equipment asJudy sang, which Terry did with
flying colors, likely becauseit's kind of a treat to be
serenaded by Judy.

Marissa (51:48):
Garland.
Goodness, gracious, yes.

Courtney (51:51):
And Terry even lifted her little injured paw on cue
during the scene.
What a pro.
Apparently, in the take theyused in the movie can see terry
glance over at mr carlanticipating her paw lift, which
she of course found mortifying.

Marissa (52:07):
She says you give these movies, you're all, and
they select the worst takes.
I get it, terry, I it.

Courtney (52:17):
After a heartwarming wrap party where Judy hugged
Terry and cried, and an excitingfilm premiere, terry was hoping
for a vacation, but MGM calledagain.
They had booked Terry on twomore films already.
Wow, she appeared in one sceneof a film called the Women, in
which everyone was a female,including the animals.

(52:39):
Okay, the film starred humanstars like Norma Shearer, joan
Crawford and Rosalind Russelland the animals besides.
Terry included female monkeysnamed Stupid, dizzy and
Featherbrain, who appeared indresses in the style of their
co-stars.

Marissa (52:54):
Wow.

Courtney (52:55):
I have never heard of this movie, but I am so mad at
the names of these monkeys.
How disrespectful.

Marissa (53:00):
How rude, disrespectful, how rude, how
fucking rude.
Rude, I mean truly next came afilm called bad little angel,
especially because they'resupposed to, especially because
they're supposed to be the, thewomen, yeah it's supposed to be
like.

Courtney (53:15):
It feels like this progressive theme for the time.
And then they're like.
The monkeys are named stupid,dizzy and feather brain.
Like.
What an ass.
I mean honestly, though.
Like they they were.
She's saying that they were thefemale monkeys on set.
That was probably their realnames.
Unfortunately, like I don'tthink, the film named them that
oh, so a man named them thatit's not the, it's not the

(53:37):
women's fault, um.
Next came a film called badlittle angel, which was all
about an orphan girl and her dog, and terry was that dog angel
yeah, the film starred virginiaweedler as patsy, and terry's
character was named rags againjust like the character she
played alongside shirley templeand bright eyes.

(53:58):
I telling you people were souncreative with dog names back
then they were Pal and Rags.
Yeah, they were the only namesthat they could think of,
apparently, but at least hercharacter wasn't named Stupid.

Marissa (54:08):
Oh, my god Poor monkey , poor monkey.

Courtney (54:12):
But speaking of names, it seems that after the Wizard
of Oz, everyone just startedcalling Terry Toto, so much so
that she stopped responding toTerry altogether.

Marissa (54:20):
Oh, wow, yeah.

Courtney (54:22):
Carl had to go with the flow and started calling her
Toto.

Marissa (54:25):
She truly embodied the role Mm-hmm.
She a true, a true actress.

Courtney (54:32):
Yes, she's like.
I'm Toto forever.
I've never left the set of theWizard of.
Oz and the parts kept beingtossed Toto's way.
She played a dog named McTavishin a Warner McTavish.

Marissa (54:44):
McTavish, that's a fun name.

Courtney (54:46):
It is fun In a Warner Brothers film called Calling
Philo Vance.
Next she was in a UnitedArtists film called Twin Beds
with her good friend Maggie, akathe Wicked Witch.
Aww, yeah, yay, reunited,reunited.
Maggie was playing a maid inthe film After an appearance
tour for an adoring public withfellow famed pooches, buck and

(55:09):
Mr Banky.
Toto performed in her last film, easy to Look At.

Marissa (55:14):
And you know what?
Toto is easy to look at.
She's real easy to look at, sheis.

Courtney (55:19):
She's a cutie pie, cutie cutie.
And then she lived out her dayswith the Spitz family, where
she was absolutely loved andcherished, as Toto says herself
at the end of I Toto.

Marissa (55:30):
I have what most movie stars don't A happy home life.
I love my home and the peoplewho care for me, and they do
care for me and I for them.
And no, it's not just becausethey feed me, although that's a

(55:51):
nice bonus.
There are always smiles andfood and laughter, and food and
petting, and food and petting.
As far as I'm concerned, ourroutine has been perfected and
it can go on forever.

Courtney (56:12):
So fucking cute, you need to like do the audio book
version of this book.

Marissa (56:18):
I swear to God, it's so cute hire me, hire me, I'm
available yes, for all of yourfor all of your toto needs, all
of your total needs.

Courtney (56:31):
toto died towards the end of world war ii and was
buried in the backyard of carlspitz's hollywood dog training
school.
After the school was demolishedfor construction, toto was
given the memorial statue wediscussed at the start of this
episode in the Hollywood ForeverCemetery.
Willard Carroll, who discoveredand published Toto's sweet book
, ended, I Toto, with a sweetmessage that I know you'll love,

(56:52):
marissa.
Outside of movies, in our reallives, the bond between guardian
and pet is a bond thattranscends the commonplace.
No matter what the complexitiesof the day, we allow ourselves
to reduce a moment or two to arefreshingly simplistic essence
I love you, you love me.

(57:13):
No conditions, no expectations,but such joy.

Marissa (57:19):
No expectations, but such joy.
I'm crying.
I'm crying.
What it's so true though.
The unconditional love, oh myGod.
Oh, that's so sweet.
Are you kidding me?

Courtney (57:37):
Oh, you're choking Marisha has the sweetest little
dog baby I do.

Marissa (57:41):
I have two sweet dog babies and all I want to do now
is end this and go downstairsand cuddle them.

Courtney (57:46):
Yes, so, toto or Terry , or whatever you answer to in
doggy heaven, we hope we'vehonored you with this little
podcast episode and if you'dlike to honor Terry yourself, I
would recommend leaving some ofher favorite cheddar biscuits at
her memorial statue.
And you're right, we willinclude the recipe we have to so
yes, some more people leavethem yeah um all right.

(58:09):
So what did you think?

Marissa (58:10):
oh my gosh, this was so sweet.
What a sweet, sweet episode.
I loved it.
Yes, I learned well, I guess Idon't know a lot about the
making of the wizard of oz, um,so that was fun to learn more
about that.

Courtney (58:24):
The allergic reaction thing was crazy yeah, oh my god,
yeah, oh my gosh, I know, andthen they like lit people on
fire and they're like show up towork the next day.

Marissa (58:35):
Yeah, you're fine.

Courtney (58:37):
Yeah, jesus well, it's it also like it kind of makes
me think about it's just thattime period, like I mean talking
about everyone was so abused,yeah like talking about unions
like um, who was it?
Uh, um, the guy that playedfrankenstein, um is the one who
started sag his name was oh, yes, um hold on I've got.

(58:58):
I don't know why that isn't onthe tip of my tongue.

Marissa (59:03):
I know why it's not on the tip of mine.
I just drank a cannabis drinkCannabis drink.

Courtney (59:07):
Cannabis.

Marissa (59:08):
Cannabis.
I just drank a cannabis drink.
Gosh that last thing made me.

Courtney (59:17):
Boris Karloff Sorry, go ahead, okay, well say it, it
was Boris Karloff.

Marissa (59:19):
Sorry, go ahead.
Okay, well, say say it.

Courtney (59:21):
It was Boris Karloff is the guy who started SAG.
And um, it was because, like,when they were filming
Frankenstein, they justbasically were like you can work
all day and all night and puton all this crazy makeup and
then walk around the studio witha fucking bag on your head so
that, like no one can see whatthe makeup looks like, so it's
not spoiled like crazy just theywere like you're here to be

(59:46):
abused, like that's how theythought about it yeah, our
cattle, yeah, and you knowthat's how they treated people.

Marissa (59:52):
So, um, I mean, it seems like Terry was treated
very well because she was muchless replaceable than all the
people.

Courtney (01:00:04):
It's true she really was.

Marissa (01:00:06):
Yeah, I mean, they literally had to replace her
with a stuffed animal.
So, my God, she really did havethe fucking life she did.
People are like what kind offamous do you want to be?
I want to say, I want to be.

Courtney (01:00:21):
Toto famous, toto famous.

Marissa (01:00:23):
I want to be Toto the dog famous.
I want to be able.
I want, I want roles given tome.
I don't want to have toaudition.
I want so much respect, theknowledge that I can't ever be
replaced.
I want to live on a giant ranchwith my family, have a happy
home life and have a happy homelife.

Courtney (01:00:43):
And star in 26.
No, that was the other dog.
26 films.

Marissa (01:00:47):
And yeah and star in, I don't know if it was the other
All the films that I can fit inmy lifetime.
Yeah, pretty much Exactly whata dream she lived.
A dream she was, and she lovedworking.
She loved working, I know.

Courtney (01:01:02):
It's so cute.
She just like loved to do.
Well, I feel like that's like a, you know, a dog who can
perform is like look at what Ican do.
And she was just that dog?

Marissa (01:01:08):
Yeah, and there are dogs.
There are working dogs, youknow, there are cattle dogs.

Courtney (01:01:14):
There are police dogs.

Marissa (01:01:37):
There are fire dogs, for sure, you know search and
rescue, and the big thing aboutit is like they Truly have this
like purpose to Do the thingthat they're supposed to do,
they have, they have thispurpose and a lot of ways that a
lot of people don't have.

Courtney (01:01:43):
So, yeah, depressing.
No, I was like god, what onthat?
No, um, but no, I, I agree andI think that it's.
It's.
You know, you always have Ifeel like sadness about when you
talk about like, oh, dogs, theyhave such short lives and like
I know, a lot of people feelthat way about pets, but I know
it's like my, my dog's three andI'm.

Marissa (01:01:58):
I think about constantly how I have to somehow
live without her at some point.
Yeah.
I mean it's awful.
It's awful.

Courtney (01:02:08):
But I feel like it's you do such a good job with your
dogs of like making surethey're happy and loved oh yeah,
they're spoiled, rotten and Ithink they're not.

Marissa (01:02:17):
As you know, they have the home life of Toto.
They don't have God.
If they could do literally ifthey could I tried to do an
audition tape with them, likelast week, and it was so hard.
It was so hard.
I didn't get a call back and Ithink it's their fault.

(01:02:37):
I didn't get a callback and Ithink it's their fault.

Courtney (01:02:45):
I just know that in my childhood we had to do like
well, it was like middle school.
We had to do Romeo and Juliet,you know, scene of some kind,
okay, filmed in a unique way.
And so I did Romeo and Julietwith dogs and then just like
talked behind the camera whilethe dog was just like in the
camera shot you know, tied to atree, and my dog was like, so

(01:03:05):
like badly behaved all the timethat she was just like whining
and be like.
She hated it, so that I had tospread peanut butter on the tree
trunk to get her to stay in theframe.
But then she's just like it'sme talking and her licking the
tree I need to see this project,my god oh, it's so bad, but so

(01:03:29):
good it's, it's great, there's,it's somewhere, anyway.
Anyway, well, thank you so muchfor joining us.
Uh, for this one, everybody, itwas a nice warm and fuzzy.
Nice warm and fuzzy deadpodcast.
No, yeah, thank you for joiningus for this one, everybody, it
was a nice warm and fuzzy.
Thank you, nice warm and fuzzydead podcast.

Marissa (01:03:42):
No, yeah, thank you for joining us over the rainbow.

Courtney (01:03:44):
Yeah.

Marissa (01:03:46):
And that's why you know, that's why it's called.
It's called when dogs go toheaven.
You lose your pets and they goover the rainbow oh really I
didn't know that.

Courtney (01:03:58):
Oh man, oh really I didn't know that.

Marissa (01:04:02):
Toto actually went over the rainbow.
Oh, my goodness.
Not going to have this reactionfor any other podcast.
Any of the humans, if we'vepiqued your curiosity.

Courtney (01:04:13):
Please subscribe on Substack at
deadandkindoffamoussubstackcom.
We list each episode there,along with photos, newsletters
sources and more.

Marissa (01:04:27):
You can also find us wherever you get your podcasts.
Dead and Kind of Famous iswritten, researched and produced
by Courtney Blomquist.
It is co -hosted by MarissaRivera.
We tag team on socials.
Jesse Russell and CourtneyBlomquist do our editing.
Until next time, you might notbe famous but you got a story to

(01:04:47):
tell and you're not dead yet.