Luke Cage Inspired Dog Names

For the longest time, dogs have been prominently featured in media and pop culture works. In fact, as early as the 1900s, there has been a long list of canine actors who have had successful careers. One of the earliest famous dogs to have made a career in show business is Luke the Dog. Luke is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier who rose to stardom as a recurring character in a various American silent comedy short films from 1914 to 1920.

Luke the Dog was born in November of 1913, purportedly at the Los Angeles residence of director Wilfred Lucas. It was in this home where his future owner Minta Dufree and her husband, director and comedian Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, acquired the puppy at a young age of six weeks. There are conflicting reports about how Minta came to own Luke; some say that Lucas gave the pup to her in exchange for money while others state that the pooch was given as a “hazard pay” after she performed a risky stunt in one of Lucas’ movies. A few of the same sources even say that the pet was named after the director himself, albeit it was changed to “Luke” instead of “Lucas”.

Although Minta is technically the owner of Luke, it was Fatty who became the authoritative figure in the dog’s life, especially because it was he who spent numerous hours teaching Luke how to do tricks. The pooch made his film debut in the short entitled Lover’s Luck, which premiered in September 1914, featuring both Minta and Roscoe. In the film, Luke can be seen in the background numerous times tethered to his dog house. After his appearance in Lover’s Luck, the dog went on to work on several other shorts aired from January 1915 up to December 1920. In his second film appearance, in Mabel and Fatty’s Wash Day, he had one scene where Mabel Normand goes in the backyard and pets him.

It was in his third film, entitled Fatty’s Faithful Fido, when he decided to display his newly-learned tricks and incredible athleticism that gained him nationwide recognition. In this movie, Luke executes a number of stunts that were considered to be the most impressive in his entire career, including climbing ladders and jumping from one rooftop to another.

Luke the Dog spent most of his life with Fatty until 1921, when Minta and Roscoe went their separate ways and got divorced. As part of the divorce settlement, Minta gained custody of Luke, although Roscoe received visitation rights. During this time, Luke’s acting career has died down and according to records, he lived the rest of his life with Minta until 1926, when he passed away at the age of 13.