Dogs are cool. Not in the sense that they keep cool in tense situations, like the Fonz, but cool as in “this is one of the few animals on the planet that has successfully wormed its way into the human experience” cool.

While dogs have always been a popular draw in film, with all your Rin Tin Tins and Lassies and whatnot, the 1970s and ’80s may have been a peak for successful K-9s in popular culture. These clever dogs of the X Generation all wriggled (or attacked) their way into our memories.

Darla gained cult fame as ‘Precious’

Dog lovers have lots of chances to see Darla, the adorable white Bichon Frise, in action. That’s because she appeared in SIX major films during her prolific acting career.

Her most famous role was playing “Precious,” a pampered pooch belonging to serial killer Buffalo Bill in the 1991 psychological thriller The Silence of the Lambs. With her soft, fluffy coat and sweetly expressive face, Darla provided a stark contrast to the film’s terrifying subject matter.

When she appeared in the Oscar-winning hair-raiser, Darla was already a seasoned pro. Born in 1975, she spent much of her life working in Hollywood under the care of her owner and trainer, Christie Miele. Her training taught her to respond to complex cues and remain calm, important skills for a dog working on chaotic film sets. Darla was in several commercials and small TV roles by the time she got her big break.

Darla made her film debut in Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, as “Pink Poodle.” She was also “Queenie” in 1989’s The ‘Burbs, and “Ratty Poodle” in Batman Returns (1992), which was her last role. Darla’s TV credits include appearances in Coach and Eerie, Indiana.

Darla lived comfortably with her trainer until her passing in 1992, at 16 or 17 years old.

Flash was a Humane Society rescue

If you’ve ever touched a basset hound’s ears, you’ll understand why Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane gave his dog Flash the nickname “Velvet Ears.” The bumbling cop and his canine sidekick were central characters in the hit TV series The Dukes of Hazzard, forever chasing cousins Bo and Luke Duke in their, uh, distinctive orange car.

Flash was introduced in the show’s third season, first as a boy and later referred to as a girl. Several dogs played Flash, but the most recognizable was a female basset hound named Sandy. According to David Hofstede, author of The Dukes of Hazzard: The Unofficial Companion, Sandy was six years old when she was rescued from the Humane Society by animal trainer Alvin Mears. 

Although Flash was pretty low-energy much of the time, as bassets tend to be, the show required plenty of stunts. Fortunately for Sandy, a life-sized plush version of the dog (called “Flush”) was used as a stand-in during dangerous scenes like car chases. 

James Best recorded a song, “Flash,” as a tribute to the loveably lazy dog. It was included in The Dukes of Hazzard soundtrack album released in 1982. You can listen to it here. 

Benji’s fame spanned generations

Benji burst onto the big screen in the eponymous 1974 film that launched a media franchise lasting through the ‘80s and beyond. The lovably scruffy stray was played by several dogs over the years but the most famous – and the one we usually envision as Benji – was the original. His real name was Higgins. 

An animal trainer named Frank Inn rescued Higgins from a shelter when he was just a puppy. Inn had a long career working with famous dogs including the original Lassie. He said that Higgins, a “cocker, poodle and schnauzer” mix, was “the smartest dog he ever worked with.” He was a fast learner and could convey many different emotions with his expressive face. 

By the time he was cast as Benji, Higgins was already a veteran actor. He had starred as the uncredited dog on Petticoat Junction for several years and also made appearances on Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies. Higgins, who was 14 years old by this time, was enjoying his retirement when opportunity came knocking again. Inn agreed to let him act in Benji, and the film turned the little dog into a household name.  He got to travel the world meeting his many fans.

Viewers fell in love with Higgins and when they learned he came from a shelter it changed their perception of rescue animals. According to the American Humane Society, more than a million people adopted pups from animal shelters after Benji’s release!

Sadly, Benji was Higgins’ final film. He died on November 11, 1975 at the ripe old age of 17 – a good old age for a very good boy. Benji was also the last big screen appearance for Frances Bavier (Aunt Bee from The Andy Griffith Show, died December 6, 1989) and Edgar Buchanan (Uncle Joe from Petticoat Junction, died April 4, 1979). 

Subsequent dogs to play Benji include Benjean, Moochie, Sally Sue, Odola, and Cooper. Actor Chevy Chase provided Benji’s voice in the 1980 film Oh! Heavenly Dog.

Cujo: Wagging tails and a bitten nose

The 1983 film Cujo, based on Stephen King’s book of the same name, struck terror in many a viewer’s heart. The title character was a sweet Saint Bernard who contracts rabies from a bat bite and becomes a vicious and bloodthirsty predator, trapping a mother and son in their vehicle. 

In a 2006 interview with The Paris Review, King shared that the book was based loosely on a real-life encounter he had years earlier. He was bringing his motorcycle to a mechanic in rural Maine when he was approached and nearly bitten by a massive Saint Bernard. King imagined what would happen if his wife got stuck in the same situation, and the story of Cujo was born. 

Filming a horror movie with a Saint Bernard turned out to be a challenge. The production’s dog handler, Karl Miller, initially didn’t even want to work with the breed because they’re notoriously hard to train, due in part to their stubbornness. Fortunately, he relented (and he even went on to train another famous Saint Bernard for the 1990s Beethoven franchise). 

Miller’s work in Cujo upended the breed’s “gentle giant” reputation for many terrified viewers, although the dogs that played the title role weren’t exactly vicious. According to The New York Film Academy, five Saint Bernards were used to play Cujo, along with a human in a costume, a robotic head, and a stand-in Rottweiler. The Saint Bernards weren’t very ferocious and wagged their tails throughout filming. There was a low-tech solution to this problem: the offending tails were tied down. One of the restrained tails managed to make an appearance in the final cut, as you can see here. 

Despite the low-key Saint Bernards and an otherwise “mellow” production, stunt double Jean Coulter was accidentally bitten by one of the canine actors. In an interview with Michael McCormack Music & Film, she described being in the car with a dog who was “going after” a toy she was holding near her neck. He bit Coulter’s nose instead and nearly tore the end off! Luckily, she was treated and released at a local hospital after receiving 49 stitches.

Cujo received mixed critical reviews but is now a beloved classic for many horror fans. Stephen King considers it one of the best film adaptations of his work, calling it “terrific” in a 2014 Rolling Stone interview. 

Spuds MacKenzie was a real party animal

Instantly recognizable with his spotted face, stylish clothing, and an entourage of beautiful women, Spuds MacKenzie was the “original party dog.” The white-and-black bull terrier quickly rose to a dizzying level of fame as Bud Light’s mascot after debuting in a 1987 Super Bowl commercial, boosting sales by 20 percent over the next year.

Spuds’ likeness was soon plastered over a slew of posters, home decor, toys, and fashion accessories. But behind the beer goggles, Spuds was actually a female dog named Honey Tree Evil Eye, called “Evie” at home with her owners in Chicago. 

While Spuds was busy making public appearances as a glammed-up “spokesdog,” even appearing with Dick Clark, controversy was bubbling behind the scenes. Sudden fame made the beer mascot an easy target for critics, and there were many of them. Republican Senator Strom Thurmond claimed Anheuser-Busch was targeting children and notably shook a plush Spuds MacKenzie toy on the Senate floor while demanding an end to the ad campaign. Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Center for Science in the Public Interest also came out against Bud Light for their Spuds commercials. 

There were other pitfalls of stardom. When the public learned Spuds was a female, whispers of a possible pregnancy soon spread through the tabloids. More seriously, people started death rumors about the beloved pup, a rite of passage usually reserved for the world’s biggest celebrities like Paul McCartney and Sean Connery. Wild stories circulated about a fatal limousine accident, plane crash, surfing mishap, and a hot tub electrocution.

The Spuds MacKenzie frenzy was intense but brief. Bud Light retired their memorable mascot in 1989, although Spuds stays relevant through pop culture references; he’s been name-checked in TV shows ranging from The Golden Girls to The Goldbergs. The family dog in The Simpsons, Santa’s Little Helper, was briefly “hired” as a spokesdog called “Suds McDuff” in an episode, and Futurama created a giant alien slug named Slurms MacKenzie as a tribute. He also made a “cameo appearance” in a 2001 episode of Family Guy. Bud Light resurrected Spuds, who appeared as a ghost, for a Super Bowl commercial in 2017.

Although Evie died of kidney failure in 1993, Spuds MacKenzie will forever be partying hard in our memories.

Book cited

Hofstede, David. (2005). The Dukes of Hazzard: The Unofficial Companion. Macmillan.