Famous Comedian Dog Names

Since anyone can seem to remember, dogs have been tied to comedy in one way or another. If not for the fact that they are just so different from us, they seem to be helplessly goofy, whether they try to be or not, which may also be an inherent byproduct of our anthropocentrism. 

But of course, there are dogs who are just inherently funny, like the ones we have at home or at least the ones we’ve been watching on Funniest-Home-Video-type shows for years, and dogs who are trained to be funny, the ones we see “acting” on television or in film. 

While there have undoubtedly been decades of humorous dogs, few have held a name more appropriate for the featured dog section than that of Rimshot, the sidekick of Ernest P. Worrell of the Ernest movies. He may not feature the name of an actual comedian, but his name is the name of the physical action that followed old punchlines, the old snare-snare-hat-roll bit, and given his duty in the two Ernest movies he was featured in, is perfectly suitable — although to be fair, his real name was Barkely.  

Ironically enough, Ernest was much more the comedian than Rimshot was. In fact, Rimshot was more often the hero and Ernest the dopey slave to flawed intuition — a subtle yet poignant role reversal that added additional comedic dynamic and social commentary to what was generally considered low-brow half-slapstick comedy. 

But Rimshot surely wasn’t the first, last, or even most recognizable dog to enter the limelight of stardom, as many more have risen in the ranks of comedy fame. 

The first real somewhat funny dog to reach a mainstream audience in the era of color film was likely Wildfire, a Bull Terrier and star of the 1955 movie It’s a Dog’s Life. But strangely enough, as funny as dogs seem to be naturally, most of history’s greatest dog comedians aren’t even real. Most of them were, and are, animated. 

Since Snoopy every poked his black and white beagle head out of the comic section of the newspaper in 1950, nearly every famous dog in comedy has been animated (barring Beethoven, Hooch, and a few select others). Consider the following: Scooby Doo, Pluto, Goofy, Odie, Droopy, Underdog, Spike and Tyke, Astro, Huckleberry Hound, Augie Doggie, Marmaduke, Hong Kong Phooey, Ren, Sam Sheepdog, Santa’s Little Helper, and most recently, Brian Griffin. 

Ok, so it may be difficult to coax that type of proper English out of your average Retriever and it’s hard to execute complex comedy without words, which most real dogs don’t have, but our use of canines in comedy throughout history has made one statement very clear whether they're real or not: as our closest companions, dogs provide us accessibility and ulterior perspective we can’t always attain on our own. Sometimes it takes a dog to poke fun of true human flaws. And that’s why they make us all the better for it.