Laurence Norwood Trimble (February 15, 1885 â€" February 8, 1954) was
an American silent film director, writer and actor. Trimble began his
film career directing Jean, the Vitagraph Dog, the first canine to
have a leading role in motion pictures. He made his acting debut in
the 1910 silent Saved by the Flag, directed scores of films for
Vitagraph and other studios, and became head of production for
Florence Turner's independent film company in England (1913â€"1916).
Trimble was most widely known for his four films starring Strongheart,
a German Shepherd dog he discovered and trained that became the first
major canine film star. After he left filmmaking he trained animals
exclusively, particularly guide dogs for the blind.Laurence Norwood
Trimble was born February 15, 1885, in Robbinston, Maine. He grew up
on a rocky farm near the Bay of Fundy. "I wanted a dog more than
anything, but my family could not afford to let me have one," he later
wrote. "By the time I had worked my way through school I had owned a
number of dogs. Mostly they had bad reputations and nobody else wanted
them, but I loved them and learned from them."Trimble began to write
adventure fiction, and sold an animal story to a New York magazine in
about 1908.:139 In 1909 he visited Vitagraph Studios in New York while
doing research for a series of articles called "How Movies Are Made".
As he chatted with the sole assistant working under Rollin S.
Sturgeon, head of the scenario department, he learned that a story of
special interest to producer Albert E. Smith had been set aside
because it required a dog that could actâ€"not simply do tricks, but
to behave naturally on command. Trimble scanned the script and said he
could train any dog to do what was needed.:44
an American silent film director, writer and actor. Trimble began his
film career directing Jean, the Vitagraph Dog, the first canine to
have a leading role in motion pictures. He made his acting debut in
the 1910 silent Saved by the Flag, directed scores of films for
Vitagraph and other studios, and became head of production for
Florence Turner's independent film company in England (1913â€"1916).
Trimble was most widely known for his four films starring Strongheart,
a German Shepherd dog he discovered and trained that became the first
major canine film star. After he left filmmaking he trained animals
exclusively, particularly guide dogs for the blind.Laurence Norwood
Trimble was born February 15, 1885, in Robbinston, Maine. He grew up
on a rocky farm near the Bay of Fundy. "I wanted a dog more than
anything, but my family could not afford to let me have one," he later
wrote. "By the time I had worked my way through school I had owned a
number of dogs. Mostly they had bad reputations and nobody else wanted
them, but I loved them and learned from them."Trimble began to write
adventure fiction, and sold an animal story to a New York magazine in
about 1908.:139 In 1909 he visited Vitagraph Studios in New York while
doing research for a series of articles called "How Movies Are Made".
As he chatted with the sole assistant working under Rollin S.
Sturgeon, head of the scenario department, he learned that a story of
special interest to producer Albert E. Smith had been set aside
because it required a dog that could actâ€"not simply do tricks, but
to behave naturally on command. Trimble scanned the script and said he
could train any dog to do what was needed.:44
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