TVXOHOF - JANUARY 2025: THE FIRST CROSSOVER OF THE YEAR IS A DOG

 
WELCOME TO 2025!

Enjoy it while you can….

Each year, the Television Crossover Hall of Fame inducts at least a dozen TV characters, as well as members of the League of Themselves, one every month, who have connected at least three TV series and/or commercials and TV movies into a connected universe.  And each of those months has a theme which I, as a curator of Toobworld, try to follow.

We kick off each year’s class with the January theme of Classic TV.  For this year, I was having a tough time thinking of a person who was a great, splashy showcase to begin the tally.

And that’s when I realized that I needed to readjust the perspective of my thinking….

DOG

From Wikipedia:
Higgins (December 12, 1957 – November 11, 1975) was an American dog actor, one of the well-known animal actors during the 1960s and 1970s. He is most remembered for his roles in the original "Benji" film, and the uncredited dog from 'Petticoat Junction', two of the most popular roles he played during a 14-year career in show business.

In 1960, animal trainer Frank Inn found the dog at the Burbank Animal Shelter as a puppy. He was believed to be a mix of Miniature Poodle, Cocker Spaniel, and Schnauzer.

As an actor, Higgins first came to national attention as the uncredited dog who played the character of "Dog" on the television sitcom 'Petticoat Junction' for six of the show's seven seasons, from 1964 to 1970, appearing in 149 episodes. He guest-appeared on the television sitcom 'Green Acres' with Eva Gabor in 1965 and also made a guest appearance on the television sitcom 'The Beverly Hillbillies'.

Due to his work in 'Petticoat Junction', Higgins received a PATSY Award in 1966 in the television category, and he was cover-featured on an issue of TV Guide magazine.

Higgins was able to convey a broad range of emotions through his facial expressions. Inn, who trained thousands of animals of many species during his lifetime, told reporters that Higgins was the smartest dog he had ever worked with and noted that during his prime years in television, he learned one new trick or routine per week and retained these routines from year to year, making it possible for him to take on increasingly varied and complex roles. Higgins's tricks included yawning and sneezing on cue.

O'Bservation:

The IMDb says that Dog was in 174 episodes, not just 149.  I'm not going to bother counting them; I'll just make note of both totals.

“Higgins” was his actual name.  If he had a name in Hooterville, we never learned it.  Basically, he was just “Dog”.  (That’s right; Lt. Frank Columbo wasn’t the first to have a four-legged companion by that “name”.)

Here are the shows which justify Dog's membership in the Hall....

PETTICOAT JUNCTION
174 Episodes (1964-1970)

First Episode:
BETTY JO’S DOG (1964)
Last Episode:
BETTY JO’S BUSINESS (1970)

O’Bservations:
Some of the episodes actually centered around Dog, like when he ended up on trial as an accused chicken killer.  Many times he was the “partner-in-crime” to Uncle Joe Carson.  

‘Petticoat Junction’ had a deep bench to draw from for stories, so it’s nice to see that Higgins’ acting skills were recognized to carry a few plotlines.

GREEN ACRES
LISA THE HELPMATE (1965)

LISA HAS A CALF (1965)

O'Bservation:
In a later episode (UNCLE FEDOR), Higgins appears as a dog known as "Killer" but that could be a ploy by Fedor to convince Mr. Douglas that he really is in danger.  I have not been able to track down the episode to learn more.

"AMEN!"

THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES
THE THANKSGIVING SPIRIT (1968)
CHRISTMAS IN HOOTERVILLE (1968)

HEY!
Somebody is missing....

O’Bservation:

Higgins appeared in ten episodes of 'The Beverly Hillbillies', but he was only “Dog of Hooterville” in his last two appearances in Season Seven.  In the earlier episodes, he had names like JoJo or Wilbur or just was never addressed by name.  But he was playing a different dog on the other side of the country, in Beverly Hills.  (If anything, he could have been the same dog seen in two episodes of ‘Lassie’, which also took place in California.)

One final note from Wikipedia:

Higgins died at age 17, just a month short of his 18th birthday. Inn had the dog's body cremated and saved the ashes in an urn on his mantelpiece. He then wrote a Christian poem in memory of Higgins called “My Gift to Jesus”. Inn died in 2002 and requested that Higgins's ashes be buried in his coffin with him. Inn is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

Welcome to the TVXOHOF, Dog.  Maybe most humans will remember you for your last role of Benji, but for me, it’s your nameless mutt in Hooterville who stands tall.

You'll find Mr. Ed and Lassie here to keep you company.  I was going to say your old pal Uncle Joe Carson was here as well.  I thought for sure I had inducted him years ago!  Oh well....  At least I have somebody to include next January....

But in the meantime, maybe Sam Drucker can play fetch with you....

(I couldn't think of a better freeze frame to serve as the finale, since Dog was the last cast member to be seen each week during the credits as he chased the Cannonball down the tracks to the Junction... Petticoat Junction.)