The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin
 In 1954, former silent screen canine character Rin-Tin-Tin was
resurrected and became the star of a weekly, half-hour children's
adventure series set in the late 1880s at an army outpost 'out
West'.
Rin-Tin-Tin, like his silent screen ancestor, was a magnificent
German Shepherd dog who was the heroic mascot of a boy who had
been orphaned during an Indian raid and lived at the fort under
the care of the soldiers (and had been given an honorary rank of
corporal).
The dog was also more than welcome at the fort as he
had saved the life of Sgt Biff O'Haa.
The show was packed with action - Indian massacres, gunfights
and horseback chases. The boy, Rusty, was played by child actor
Lee Aaker.
Also featured in prominent roles were James Brown (not
the godfather of soul!) as Lieutenant Rip Masters, Joe Sawyer as
Sergeant Biff O'Hara and Rand Brooks as Corporal Boone.
Three different German Shepherds were actually used to portray
Rin-Tin-Tin during the series run. Two of the dogs were actual
descendants of the silent screen dog star.
Re-runs of the show were shown as a Saturday morning offering
and began to appear on television shortly after the program
stopped production in 1959.
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