Dracula Untold Inspired Dog Names

The actor Luke Evans and another actor, although of different species have something in common – their name! While Luke Evans is talented and handsome, we must admit that he is nothing compared to Luke the Dog, the true superstar of the movie industry! Luke the Dog was a famous Staffordshire Bull Terrier that appeared in numerous silent comedy shorts from 1914 to 1920. His popularity was immeasurable, as he was also a member of a famous Hollywood family, with his owners Minta Durfee and Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle.

Luke was born in 1913 in the home of a film director Wilfred Lucas in Los Angeles. Minta Durfee and Roscoe Arbuckle adopted him when he was only six weeks old and fell in love with him on the spot. Fatty Arbuckle was the one who trained Luke, and he spent a lot of time with him, teaching him new tricks and practicing agility and strength. His debut was in a short movie Lover’s Luck, and after breaking the ice, Luke appeared in more than a dozen movies after that.

His next appearance was a brief scene in Mabel and Fatty’s Wash Day where he can be seen cuddling with Mabel Normand. In Fatty’s Faithful Fido, Luke performs a number of stunts that wowed the audience. He chased Al St. John who played Fatty’s rival and catches up to him by jumping on the roof of a building, and then to another one, grabbing Al’s coat, ripping it away, and finally grabbing Al’s necktie, capturing him.  In the same movie, Luke, Al, and Fatty fall through a hole in the floor and land in a tub of water.

Luke’s longest time on screen was in Fatty’s Plucky Pup, released in 1915. In that movie, he can be seen in almost every scene! First, he tries to escape two animal control officers. Next, he rescues Lizzy, Fatty’s girlfriend from two crooks, all the while running on a treadmill in front of a cyclorama with countryside scenery painted on it. Luke appeared in Fatty and Mabel Adrift where he chases Fatty’s old nemesis Al St. John into the ocean where he forces him to swim into deep water. Luke also appeared in The Butcher Boy, The Cook, The Hayseed, and The Garage, where he played alongside Buster Keaton.

When Mabel and Roscoe divorced, Mabel got custody of Luke, although she did allow Roscoe to see him. He spent the rest of his days with Minta, and he died in Los Angeles in 1926 at age thirteen, which left the world devastated, as he was truly one of the most talented dogs that ever appeared in the cinema!