name: Antonio Campanaro
nickname: Tony
born November 17, 1888
died March 12, 1965, in Los Angeles, CA
Being an animal trainer, Tony Campanaro was virtually never given onscreen credit, so this filmography only covers films for which he's specifically credited in published form. Otherwise, I've indulged in a huge amount of speculation. I haven't been able to find out just when Campanaro joined the Roach studio or when he departed, but according to Maltin & Bann, he was present during the entire Our Gang era at Roach. (This turns out to be not quite true, as you'll see below.) His main job was to train and care for the various animals kept at the Arnaz Ranch, which was owned by Roach and located on nearby Robertson Boulevard. Contemporary casting directories reveal that he specialized in monkeys, but he also had experience with dogs, mules, horses, cats and chickens. He also provided animals to other studios on Roach's behalf.
If Campanaro was already working for Roach at the beginning of this year, we can assume that he had some involvement in virtually every Our Gang film made during this period. This could mean that he provided the first regular dog in the series. This would be the unidentified dog that debuted in "Our Gang" (no. 1) and was a regular fixture in the series until the end of 1923. Onscreen names for this dog include "Buster," "T-bone," "Joe" and "Bill." However, it is also known that he provided animals for the Campbell Comedies around 1921 and 1922. The fact that Rob Stone credits Campanaro with the monkey training in "Roughest Africa" (see below) at least indicates that he was with the studio prior to the arrival of Pal the dog, so this supports the idea that he trained the original dog. Presumably, Campanaro also trained Dinah the Mule and the ponies that populated so many early Our Gang shorts. "Fire Fighters" (no. 2) opened with an extended animal sequence, which probably gave Campanaro plenty of work. He may have also provided the monkey that's featured in "One Terrible Day" (no. 4).
In mid-January of this year, filming began on the Dippy Doo Dads series, which featured several monkeys. Most, if not all, of these were provided by C. I. Norris and Cal Norris, but it's probable that Campanaro also was involved. It seems to be no coincidence that the Our Gang series featured more monkeys than usual during the year in which the Dippy Doo Dads was being produced. "Back Stage" (no. 13), "Fast Company" (no. 16), "Stage Fright" (no. 17) and "No Noise" (no. 20) all featured monkeys. At the end of the year, the original regular dog of the series stepped aside to make way for a dog named Pal. The first dog may or may not have been trained by Campanaro, but Pal definitely was, as verified by contemporary casting directories. Pal made his Our Gang debut in "It's A Bear" (no. 27). This dog should not be confused with Pal the Wonder Dog, who was owned and trained by Harry Lucenay. Assuming Campanaro provided the various goats seen in the Our Gang series, it's worth noting the goat in "Commencement Day" (no. 26), which is perhaps the most talented goat in series history.
The Dippy Doo Dads ended production in early January, which may have heralded the departure of C. I. and Cal Norris. Perhaps this accounts for the fact that no monkeys were used in the Our Gang series during this year. Campanaro seems to have mainly provided Pal the dog during this period, whose biggest moment in Our Gang history occurred with the filming of "Dog Days" (no. 36).
During this year, Pal continued to be the main Our Gang dog, but he was occasionally joined by a dog named Buster, who was apparently also one of Campanaro's dogs. The only Our Gang film to feature a monkey during this year was "One Wild Ride" (no. 45).
A July 1926 casting directory lists Campanaro among the animal trainers, and indicates that he specialized in monkeys. However, no monkeys appeared in the Our Gang series during this year, though Pal the dog continued to appear regularly and also Buster from time to time. Also during this year, Roach lent out Campanaro's monkey training services for the Charles Chaplin feature "The Circus," which began filming in January. Production came to a halt in January of 1927 so that Chaplin could spent the next eight months dealing with a messy divorce. That was followed by one final month of filming, which presumably did not involve Campanaro, who was away in Europe during that period.
A December 1927 casting directory actually shows an ad for Campanaro with a picture of Pal posing with a monkey. The ad includes the phrase 'for any type of dog or well trained monkey.' Oddly enough, it also says 'back after 10 months in Europe.' This would make more sense if it said 8 months, since "Chicken Feed" (no. 62) finished filming in April, and that marked the final appearance of Pal in the Our Gang series. Buster had made his final appearance a few months earlier. And incidentally, there's also a monkey in that film. Starting with the next film, "Olympic Games" (no. 63), Harry Lucenay provided the original Pete, which is something that reportedly caused some friction with Campanaro. But did Campanaro leave because of this? Or did Lucenay arrive because Campanaro left? The March 1928 directory, incidentally, has the same ad, and the 10 months fits very nicely with that timeframe. Another thing that throws a monkey wrench (pun intended) into the works is the presence of a monkey in "The Old Wallop" (no. 68), but Campanaro wasn't the only monkey trainer in town. (In fact, Norris and Norris were located in Culver City.)
So we know that Campanaro was back in Hollywood after ten months in Europe, but was he back with Roach yet? It's notable that the Our Gang production filmed in late December 1927 and early January 1928 was "Barnum & Ringling, Inc." (no. 74), which featured dozens of animals, so perhaps Campanaro was among the trainers used for that film. It's also notable that a monkey appears in "Election Day" (no. 81) and "Noisy Noises" (no. 82), so perhaps this dates the return of Campanaro to the summer of 1928. One fact that might support the idea that Campanaro was freelancing during this year was that he served as the monkey trainer for the Buster Keaton feature "The Cameraman," though Maltin & Bann indicate that he did this on Roach's behalf. Campanaro continued to be listed in casting directories through the end of the year.
A May 1929 casting directory features the same picture ad for Campanaro, but this time his dogs and well-trained monkeys were 'guaranteed to work in Talking Pictures.' There's also a reference to Campanaro's involvement in "The Cameraman" from the previous year. Campanaro's presence at the Roach studio by the beginning of this year might be somewhat confirmed by the menagerie of animals used for the Our Gang film "Cat, Dog & Co." (no. 87), including a monkey. There's also a monkey in the early talkie "Lazy Days" (no. 92), and it's interesting to note that all of the monkeys up to this film essentially look the same, whether or not they're the same monkey. Later monkeys look different from these silent era simians. "Lazy Days" also has the voice of an organ grinder calling to his monkey, which makes one wonder if perhaps it's Campanaro in a cameo role.
The last casting directory that I've come across that lists Campanaro as a monkey trainer is from June 1930. He clearly was back with Roach by this time, the reason having to do with Pete, the current Our Gang dog, who was trained by Harry Lucenay. Sometime between late winter and early spring, the original Pete was fed hamburger laced with ground-up glass and died. People around the studio always suspected that Campanaro committed this crime, but there wasn't enough evidence to do anything about it. Lucenay then brought in a second version of Pete for the series. The next monkey to appear in the series was in "Pups Is Pups" (no. 100) and "Bargain Day" (no. 106), and this one looked noticeably different from the silent era monkeys.
The only Our Gang film to feature a monkey during this year was "Free Eats" (no. 112).
Around April of this year, Harry Lucenay broke his ties with the Roach studio and took Pete no. 2 to Atlantic City to pose for photographs with tourists. It was now up to Campanaro to provide the Our Gang series with a new version of Pete, and it was this dog that debuted in "Hook And Ladder" (no. 116). Monkeys turn up again in "Choo-Choo!" (no. 114) and "Free Wheeling" (no. 117). A publicity photo for the latter film reveals the monkey's name to be Joe the Monk.
In addition to providing the Our Gang series with Pete, Campanaro may have also provided the monkey seen in "Mush And Milk" (no. 123).
The third version of Pete had his biggest role in "For Pete's Sake!" (no. 127) from this year. Campanaro may have also provided the monkeys seen in "Hi'-Neighbor!" (no. 126) and "Washee Ironee" (no. 131).
Pete continued to be a regular fixture of the Our Gang series during this year. Only one short featured a monkey, however, namely "Our Gang Follies Of 1936" (no. 141).
Pete's appearances in the Our Gang series became more sporadic during this year, but starting with the debut of the one-reelers during the summer, his photo was shown at the start of each episode along with those of the regular kids.
Only one Our Gang film featured a monkey during this year, namely "Three Smart Boys" (no. 154). Pete only made two appearances, in "Roamin' Holiday" (no. 156) and "The Pigskin Palooka" (no. 160).
In June of this year, the Our Gang series moved to MGM, and it appears that Campanaro went along with them, at least temporarily. Pete's appearances in the series were getting to be few and far between. His only Roach appearance during 1938 was in "The Awful Tooth" (no. 168). However, he returns in the second Metro-produced episode, "Party Fever" (no. 171), which proved to be his last appearance in the series. He was still around during the shooting of "Aladdin's Lantern" (no. 172), however, as revealed by a photo which shows him posing with the kids, who are in costume for the film. There's also a monkey named Elmer in "Bear Facts" (no. 164) and he seems to be the same monkey in "The Awful Tooth." The monkey in "Aladdin's Lantern" is also named Elmer, so all of this suggests that Campanaro remained with the series at least until July.
But could Campanaro have still been with Our Gang in 1939? There was a mule that had made its Our Gang debut in 1931 in "Readin' And Writin'" (no. 111), and is best remembered for playing 'Algebra' in the 1934 short "Honky-Donkey" (no. 129). This mule looks entirely like the one seen in the 1939 short "Clown Princes" (no. 179), which gives the film a connection with the Roach studio, if not with Campanaro specifically. This short finished shooting in February, but what about the rest of 1939? The last monkey to ever appear in an Our Gang short turned up in "Bubbling Troubles" (no. 188), which was shot in November, and that monkey may possibly be the same one previously known as Elmer. Or perhaps not. Perhaps Campanaro was long gone by this time. After all, he's unofficially credited with training the goat seen in the Laurel & Hardy feature "Saps At Sea," which began filming at Roach in November.
By this time, Campanaro's filmography dries up, with only one non-Roach film to mention. He was in his fifties by this time, so presumably, he continued to work for another ten years or so.
©Nov. 16, 2007, by Robert Demoss.
2008 updates: 1/19, 3/18, 7/6.