He was a debonair and savvy, a “gumshoe” who “married up” when he tied the knot with beautiful and cultured Nora. Her family thought she’d lost her mind when she married someone whose friends included criminals, police chiefs and riff raft. Nora thought they were “interesting.” Between them, they loved their cocktails, each other, and their dog, “Asta.” Endless cocktails and abundant wealth aside, Nick and Nora Charles presented a picture of the kind of married domestic life people of that era really wanted, and many still do, and their dog went everywhere they did, including fancy hotels and elegant restaurants.
Nick and Nora’s above-average Wire Fox Terrier found clues and created diversions to get Nick & Nora out of tough situations. The characters for the “Thin Man” films were based on Dashiell Hammett‘s 1933 novel, “The Thin Man,” but in the book, Asta wasn’t a Wire Fox Terrier.
In her blog, American Comes Alive, author Kate Kelly wrote, “As written by Dashiell Hammett in his novel of that name, the dog in The Thin Man was to be played by a male Schnauzer, but director Woody Van Dyke was looking for a magical spark among the human stars and their canine sidekick. To him, something clearly clicked with the stars he was casting—he saw that William Powell and Myrna Loy were well complemented by Skippy who was masterful at finding dead bodies and sniffing out and retrieving hidden guns, but he was so well trained that when things were getting “rough” East could get him to go under a bed or a table and put his paws over his eyes.”
Such great info about “skippy”, the film, and the breed!!!!
What a lovely comment to leave, Barbara, thank you, we’re delighted you liked the post.
I loved the “inside” look into my favorite actor animal. There are so many myths around Skippy and his trainer I wish I knew more from a modern perspective. I wish I could train a dog that well so quickly.
Chuckle, Lue, we all wish we could train a dog that quickly! As movie dogs go, this one is our favorite!
Have Loved and Wanted a
Wire Haired since I First saw
The Thin Man.
I Was able to Acquire, purchase A Smooth Haired,
Which thinking back was more of a rescue,
2 or 3 dozen Smooth and Wire Foxes
All in an outdoor 25 or 30 ft.
Kennel run.
She was the Sweetest, Smartest,
Most easily trainable Dog we ever had.
My Daughter and Son were 9 & 6
And they would build obstacle courses,
& “Podie” would learn jump,
Under, through tunnels just by playing in the backyard..
I’m looking for a Wired that’s older
(6 or 8 yrs.) to rescue as a buddy friend for our Lhasa/Pom Maxx (8)
and because at 68 it’s on my bucket list, to give a Loving,
Dog Lovers Home to Wired Fox Terrier…My Biggggg Dream..