Jack Russell Dogs On Television

It is impossible to list all the Jack Russell dogs on television whether it be in a TV series or in the many commercials.

But let's start with a PBS feature called Wishbone that had its debut in 1995 as seen at the right.

Get your favorite Wishbone DVDs and Gifts here.

For a great description of the show, in case you haven't seen it, I'll let Wishbone's website, a really fun site for children, tell you what the show is about and how popular it became...

"When WISHBONE made its television debut in 1995, it asked its young viewer to take a leap of imagination along with the main character, a rather sophisticated Jack Russell and one of the best known dogs on television.

Wishbone Video Game

With each episode, a live-action Jack Russell terrier would imagine himself as the hero in a classic novel and invite his audience to go along as he defeated the sheriff of Nottingham, journeyed to the center of the Earth, founded Rome, confronted the Headless Horseman, tracked down the hound of the Baskervilles, shouldered the labors of Hercules, napped for 20 years and fell in love with the beautiful Juliet.


And, of course, viewers responded -- making WISHBONE an instant success and one of the best loved dogs on television.

Along the way, the tale-wagging pup picked up awards, including 4 Emmys and a Peabody. He appeared in People magazine and on the Tonight Show.

He's even been part of a Jeopardy! category. In short, our sartorial storyteller has become a popular icon.

This savvy little Jack Russell, one of the smartest dogs on television, sure has had an impact on TV and children around the world.

And there's lots of fun and games for your children at his great website at World Wide Wishbone.

And as mentioned on another page, one of the most famous dogs on television was Moose, known as Eddy on the popular sitcom Frasier.

Eddy delivered a grand performance over and over again to the world's TV audiences keeping them laughing from episode to episode.

Sadly, Moose passed away June 28, 2006. The following is a copy of the report...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The scrappy dog known as Eddie on TV's Frasier has died.

The 16-year-old Jack Russell terrier, whose real name was Moose, passed away of old age Thursday at the Los Angeles home of trainer Mathilde Halberg, Halberg told People magazine.

The canine character Eddie drove Kelsey Grammer's lead character crazy for 10 years on the show.

It wasn't all acting on Moose's part, though. He was naturally "extremely mischievous," Halberg said.

His contribution to the show's and Grammer's success was publicly noted by the actor when he accepted a 1994 Emmy for best actor in a comedy.

"Most important, Moose, this is for you," Grammer added good-naturedly.

Moose, who also played the older dog Skip in the 2000 film My Dog Skip, was retired in recent years."

Rest peacefully Moose, you were one of the best dogs on television ever.

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On a brighter note, where the many Jack Russell dogs on television commercials are concerned, can anyone forget the adorable Russell in the Nissan TV ad?

His name is Hagis and delighted everyone who had the pleasure of seeing this very cute commercial.

But there are so many other TV ads with our favorite dog in them.

Like the dog in the Boar's Head meat TV commercial, where a Jack Russell watches the delivery of meats to a walk-in refrigerator.

He then jumps up trying to reach the hanging rolls of meat, realizes he can't reach them, so he pushes a few boxes next to the taller boxes to make steps, runs up to the top and leaps off to grab onto one of the hanging meats.

The deliveryman comes back later, the Jack is still holding on and doesn't let go. (Typical Jack Russell)

Or do you remember the delicious JRT named Pixie, who tore up the photo in the Kodak ad?

Or the Domino's pizza deliveryman who walks around with a Jack Russell still on his pant leg?

These are only a few mentions of endless JRT dogs on television commercials.

But besides dogs on television, perhaps the most famous and recognized Jack Russell ad icon is the RCA Victor icon Nipper.

Nipper is one of the more sophisticated and beloved of advertising brand icons. In the United States, we know him as the "RCA dog". But this cute little mutt-turned-model was actually of English descent, born in Bristol, England, in 1883.

Here's how it began. Nipper became the pet of the Barraud brothers, Mark and Francis. Francis noticed the pooch would listen attentively, head cocked, to an old phonograph and it occurred to him that the dog might be waiting to hear his masters voice. Years later this inspired him to paint the famous oil now known as "His Master's Voice".

The work portrayed an Edison-Bell cylinder machine, and Francis first offered to sell it to that company. Edison-Bell declined. Advised to brighten up the painting, he visited the Gramophone Co., Ltd. in London to borrow a brass horn.

The company became interested in the painting, if he would agree to replace the phonograph in his original painting with the company's new disc gramophone.

This painting is the finished product that hung on the wall of Gramophone Co., Ltd.

It was first used as a trademark in 1900 in England and was called "Dog and Trumpet". Emile Berliner, inventor of the disc gramophone, brought the painting to the United States. Retitled "His Master's Voice," it became the trademark of the Victor Talking Machine Company (much later RCA Victor and then just RCA).

Along with the original painting, Barraud also painted some exact copies. He produced the copies in precisely the same way he created the original, by painting the dog with the Edison cylinder phonograph and then painting over it with the Gramophone.

Today the replica is on display at the Capitol Records Building in Hollywood, California. (Courtesy of www.rigneygraphics.com)

Jack Russell dogs on television and ads of all kinds!
So even as early as the year 1900, Jack Russells have somehow ended up as being the best known icons as movie stars, TV ad dogs, dog food label pups, and on and on it goes.

And it looks like there will be no end in sight as these dogs on television and in movies only seem to become more in demand all the time.

And we who know one of these grand little Jack Russell dogs on an intimate basis have no trouble seeing why this is true.

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