Rin Tin Tin's latest film doesn't sit well with descendants' owner
A pooch to protect
Rin Tin Tin's latest film doesn't sit well with Daphne Hereford, and if she has her way, the star's next drama could be in court
MARY FLOOD
, Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Published 5:30 am, Tuesday, October 7, 2008
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Daphne Hereford, with Rin Tin Tin Lord Rin, left, and Rin Tin Tin Lady Grace takes issue with the film Finding Rin Tin Tin. Photo: BRETT COOMER, CHRONICLE
Photo: BRETT COOMER, CHRONICLE
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Daphne Hereford, with Rin Tin Tin Lord Rin, left, and Rin Tin Tin Lady Grace takes issue with the film Finding Rin Tin Tin.
CROCKETT — To Daphne Hereford, Rin Tin Tin isn't just a dog, Rin Tin Tin is a lifelong cause.
Hereford, whose stand-alone garage on U.S. 287 long ago succumbed to a jam-packed, 8,000-piece Rin Tin Tin museum, is suing a Hollywood studio over a just-released film that does not include her carefully bred Rin Tin Tin descendants.
And that, says the 58-year-old canine breeder and country journalist, sullies the proud name of the line.
"Rin Tin Tin is important to me and to other people," said the owner of www.rintintin.com, author of a fan club newsletter, seller of furry memorabilia and holder of seven Rin Tin Tin federal trademarks. "I had the choice to let the Rin Tin Tin legacy go by the wayside but, to me, it stands for honesty, goodness and integrity."
She said she had to ask a Houston federal judge to protect Rin Tin Tin, whose progeny have been bred by her family since 1957.
Hereford takes offense at the movie Finding Rin Tin Tin, filmed in Bulgaria in 2006 and previously released overseas but marketed on DVD in this country as of Sept. 16. She scoffs at the ears and the look of the pup in the movie and is offended by a scene in which a man drinks out of a cup in which the dog later urinates.
Adding insult, the DVD release came just a week or so after the 90th birthday of the original German shepherd puppy Rin Tin Tin, who was found by a World War I GI in the rubble of a kennel in France.
That pup — named by its owner, Lee Duncan, after a puppet that French children often gave soldiers — went on to star in two dozen Warner Brothers movies. The canine was credited with boosting soldier morale and building the studio in the '20s. The dog is said to have died in the arms of starlet Jean Harlow.
Dogs bred by Duncan from the original Rin Tin Tin starred in later talkies and in a 1950s TV series, The Adventuresof Rin Tin Tin, which is burned into the memories of most baby boomers.
Duncan sold four Rin Tin Tin bloodline pups to Hereford's grandmother. That's when Daphne Hereford's devotion began.
"The Rin Tin Tin dogs have been a part of my life since I was 7," said Hereford, who was raised by her grandmother in Houston. "I grew up in her kennel, literally."
The woman with the RIN TIN TIN vanity plates on her 15-year-old white van has spent years line-breeding generations of dogs to maximize the genetic input from Rin Tin Tin IV, television star and sire of her grandmother's pups. The breeding started in Houston, moved to Pearland and then this country spot about 50 miles north of Huntsville.
"The dogs today are identical in color and structure; they have the trademark Rin Tin Tin head. The proof is in the progeny — look at them," she said sitting in her museum and pointing to photos and postcards of her dogs, Rin Tin Tin VI through Rin Tin Tin X.
Rin Tin Tin X now does TV appearances and dog shows and will be a distinguished guest at the Texas Rose Festival in Tyler later this month.
Hereford, who is managing editor of the Houston County Courier, no longer does physical work with the dogs because of a pulmonary condition. But she has a Rin Tin Tin disciple in Jan Hall, who works with the dogs. Hall said the pups, including the newest litter born just last week, sell for $2,500 to $3,500. Some of the dogs have been placed as service dogs for the disabled.
In her lawsuit against Los Angeles-based First Look Studios Inc. and four affiliates, Hereford states that she's concerned about the confusion created by the new movie, because her dogs don't appear, the story isn't completely accurate, and the dog's behavior isn't up to snuff. She might ask that all copies of Finding Rin Tin Tin in the United States be destroyed.
Repeated calls to the First Look Studio marketers and lawyers about the Sept. 24 lawsuit were not returned.
This isn't Hereford's first run-in with Hollywood. In 1994 and 2006, she tussled legally with Herbert Leonard, who produced the 1950s TV series. Hereford said she settled the suits.
According to the new lawsuit, Hereford's trademarks on the Rin Tin Tin name include its use for live puppies, educational presentations, a mail-order fan club, magazines, playing cards, children's books, dog clothing and dog food.
Hereford's Houston-based lawyer, Karen Tripp, said the current case is about the dilution of trademarks. "Daphne has a very strong trademark in Rin Tin Tin. Her registrations are incontestable," Tripp said.
The possible remedies are varied, Tripp said. "At the very least, there has to be a notice that these are not Rin Tin Tin dogs but actors. Her dogs are beautiful and well-trained, and she wants it clear in the marketplace," the lawyer said.
Hereford has about 100 members in her Rin Tin Tin fan club. Folks occasionally come by her museum to eye the collection of Rin Tin Tin and German shepherd porcelains, stained glass, pillows, movie posters, books, TV show souvenirs and portraits on velvet.
"When people in their 50s hear the name Rin Tin Tin, they get a little smile on their face. They recall their childhood and fond memories of a time simpler than today," Hereford said.
That's what she has vowed to protect, she said. "There will always be a Rin Tin Tin.