"Beverly" Allen trained the famous canine television star "Yukon King," who appeared in the series "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon" in the mid-1950s. The series starred Dick Simmons. Beverly Allen is not included in most stories of Hollywood animal stars and their trainers, and perhaps the fact that he didn't return to Los Angeles after World War II partially explains the situation. But Allen's story is a good one. He was born in Mississippi, and his mother died when he was six. His father struggled to raise five children, so it became clear to Beverly that when he was old enough, he should leave to make his own way. When he was 14 or 15, he traveled West. It was the 1930s, and like everywhere else, the Depression affected the Los Angeles area. Allen needed a job, so he used the small amount of cash he had to buy a classified ad in the newspaper offering his willingness to work.
German immigrant Carl Spitz, who established the Hollywood Dog Training School in 1927, responded to the ad, asking: "Are you afraid of dogs?" Allen wasn't, and so he made his way to the Laurel Canyon area where the original kennel was located. The fellow whom Spitz hired was actually named Bobby Lee Allen, but between Bobby Lee's Southern drawl, and Spitz's German accent, Allen was called Beverly from the first day of work, and he never changed back.
Because he was still so young, he was given a room in the Spitz home and ate with the family…they were all friends. While Allen did kennel upkeep, etc, Spitz also trained him for working with the animals—first working with people's pets and then moving on to dogs for film. With one of the first clients he took on, Allen had the dog demonstrating his knowledge of commands for the owners, when to his embarrassment, the dog ran off. Spitz was right there with Allen and said: "You are either going to be good or no good at all. Go get that dog!"
Allen proved to be quite good. When he was assigned to train a Great Dane for a period film, the director asked him how many rehearsals he would need on set for an action shot involving the Great Dane jumping into a carriage for a rescue. Allen's answer? "Just one." And indeed, the dog performed flawlessly.
Allen served the US Army during World War II. He knew that he could save many lives by training dogs in the Army, but he wasn't allowed to work with dogs anymore. He operated a bulldozer for construction projects at military bases. After the war, Allen married and ran the kennel in Royal Oak for a number of years. A TV production company was looking for someone to train an Alaskan malamute for the "Sergeant Preston" series, the TV version of a popular radio show about a Canadian Mountie. The show debuted on CBS in 1955. Each episode, Preston searched for villains with his horse Rex and his team of huskies, led by Yukon King. At the conclusion, Preston would turn to his canine sidekick and announce, "Well, King, this case is closed!"
Turning a malamute into a TV star was a challenge, Allen recalled. "There had never been a husky trained for motion pictures before I did it. The dogs were known for nothing but pulling sleds." The show's producers shipped a 5-year-old malamute to Royal Oak. There, he patiently taught the basics to the dog who would be King. Once shooting began, Allen had to commute between Detroit and Aspen, Colorado, which doubled as the 1890s Yukon Territory for the camera.Richard Simmons, the actor who portrayed "Sergeant Preston" stated the "Beverly was a wonderful guy. He was always very good, a very modest person. You couldn't ask any more of a man." To drum up publicity, both men traveled the country with King, recdiving glowing reviews for their appearances. In Miami, a theater manager would not allow Allen on stage with King, but after phone calls with the show's lawyer, Allen went on and triumphed. "I signed more autographs in Miami than I ever signed in my life," Allen recalled. The show went off the air in 1958, but survived in reruns for years.
After his stint with Sergeant Preston and the television show, he returned to Detroit and took a job with Ford Motor Company. He retired from Ford in 1984, but kept active with gardening and community work. The Allens had no children and never had pets of their own, but had nieces and nephews. Allen lived at least into his late 80s, but his exact date of death is as yet unknown.
As for King, he found a good home. One of the Hollywood producers of the show, Jack Wrather, who also produced Lassie and The Lone Ranger, adopted King as a family pet, and King lived comfortably into old age. (From an article by Kate Kelly of America Come Alive! and a Detroit newspaper article.)
German immigrant Carl Spitz, who established the Hollywood Dog Training School in 1927, responded to the ad, asking: "Are you afraid of dogs?" Allen wasn't, and so he made his way to the Laurel Canyon area where the original kennel was located. The fellow whom Spitz hired was actually named Bobby Lee Allen, but between Bobby Lee's Southern drawl, and Spitz's German accent, Allen was called Beverly from the first day of work, and he never changed back.
Because he was still so young, he was given a room in the Spitz home and ate with the family…they were all friends. While Allen did kennel upkeep, etc, Spitz also trained him for working with the animals—first working with people's pets and then moving on to dogs for film. With one of the first clients he took on, Allen had the dog demonstrating his knowledge of commands for the owners, when to his embarrassment, the dog ran off. Spitz was right there with Allen and said: "You are either going to be good or no good at all. Go get that dog!"
Allen proved to be quite good. When he was assigned to train a Great Dane for a period film, the director asked him how many rehearsals he would need on set for an action shot involving the Great Dane jumping into a carriage for a rescue. Allen's answer? "Just one." And indeed, the dog performed flawlessly.
Allen served the US Army during World War II. He knew that he could save many lives by training dogs in the Army, but he wasn't allowed to work with dogs anymore. He operated a bulldozer for construction projects at military bases. After the war, Allen married and ran the kennel in Royal Oak for a number of years. A TV production company was looking for someone to train an Alaskan malamute for the "Sergeant Preston" series, the TV version of a popular radio show about a Canadian Mountie. The show debuted on CBS in 1955. Each episode, Preston searched for villains with his horse Rex and his team of huskies, led by Yukon King. At the conclusion, Preston would turn to his canine sidekick and announce, "Well, King, this case is closed!"
Turning a malamute into a TV star was a challenge, Allen recalled. "There had never been a husky trained for motion pictures before I did it. The dogs were known for nothing but pulling sleds." The show's producers shipped a 5-year-old malamute to Royal Oak. There, he patiently taught the basics to the dog who would be King. Once shooting began, Allen had to commute between Detroit and Aspen, Colorado, which doubled as the 1890s Yukon Territory for the camera.Richard Simmons, the actor who portrayed "Sergeant Preston" stated the "Beverly was a wonderful guy. He was always very good, a very modest person. You couldn't ask any more of a man." To drum up publicity, both men traveled the country with King, recdiving glowing reviews for their appearances. In Miami, a theater manager would not allow Allen on stage with King, but after phone calls with the show's lawyer, Allen went on and triumphed. "I signed more autographs in Miami than I ever signed in my life," Allen recalled. The show went off the air in 1958, but survived in reruns for years.
After his stint with Sergeant Preston and the television show, he returned to Detroit and took a job with Ford Motor Company. He retired from Ford in 1984, but kept active with gardening and community work. The Allens had no children and never had pets of their own, but had nieces and nephews. Allen lived at least into his late 80s, but his exact date of death is as yet unknown.
As for King, he found a good home. One of the Hollywood producers of the show, Jack Wrather, who also produced Lassie and The Lone Ranger, adopted King as a family pet, and King lived comfortably into old age. (From an article by Kate Kelly of America Come Alive! and a Detroit newspaper article.)
"Beverly" Allen trained the famous canine television star "Yukon King," who appeared in the series "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon" in the mid-1950s. The series starred Dick Simmons. Beverly Allen is not included in most stories of Hollywood animal stars and their trainers, and perhaps the fact that he didn't return to Los Angeles after World War II partially explains the situation. But Allen's story is a good one. He was born in Mississippi, and his mother died when he was six. His father struggled to raise five children, so it became clear to Beverly that when he was old enough, he should leave to make his own way. When he was 14 or 15, he traveled West. It was the 1930s, and like everywhere else, the Depression affected the Los Angeles area. Allen needed a job, so he used the small amount of cash he had to buy a classified ad in the newspaper offering his willingness to work.
German immigrant Carl Spitz, who established the Hollywood Dog Training School in 1927, responded to the ad, asking: "Are you afraid of dogs?" Allen wasn't, and so he made his way to the Laurel Canyon area where the original kennel was located. The fellow whom Spitz hired was actually named Bobby Lee Allen, but between Bobby Lee's Southern drawl, and Spitz's German accent, Allen was called Beverly from the first day of work, and he never changed back.
Because he was still so young, he was given a room in the Spitz home and ate with the family…they were all friends. While Allen did kennel upkeep, etc, Spitz also trained him for working with the animals—first working with people's pets and then moving on to dogs for film. With one of the first clients he took on, Allen had the dog demonstrating his knowledge of commands for the owners, when to his embarrassment, the dog ran off. Spitz was right there with Allen and said: "You are either going to be good or no good at all. Go get that dog!"
Allen proved to be quite good. When he was assigned to train a Great Dane for a period film, the director asked him how many rehearsals he would need on set for an action shot involving the Great Dane jumping into a carriage for a rescue. Allen's answer? "Just one." And indeed, the dog performed flawlessly.
Allen served the US Army during World War II. He knew that he could save many lives by training dogs in the Army, but he wasn't allowed to work with dogs anymore. He operated a bulldozer for construction projects at military bases. After the war, Allen married and ran the kennel in Royal Oak for a number of years. A TV production company was looking for someone to train an Alaskan malamute for the "Sergeant Preston" series, the TV version of a popular radio show about a Canadian Mountie. The show debuted on CBS in 1955. Each episode, Preston searched for villains with his horse Rex and his team of huskies, led by Yukon King. At the conclusion, Preston would turn to his canine sidekick and announce, "Well, King, this case is closed!"
Turning a malamute into a TV star was a challenge, Allen recalled. "There had never been a husky trained for motion pictures before I did it. The dogs were known for nothing but pulling sleds." The show's producers shipped a 5-year-old malamute to Royal Oak. There, he patiently taught the basics to the dog who would be King. Once shooting began, Allen had to commute between Detroit and Aspen, Colorado, which doubled as the 1890s Yukon Territory for the camera.Richard Simmons, the actor who portrayed "Sergeant Preston" stated the "Beverly was a wonderful guy. He was always very good, a very modest person. You couldn't ask any more of a man." To drum up publicity, both men traveled the country with King, recdiving glowing reviews for their appearances. In Miami, a theater manager would not allow Allen on stage with King, but after phone calls with the show's lawyer, Allen went on and triumphed. "I signed more autographs in Miami than I ever signed in my life," Allen recalled. The show went off the air in 1958, but survived in reruns for years.
After his stint with Sergeant Preston and the television show, he returned to Detroit and took a job with Ford Motor Company. He retired from Ford in 1984, but kept active with gardening and community work. The Allens had no children and never had pets of their own, but had nieces and nephews. Allen lived at least into his late 80s, but his exact date of death is as yet unknown.
As for King, he found a good home. One of the Hollywood producers of the show, Jack Wrather, who also produced Lassie and The Lone Ranger, adopted King as a family pet, and King lived comfortably into old age. (From an article by Kate Kelly of America Come Alive! and a Detroit newspaper article.)
German immigrant Carl Spitz, who established the Hollywood Dog Training School in 1927, responded to the ad, asking: "Are you afraid of dogs?" Allen wasn't, and so he made his way to the Laurel Canyon area where the original kennel was located. The fellow whom Spitz hired was actually named Bobby Lee Allen, but between Bobby Lee's Southern drawl, and Spitz's German accent, Allen was called Beverly from the first day of work, and he never changed back.
Because he was still so young, he was given a room in the Spitz home and ate with the family…they were all friends. While Allen did kennel upkeep, etc, Spitz also trained him for working with the animals—first working with people's pets and then moving on to dogs for film. With one of the first clients he took on, Allen had the dog demonstrating his knowledge of commands for the owners, when to his embarrassment, the dog ran off. Spitz was right there with Allen and said: "You are either going to be good or no good at all. Go get that dog!"
Allen proved to be quite good. When he was assigned to train a Great Dane for a period film, the director asked him how many rehearsals he would need on set for an action shot involving the Great Dane jumping into a carriage for a rescue. Allen's answer? "Just one." And indeed, the dog performed flawlessly.
Allen served the US Army during World War II. He knew that he could save many lives by training dogs in the Army, but he wasn't allowed to work with dogs anymore. He operated a bulldozer for construction projects at military bases. After the war, Allen married and ran the kennel in Royal Oak for a number of years. A TV production company was looking for someone to train an Alaskan malamute for the "Sergeant Preston" series, the TV version of a popular radio show about a Canadian Mountie. The show debuted on CBS in 1955. Each episode, Preston searched for villains with his horse Rex and his team of huskies, led by Yukon King. At the conclusion, Preston would turn to his canine sidekick and announce, "Well, King, this case is closed!"
Turning a malamute into a TV star was a challenge, Allen recalled. "There had never been a husky trained for motion pictures before I did it. The dogs were known for nothing but pulling sleds." The show's producers shipped a 5-year-old malamute to Royal Oak. There, he patiently taught the basics to the dog who would be King. Once shooting began, Allen had to commute between Detroit and Aspen, Colorado, which doubled as the 1890s Yukon Territory for the camera.Richard Simmons, the actor who portrayed "Sergeant Preston" stated the "Beverly was a wonderful guy. He was always very good, a very modest person. You couldn't ask any more of a man." To drum up publicity, both men traveled the country with King, recdiving glowing reviews for their appearances. In Miami, a theater manager would not allow Allen on stage with King, but after phone calls with the show's lawyer, Allen went on and triumphed. "I signed more autographs in Miami than I ever signed in my life," Allen recalled. The show went off the air in 1958, but survived in reruns for years.
After his stint with Sergeant Preston and the television show, he returned to Detroit and took a job with Ford Motor Company. He retired from Ford in 1984, but kept active with gardening and community work. The Allens had no children and never had pets of their own, but had nieces and nephews. Allen lived at least into his late 80s, but his exact date of death is as yet unknown.
As for King, he found a good home. One of the Hollywood producers of the show, Jack Wrather, who also produced Lassie and The Lone Ranger, adopted King as a family pet, and King lived comfortably into old age. (From an article by Kate Kelly of America Come Alive! and a Detroit newspaper article.)
