OkcPets Magazine July 2022

July / August 2022 • OKC Pets 25 D id you know animals compete for acting awards in movies and televi- sion just like people do? The Picture Animal Top Star of the Year (PATSY) Award is the animal equivalent of the Oscar, and Orangey is the only cat to have won it twice. Orangey appeared in numerous movies and television series in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1952, he won the second PATSY Award ever given for his title role in the movie Rhubarb (1951), and his other PATSY was 10 years later for Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), starring Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal, and Mickey Rooney. Orangey played the “slob with no name” who lived with Hep- burn in her New York City apartment. The date and place of Orangey’s birth are not on record, but his career could have begun as early as 1948 with the film Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! Most sources, however, say Orangey’s starring role in Rhubarb was his cinema debut. Ray Milland, Jan Sterling, and Gene Lockhart star in a comedy about an eccentric tycoon who leaves his money and a pro baseball team, the Brooklyn Loons, to his cat, Rhubarb. Orangey was billed in films under his own name or sometimes under Minerva, Rhubarb, Rusty, and other names, some taken from FOCUS ON FELINES Star Quality Orangey the Cat Was an Award-Winning Actor by Rowena Mills the roles he played. In many films, he was uncredited. Frank Inn (1916–2002), whose real name was Elias Franklin Freeman, was the trainer in charge of Orangey and other animal actors, including Asta, Lassie, Ber- nadette the dog, Arnold Ziffel the pig, the menagerie on The Beverly Hillbillies , and Benji. Inn’s animals won a total of more than 40 PATSY Awards. Orangey’s other movie roles include This Island Earth , The Incredible Shrinking Man , Beau James, Short Cut to Hell, Gigi, The Matchmaker, The Diary of Anne Frank, Vis- it to a Small Planet, Gigot, Under the Yum Yum Tree, The Comedy of Terrors, Fluffy, and Village of the Giants . He also appeared in TV series, some- times in many episodes, including Our Miss Brooks, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Shirley Temple’s Storybook, Mister Ed, The Dick Van Dyke Show, My Favorite Martian, The Outer Limits, The Fugitive, Gomer Pyle: USMC, The Beverly Hillbillies (18 epi- sodes), Green Acres , and Mission: Impossible. Orangey’s final two roles, both released in 1968, were in episodes of Batman and The Flying Nun . Orangey portrayed himself in the TV series You Asked for It in 1958 and was featured in archival footage in a TV movie documentary, Audrey Hepburn Remem- bered , in 1993. After a distinguished career, Orangey died in 1967. He was buried in the Tender- ness Section of Companion Lawn Crypt 4 in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hol- lywood Hills, California. His movie and television work remains to delight viewers from now on. If you see any of those vintage movies or catch TV reruns, watch for Orangey — a famous feline under any name. Orangey starred as Cat and Audrey Hepburn starred as Holly Golightly in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s . Orangey won his second PATSY award for the role. Puppy Classes, Adult Obedience, Canine Fitness, Trick Training, Show Handling and much more • Reduced class sizes for social distancing • Morning and evening classes • Come train and play in a climate-controlled setting • Large fenced outdoor area 405.288.0092 30217 Santa Fe Ave. • Norman, OK New Secretary Have an upcoming event to publicize? Send us your details and we’ll put it on our online calendar for free. Email your information to Rowena Mills at hrmills444@yahoo.com.