I, Toto: The Autobiography of Terry, the Dog who was Toto [Hardcover]

Willard Carroll (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2001

During the expansion of the Ventura Freeway in Los Angeles, Willard Carroll unearthed a leather-bound scrapbook from a site that was once a pet cemetery. To his delight and amazement, its yellowing pages contained the rags-to-riches story of Terry, the cairn terrier who played Toto in the enduring film The Wizard of Oz. Reprinted here in its entirety, I, Toto traces the canine star's tragic beginnings (she was abandoned because of housetraining failures until trainer Carl Spitz took her in), her exhilarating film career (she made almost a dozen movies with stars such as Shirley Temple, Spencer Tracy, and, of course, Judy Garland), her days as the top-billed star with the Hollywood Motion Picture Dog Review, and her happy retirement in Southern California. Best of all, it offers the inside scoop on Toto's signature role, her co-stars, and the making of The Wizard of Oz. Toto's lovingly illustrated scrapbook features 100 photographs and reproductions collected over a dog's life, including film stills, press clippings, lobby cards, movie posters, and movie memorabilia, plus personal snapshots from Toto's life at home. This unique autobiography is must-have for every fan of the classic movie and its equally classic canine star.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"I don't mean this to sound full of myself but this Wizard of Oz story? It's all about me!!! I'M IN ALMOST EVERY SCENE IN THE PICTURE!!!" A leaf from Judy Garland's long lost diary? Secret tapes of a Munchkin? No, it's the original diary of Terry, the dog who played Toto in the classic 1939 MGM film. Writing in plain, even humble prose (although she describes her part as vital and her performance as flawless, she understands that Judy Garland was the star of the film), Terry also reveals the grueling before-scenes enemas, snafus on the set and the great difficulty of playing a scene with flying monkeys. A curious cross between Oz trivia, a parody and a chronicle of Terry's actual career (she made 14 movies and worked with Shirley Temple, Spencer Tracy and Joan Crawford), this entertaining and fanciful "diary" also reveals intriguing facts about the economics and mechanics of training animals for films and, specifically, the career of Carl Spitz, Terry's manager and one of the most respected animal trainers in the business. While Carroll, a Wizard of Oz fan, is not as overtly clever or deliciously mean-spirited as Patrick Dennis, the author of Little Me, the classic 1961 parody of star autobiographies, he isn't debilitatingly fawning, either. This fun little tome should both amuse and please dog lovers, as well as fans of Oz and collectors of Hollywood arcana.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

WILLARD CARROLL owns the world's largest collection of Wizard of Oz memorabilia, which is documented in his book 100 Years of Oz (Stewart, Tabori & Chang). He is the writer and director of the feature films Playing by Heart (Miramax) and Tom's Midnight Garden. He is also the producer and writer of the animated film series The Brave Little Toaster.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Stewart, Tabori and Chang (September 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158479111X
• ISBN-13: 978-1584791119
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,682 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars adorable tale of Terry, aka Toto the dog, February 2, 2008

By 

Matthew G. Sherwin (last seen screaming at Amazon customer service) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: I, Toto: The Autobiography of Terry, the Dog who was Toto (Hardcover)

I, Toto is a delightfully well written book by Willard Carroll about the life of Terry, a Cairn Terrier who became famous in movies. The book is based on a scrapbook Willard Carroll found that documented the life and movie career of this well trained dog; and the book is primarily set up to look just like a book typed on an old typewriter--written, of course, by the dog itself.

The book starts with the story of how Terry was born, adopted and eventually given up by her owners because of her troubles with housetraining; and we learn how Carl Spitz professionally trained dogs to perform in movies. Spitz, an excellent trainer who worked with many dogs, wound up training Terry professionally. Spitz used both kindness and discipline to train his dogs, including Terry, very well; his talents are obvious when we consider that Terry (aka Toto) appeared in at least fourteen major motion pictures including The Wizard Of Oz.

Carroll cleverly writes the memoirs of Terry, or Toto, in the first person as if the dog herself had written the book. This provides the reader with an extra slice of humor when Carroll writes about things that happened on the sets of pictures or in Carl Spitz's training camp for dogs. Carroll does an excellent job of getting readers to be charmed out of their trees by Terry who eventually becomes renamed Toto for the sake of her career. A movie star dog has to consider Hollywood politics, after all!

The book is filled with wonderful reproductions of ads for the movies Terry was in; and we see numerous publicity shots from movies including Bright Eyes with Shirley Temple and Terry as Rags the dog. Of course, we get plenty of stills from The Wizard Of Oz and there are very nicely done "hand written" asides to the reader that also appear to be written by Terry. The result is a charming look back at the life of Terry, the dog who became Toto and enjoyed great movie fame--and treats along the way!

Overall, classic movie buffs will enjoy this book; and people who love The Wizard Of Oz will appreciate this book very much since so little was known about Terry before Willard Carroll wrote this book. The book is well written and a real page turner; it grabs your attention and never lets it go.

Great job, Willard Carroll!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a treasure!!, September 17, 2001

By 

Katrina S. Sussmeier - See all my reviews

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This review is from: I, Toto: The Autobiography of Terry, the Dog who was Toto (Hardcover)

As a Cairn Terrier "mom" of many many years, I had to have this book, no matter how good or not good it may turn out to be. As it turns out, it is PRICELESS! So many pictures, clips, factoids, behind the scenes stuff...more like a well done scrapbook than a straight book. This is a must have! I will treasure it always.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars sweet little book, November 8, 2001

By 

B. Schuster (Whidbey Island Wa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: I, Toto: The Autobiography of Terry, the Dog who was Toto (Hardcover)

I read this in an evening. Really enjoyed it as I am the owner of 2 Cairns and a lifelong fan of the Wizard of OZ.