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Because of their size, Great Danes have been a popular addition to movies, appearing in nearly 100 feature films. Their ability to be goofy or intimidating makes them perfect for laughs or terror. They have shared the big screen with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, such as W.C. Fields, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Bette Davis, Elvis Presley, Bob Hope, Rock Hudson, Jack Lemmon, Spencer Tracy, Jackie Gleason, Mel Gibson, Freddie Prinze Jr., Leslie Nielson, Michael J. Fox, William Shatner, Uma Thurman, and more. Here is a small selection of movie titles you may wish to look for.

• Teddy at the Throttle (1917). Keystone Teddy, a lightly marked Brindle Great Dane, is featured in the title of this film that co-stars silent superstar Gloria Swanson. Teddy sings with Gloria, dances with her maid, stops a train, saves the girl from a fortune hunter, and reunites her with the right man in time for the closing credits.

• Seven Chances (1925). In this Buster Keaton silent feature, Keaton finds he will inherit a fortune if married by 7 P.M. that day. The leading lady owns a Harlequin Great Dane who steals the ending of the film. Of note, the Great Dane is played by different Harlequins, some cropped and some uncropped!

• Six of a Kind (1934). A couple beginning their second honeymoon invites another couple along to save money. The new couple (famed comedians George Bums and Gracie Allen) bring their Fawn Great Dane, Rang Tang Tang, who insists on sitting in the front seat and causes constant commotion on the trip.

• Blondie in Society (1941). This is one of the features based on the popular Blondie comic strip. Dagwood is given a Fawn Great Dane in lieu of money owed. Blondie decides to enter the Dane in a dog show, hoping to win a monetary prize. Meanwhile, it seems everyone wants the Great Dane, who is Champion Chin Up White Tie for Dinner.

• Hollwood or Bust (1956). In the duo’s final film, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis drive across the country with Jerry’s Fawn Great Dane, Mr. Bascomb. On the way Mr. Bascomb sings with Jerry, drives the car, falls in love with Anita Ekberg’s Toy Poodle, and attends a Hollywood premiere. This is a fun film and a great showcase for the breed.

• The Ugly Dachshund (1966). This Disney live-action romp has a married couple (Dean Jones and Suzanne Pleshette) raising a Great Dane puppy with a litter of Dachshunds. As the Fawn Great Dane, called Brutus, grows, he creates mischief around the house but wins the day when he wins at a dog show.

• Live a Little, Love a Little (1968). Elvis Presley falls for a free-spirited young lady who owns a Fawn Great Dane. In a dream sequence, Elvis sings a song while an actor in a Great Dane costume dances around him.

• Oliver and Company (1988). This Disney animated feature tells Dickens’s Oliver Twist with animals. Oliver is a cat with a gang of pickpocket dogs. One of the canine gang members is Einstein, a Great Dane voiced by Richard Mulligan. Einstein’s cartoon color leads one to believe he is closest to being a Blue.

• Head Over Heels (2001). An undercover agent walks a neighbor’s dog (Fawn Great Dane) that seems overly interested in human females. The Great Dane is sometimes played by a large puppet.

• Chestnut: Hero of Central Park (2004). In this family film, orphaned sisters find a Fawn puppy in Central Park. They try to keep him a secret from their new parents, who live in a posh New York apartment that does not allow dogs.

• Marmaduke (2010). Based on the popular comic strip, the story has Marmaduke and his family moving from the Midwest to a new home in a trendy Southern California city. There he falls in love, surfs, and takes on a dog-park bully. Marmaduke talks in the film, though he does not in the comic strip.

On the small screen, Great Danes have appeared in several series. Hanna-Barbera’s Scooby-Doo is one of the longest-running characters in cartoons, having appeared in a variety of animated series and movies since his debut in 1969. The Jetsons starred Astro (whose real name is discovered to be Tralfaz) as the family pet. Diana Rigg had a Great Dane as her pet in the series Diana. Great Danes have also been guest stars on such series as Two and a Half Men, Bewitched, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Dream of Jeannie, ALF, Judging Amy, Walker, Texas Ranger, and The Honeymooners.

FYI: The Dane in Print

The Great Dane’s size and royal appearance have made him popular with authors and cartoonists. Here are several books that feature the breed:

• The Ugly Dachshund (1938). Written by Gladys Bronwyn Stern and first published in 1938, the book tells of a Great Dane raised with a family of Dachshunds. In the book, the animals talk to each other (unlike the Disney film of 1966). The Dane wonders why he is treated differently from the other Dachshunds in the house … and why “the great dog” in the mirror comes to look at him.

• The Great Dane Thor (1966). Written by Walter Farley, of Black Stallion fame, the story follows the struggles of a young boy and his father’s Great Dane. The dog has killed wildlife around the farm, and the boy fears it. However, the father insists that the boy rehabilitate the dog.

• The Invisible Dog (1995). Written by Dick King-Smith, the story follows a young girl who creates an imaginary, invisible dog, Henry. Henry is a Harlequin Great Dane … that seems to be coming to life.

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (1997). Fang, Hagrid’s dog, is described in the book as a “Boarhound,” or Great Dane. It is only in the movies that he is portrayed as a Neapolitan Mastiff.

• The Pinkerton Series. In 2002 Steven Kellogg debuted his first illustrated story about Pinkerton, the Harlequin Great Dane—Pinkerton, BehaveI The series includes such titles as Prehistoric Pinkerton, A Penguin Pup, and A Rose for Pinkerton. Pinkerton is based on an actual Harlequin Great Dane that Kellogg owned.

• The Guardian (2004). Written by Nicholas Sparks, this is a suspenseful tale of a widow with a gift of a Great Dane from her late husband. When a suitor shows interest in the widow, the Great Dane senses danger and does his best to protect her.

• Return to Howliday Inn (2007). Part of the popular Bunnicula series by James Howe, this recent installment has the cat-and-dog detecting duo of Chester and Harold meet up with a Great Dane named Hamlet while solving another mystery.

They even pop up in music videos. Lady Gaga has featured Harlequin Great Danes in several of her music videos. Two of the Great Danes frequently used have been Lava (CH. PCH It’s What’s Shakin) and her son Rumpus (CH PCH Start the Commotion). A Harlequin Great Dane is also seen in Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” music video.

Great Danes have also proved to be great TV commercial icons. In 2007 a Harlequin Great Dane became official spokes-dog for Pergo (a flooring company), appearing in print and on TV. The dog was portrayed by Shine (registered name: CAN/UKC/INT Champion Morning Star’s Walkin’ on Sunshine), a Harlequin that had been painted to match the corporate logo. A few other nonpet-product companies using Great Danes have been Thomasville Furniture, Saturn, Hallmark, and Taco Bell.