Darla (1975-1992)

[Silver Nemesis]

I'm not usually someone who pays attention to animal performers, but I thought this one deserved some recognition. According to her IMDb page, Darla was not in fact a poodle but a Bichon Frise. She made her acting debut in Tim Burton's Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) where she played the pink poodle during the pet shop fire scene.

Darla's next big screen appearance was as Queenie in Joe Dante's The 'Burbs (1989).

Perhaps her most famous role was as Precious, the pet of serial killer Buffalo Bill in Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs (1991).

Darla then played the main antagonist Fifi in the Eerie Indiana episode 'The Retainer' (1991), This was produced and directed by Joe Dante, with whom she'd earlier collaborated on The 'Burbs.

Her final screen role was that of the Poodle Lady's batarang-catching pet in Batman Returns (1992).

The tone of this admittedly pointless thread may appear sarcastic, but I was genuinely impressed when I realised it was the same dog in all these productions.

[thecolorsblend]

That is rather impressive. I'm no authority on animal performers but I was under the impression they mostly only had one or two movie roles. Beasley the dog played Hooch in Turner & Hooch and that was his only screen role.

Darla would've had a pretty decent career even if she'd been human.

[The Dark Knight]

Well, I had no idea about Darla. Who I thought to be a bit-character has a much deeper backstory than I ever imagined.

[Catwoman]

Was Batman Returns released in her lifetime or after she passed?

[riddler]

Was Batman Returns released in her lifetime or after she passed?

Neither IMDB nor wikipedia confirm her actual date of death, only the year but they do both state that she did retire after Batman Returns and died later that year. It is quite impressive she was able to act right into her 17th and final year. I don't know an awful lot about animal actors but I do know it's quite common for them to get retired once they stop co-operating. For instance the initial dog on Fraser was phased out and eventually retired for that reason, the dog's son eventually took over.