Charlie Dog is a homeless mutt with a salesman’s patter and one goal: to be adopted, preferably by Porky Pig, whether Porky likes it or not. He talks fast, follows his target everywhere and lists his pedigree with impossible confidence. Chuck Jones loved the character’s single-minded honesty. Charlie does not want riches or revenge, only a master and a home, which Jones considered the most natural ambition a dog could have.
| Species: | Dog |
|---|---|
| First appearance: | Prototype in Porky's Pooch (1941, directed by Bob Clampett); Jones version in Little Orphan Airedale (1947) |
| Created by: | Bob Clampett (prototype); developed by Chuck Jones with Michael Maltese |
| Original voice: | Mel Blanc |
| Frequent co-stars: | Porky Pig |
The character first appeared in Bob Clampett’s Porky’s Pooch (1941). Jones later said he rescued Charlie from the studio’s “character pound” and reshaped him; Little Orphan Airedale (1947) began Jones’s series, written with Michael Maltese. Five Jones shorts followed through 1951.
Charlie is brazen, relentless and oddly likable. His running joke is a pedigree that adds up to far more than 100 percent, delivered as if it were a selling point. Jones described him as a favorite he never fully understood, and summed him up simply: “He is so unquestionably a dog.”
“I rescued Charlie from the Warner Bros. character pound, where he had been abandoned. He had appeared in Bob Clampett’s Porky’s Pooch (1941), but he had grown into a different dog by the time he appeared in my pictures… Charlie Dog is one of my favorite characters. I don’t understand him, but I do like him. He is so unquestionably a dog.
Charlie is merely trying to find a master and a home, which are perfectly natural ambitions for any dog. Comedy is always concerned with simple matters such as this.”
– Chuck Jones, Chuck Reducks (1996)
Every piece in our Charlie Dog collection is certified by the Chuck Jones family. Browse originals, limited editions and prints below, or contact our art consultants with any questions.
