Remembering Arnold: This Pig Was a Trouper Long Before ‘Babe’

This is a story about a famous pig. Hold on, did you think it was about Babe, our most recent pig star? Or, perhaps the pugnacious puppet Miss Piggy? Heck, no.

Babe wasn’t even a twinkle in producer George Miller’s eye when this proud porky was a star. Miss Piggy was still growing in the cotton fields somewhere before she and the felt frog Kermit rubbed noses and received a static shock.

This story is about a famous porcine performer named Arnold. Now, I’m talking real pig actor. There was only one genuine pig who played the part and performed all the neat behaviors on the TV series “Green Acres” in the late 1960s. Arnold won the Patsy Award, the animal equivalent of the Academy Award for acting talent, not special effects.

In the movie “Babe,” it took 48 piggies to play the part! And, after all, Miss Piggy is an imaginary pig, with not one real oink in her.

The story of Arnold started in 1965 when a talented young animal psychologist and behaviorist, Donald Leon Smith, was hired by an animal compound in Los Angeles. One day his boss called Smith to his office.

“You know the two baby pigs you were training the other day? Well, Arnold [a pig rarely used on “Green Acres” at that time] is getting too big and hard to handle. How long will it take you to get the pigs ready to take Arnold’s place?”

Smith was excited. The animal character of Arnold could become a top assignment for him and the piglets he had been training, Sugar and Double, were making remarkable progress.

“About two weeks,” Smith answered.

“They need you on the set tomorrow. Early.”

“In the morning! But . . . but . . . . “

The original Arnold had never been instructed in any meaningful sense. No one had trained a pig before--dogs were the animal stars up until that time.

When the script called for Arnold to be sleeping in his crib, the pig would be tied down with ropes with a blanket over him. The crew would have to wait until he stopped wriggling and squealing before they could get the shot.

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In contrast, Smith trained wild animals using operant conditioning, which replaced forcefulness with rewards of food and affection.

When the next morning arrived, a nervous Smith showed up at the studio with Sugar (Arnold was a female!) and Double, the star’s stand-in.

“We need a shot of Arnold facing the TV,” the director said. “Can you get him to look at the TV after you tie him in the chair?”

“I don’t use ropes or gimmicks,” Smith answered. “The pig I use will jump up in the chair, face the TV and stay until I signal him to come to me.”

“You’ve got to be kidding! I’ve been in this business for 22 years and have never seen anything like that before, except with a dog.”

“Give me 10 minutes,” Smith said. “If it doesn’t work, we’re out of here.” Sugar performed perfectly--to the amazement of director, producer, writers and everyone else they called in that day to watch.

In 1967, Smith left the animal compound. Since he did not own Sugar and Double, he could not take them along. No new scenes were shot as Sugar would not work with anyone else. She was imprinted on Smith and she died not long after he left. Therefore, until the 1971 cancellation of “Green Acres,” previously filmed clips of Sugar were used to depict Arnold, now in syndication.

And so, newly found fans of piggydom (thanks to Babe), let’s get the record straight and not buy a pig in a poke.

Here’s a toast to Arnold the Pig, and may she go down in herstory.