‘Rin Tin Tin’ Author Shares Real Story Behind Icon

Author Susan Orlean’s first challenge when writing a book on the life of the popular 1920s Hollywood canine Rin Tin Tin was grasping the story behind the real dog, not just the fictional character.

“It was just a wonderful story about love, life, war, winning and losing, about loyalty. It’s about all the important things in life,” Orlean said, during a talk on her book “Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend” to an audience of 60 people at Thursday night.

“It struck me as an extraordinary, complex and fascinating and enduring story. This character had lived, had really lived, had a life, had an owner, had a dog house he had slept in,” Orlean said.

With awe in her voice, she described her process of discovery about Corp. Lee Duncan and an orphaned dog he found on a French battlefield in 1918. In the nonfiction book, she explores the incredible connection between Rin Tin Tin and Duncan, who struggled with his human relationships.

“The first few years were spent doing what I felt was the only thing I could do, which was throw my net as far as I could and try to learn as much as I could without knowing what could connect all of these people,” Orlean said, adding that she figured out there were many generations of Rin Tin Tin dogs.

She said learning about the people behind Rin Tin Tin’s life was one of the more rewarding parts of the process.

Orlean added that many of the people in the story don’t realize their hopes and dreams.

“In many cases it doesn’t work out. It’s probably unexpected to readers. You think a book about a dog would be cute and the only sad thing is that the dog dies in the end. It’s very moving … and some of the dreams are small dreams,” Orlean said.

Mostly what grabbed Orleans, and she chronicled was the story of their lives.

“There was a man and a dog with this great bond and the movies came after that,” she said.

The dog starred in 20 films before he died in 1932 at the age of 13. Duncan, who she says never got over Rin Tin Tin’s death, bought a ranch near Riverside and called it El Rancho Rin Tin Tin.

Orlean, 56, took nearly a decade to put together the story.

“I’m glad the book is done, but I’m sorry to not be learning about those things,” Orlean said.