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 ootloose and collar-free, Tramp lives every day as if
it were his last. Although he's just one step ahead of the
dogcatcher, Tramp is too busy playing with danger to be scared of
it. He's that rare breed of dog who wants no master but himself.
Living by his wits, he's learned that if you have a little charm
and a lot of finesse, the world can be your dinner bowl. As Peg,
the faded star of the Dog and Pony Follies, tells Lady in the
pound, "You won't believe this, deary, but no matter how tight a
jam he's in, that Tramp always finds some way out." The
irresistible rogue does have one weakness: the ladies. As the pound
dogs put it: "He has an eye for a well-turned paw, he has ... Yah,
but he never takes 'em serious ... Ah, but some day he is meeting
someone different, some delicate, fragile creature who is giving
him a wish to shelter and protect ... Like Miss Park Avenue here,
aye matey? ... Could be, but when he does ... under the spell of
true love ... the poor chump grows careless ... and it's curtains
for Tramp." Indeed, the Tramp has already fallen in love with the
winsome Lady, and will risk life and limb more than once for her.
The question is, how long will his luck hold out before his
cronies' prediction comes true? |
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Tramp's character is adapted from Ward Greene's story "Happy Dan,
the Whistling Dog." Before World War II, Disney story man Joe Grant
had been working on a tale about a pampered cocker spaniel. Later
Joe's idea was married with the character of a dog resembling the
carefree Happy Dan and the story line for "Lady and the Tramp" was
born. |
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During a period of disagreement among the animators as to what
Tramp should look like, one night storyman Ed Penner saw a stray
dog disappearing into the studio bushes. Although he thought he'd
found the perfect model, no one could find the dog for days until
he was seen at the city pound, where, just as in the story, he was
bailed out only hours away from the gas chamber. The animators
triumphantly returned to the studio only to discover that he was a
she. But nobody cared -- she was Tramp and they loved her. After
the film, she lived out the rest of her days playing on the
backstage Pony Farm at Disneyland®.
Film: "Lady and the Tramp" (1955)
Voice Artist: Larry Roberts |
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