Brought to America from Belgium in the late 1920s after having been trained as a working military dog in his home country, Muro found an outlet for his many skills in Hollywood. Film studios were quick to capitalize on his background, as well as the recent memory of the Great War, and publicized Muro as both canine royalty and a decorated war dog hero known as Count Muro purely for propaganda value.
A purebred Belgian Tervuren, Muro was surprisingly not the first Belgian Shepherd to take Hollywood by storm. That honor goes to Ranger, a Belgian Malinois who started acting in the mid-1920s. Still an early ambassador for his breed, Muro remains to this day the only major Belgian Tervuren movie star ever. Credited as both Muro and King in his films, he had as many titles and taglines as films, including: Dog Marvel; Emperor of All Dogs; and King the Wonder Dog.
Today, we can only guess at the true number of Muro’s films. Thankfully, he received top billing in a few surviving titles so we still have a record of some of Marvel Dog Muro’s daring deeds.
Untamed Justice (1929) (First known credit, although Muro was probably in small roles before it. This silent film may be one of the thousands that have been lost.)
The Phantom of the North (1929) (Another starring credit and a mostly lost film. Only the first 20 minutes of this film has been preserved.)
The Lone Trail (1932) (A feature film edit of the Sign of the Wolf serial.)
Do you know any more Count Muro films? Or the identity of his trainer? Please let us know!