PATSY Award

Key takeaways

PATSY Award belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect PATSY Award to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of PATSY Award from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The PATSY Award was originated by the Hollywood office of the American Humane Association in 1939. They decided to honor animal performers after a horse was killed in an on-set accident during the filming of the Tyrone Power film Jesse James. The letters are an acronym, and stand for Picture Animal Top Star of the Year. A later acronym was also included: Performing Animal Television Star of the Year. The very first recipient of a PATSY was Francis the Talking Mule in 1951, in a ceremony hosted by Ronald Reagan at Hollywood's Carthay Circle Theater. The award later covered both film and television and was separated into four categories: canine, equine, wild and special. The special category encompassed everything from goats to cats to pigs – Arnold Ziffel of TV's Green Acres was a two-time winner. Arnold's trainer, Frank Inn, was the proud owner of over 40 PATSY awards, thanks to his work with Orangey, the cat from Rhubarb (1951) and Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961); Higgins, the dog (who played the lead in the Benji movies and "Dog" on Petticoat Junction); Cleo the Basset Hound; and Lassie, and Tramp the dog from My Three Sons to name a few. Lassie was retired to the PATSY Hall of Fame after receiving many awards over the years. The Craven Award was named in honor of Richard C. Craven, the first director of the Hollywood AHA. It recognized animals that would normally have had no opportunity to appear in a starring role. The TV and Movie Animal Walk of Fame was established in front of the Burbank Animal Shelter, honoring certain early recipients of the PATSY Awards. By the 1970s, the awards were being presented in a televised ceremony, with animal recipients selected by the general public who voted in ballots which appeared in Associated Press newspapers. The first network presentation was on CBS in 1973. Over the years the PATSY Award ceremony was hosted by various celebrities, including Betty White, Allen Ludden, and Bob Barker. Barker has stated he eventually resigned in protest of the cruel methods some trainers use when training animals for films. The awards ended in 1986 due to lack of funding. That year the Genesis Awards were established to honor individuals in the major news and entertainment media for producing outstanding works which raise public awareness of animal issues. In 2011 the American Humane Society announced the creation of the Pawscars, described as, "an unofficial, animal-centric spin on the Oscars." The American Humane Association is the organization responsible for the disclaimer at the end of many films and television programs that "No Animals Were Harmed" in the production.

PATSY Award Winners (partial listing) Source, 1951–1973:

1951 Motion Pictures

Francis the Talking Mule (Francis) California the horse (The Palomino) Pierre the chimp (My Friend Irma Goes West) Award of Excellence

Flame the dog (My Pal) Lassie the dog (Challenge to Lassie) Black Diamond the horse (Black Midnight) Jackie the Lion (Samson and Delilah) Craven Award

Jerry Brown the horse – trained by Ace Hudkins

1952 Motion Pictures

Rhubarb the cat (Rhubarb) Francis the mule (Francis Goes to the Races) Award of Excellence

Chinook the dog (Yukon Manhunt) Diamond the horse (Flame of Araby) Corky the dog (Behave Yourself) Craven Award

Smoky the horse – owned/trained by Fat Jones

1953 Motion Pictures

Jackie the lion (Fearless Fagan) Bonzo the Chimp (Bonzo Goes to College) Trigger the horse (Son of Paleface) Award of Excellence

Francis the mule (Francis Goes to West Point) Tramp Jr. the dog (Room for One More) Cheeta the chimp (Tarzan's Savage Fury) Chinook the dog (Yukon Gold) Craven Award

Bracket the horse – owned by Hudkins Stables

1954 Motion Pictures

Sam the dog (Hondo) Francis the mule (Francis Covers the Big Town) Jackie the lion (Androcles and the Lion) Award of Excellence

Baron the dog (Back to God's Country) Peggy the chimp (Valley of the Head Hunters) Jackie the lion (White Witch Doctor) Craven Award

Cocaine the horse – owned/trained by Chuck Roberson

1955 Motion Pictures

Beauty the horse (Gypsy Colt) Francis the mule (Francis Joins the WACS) Esmerelda the seal (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) Award of Excellence

Shep the dog (A Bullet Is Waiting) Satin the tiger (Demetrius and the Gladiators) Beauty the horse (The Outlaw Stallion) Craven Award

Flash the horse – owned/trained by Henry Willis

1956 Motion Pictures

Wildfire the dog (It's a Dog's Life) Francis the mule (Francis in the Navy) Faro the dog (The Kentuckian) Award of Excellence

N/A Craven Award

Flame the dog – owned/trained by Frank Barnes

1957 Motion Pictures

Samantha the goose (Friendly Persuasion) Beauty the Horse (Giant) Francis the mule (Francis in the Haunted House) Award of Excellence

Silver the horse (The Lone Ranger) Lady the dog (Goodbye, My Lady) Bascom the dog (Hollywood or Bust) Craven Award

King Cotton the horse – owned/trained by Ralph McCutcheon

1958 Starting in 1958 PATSY awards were also awarded to television animals. Motion Pictures

Spike the dog (Old Yeller) Beauty the horse (Wild Is the Wind) Kelly the dog (Kelly and Me) Television

Lassie the dog (Lassie) Cleo the dog (The People's Choice) Rin Tin Tin the dog (The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin) Award of Excellence

Tony the horse (Hoofs and Goofs / Movies) Flicka the horse (My Friend Flicka / TV) Craven Award

Trigger the horse – owned by Roy Rogers / trained by Glenn Randall

1959 Motion Pictures

Pyewacket the cat (Bell, Book and Candle) Tonka the horse (Tonka) Henry the rabbit (The Geisha Boy) Television

Lassie the dog (Lassie) Asta the dog (The Thin Man) Rin Tin Tin the dog (The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin) Award of Excellence

King the dog (The Proud Rebel / Movies) Jasper the dog (Bachelor Father / TV) Craven Award

Baldy the horse – owned by Fat Jones Stables / trained by William "Buster" Trow

1960 Motion Pictures

Shaggy the dog (The Shaggy Dog) Herman the pigeon (The Gazebo) North Wind the horse (The Sad Horse) Television

Asta the dog (The Thin Man) Lassie the dog (Lassie) Fury the horse (Fury); Jasper the dog (Bachelor Father) - tied Craven Award

Sharkey, Dempsey, Choctaw, and Joker the horses

1961 Motion Pictures

King Cotton the horse (Pepe) Spike the dog (A Dog of Flanders) Stubbs the monkey (Toby Tyler); Skip the dog (Visit to a Small Planet) - tied Television

Tramp the dog (My Three Sons) Lassie the dog (Lassie) Fury the horse (Fury)

1962 Motion Pictures

Orangey the cat (Breakfast at Tiffany's) Pete the dog (The Silent Call) Flame the horse (The Clown and the Kid) Television

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with PATSY Award

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what PATSY Award claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to PATSY Award before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about PATSY Award ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of PATSY Award

In research: PATSY Award appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses PATSY Award in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: PATSY Award is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics American film awards, Awards to animals, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for PATSY Award outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study PATSY Award in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what PATSY Award means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain PATSY Award out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is PATSY Award in simple terms?

The PATSY Award was originated by the Hollywood office of the American Humane Association in 1939. They decided to honor animal performers after a horse was killed in an on-set accident during the filming of the Tyrone Power film Jesse James.

Why does PATSY Award matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study PATSY Award?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on PATSY Award.