Jimmy (raven) facts for kids
Jimmy appearing in It's a Wonderful Life
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| Other name(s) | Jimmy the crow |
|---|---|
| Species | Corvus corax |
| Breed | Common raven |
| Sex | Male |
| Hatched | Jimmy c. 1934 Mojave Desert |
| Died | after 1954 |
| Occupation | Animal actor |
| Years active | 1938–1954 |
| Training | typing, opening letters, motorcycle riding |
| Owner | Curly Twiford |
Jimmy was a very famous raven actor. He starred in over 1,000 movies between the 1930s and 1950s! People sometimes mistakenly called him 'Jimmy the Crow'.
Contents
A Star is Born: Jimmy's Story
Jimmy's first movie was You Can't Take It with You in 1938. The director, Frank Capra, loved Jimmy so much that he put him in all his future movies.
Jimmy played many cool parts. He was Uncle Billy's pet in It's a Wonderful Life (1946). He also played the crow that landed on the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (1939).
Meet Jimmy's Trainer
Jimmy belonged to a Hollywood animal trainer named Curly Twiford. Curly found Jimmy as a baby bird in the Mojave Desert in 1934. He then taught Jimmy many amazing tricks.
Jimmy could do things like type on a tiny typewriter. He could also open letters and even ride a small motorcycle! These special skills made him perfect for movies.
How Smart Was Jimmy?
Jimmy was incredibly smart. He could understand hundreds of words. His trainer, Curly, said about 50 of these words were "useful" for acting.
It took Jimmy about a week to learn a new useful word. If the word had two syllables, it might take him two weeks. Curly Twiford even said that Jimmy could do any task an 8-year-old child could do!
Praise from Human Co-Stars
Other actors loved working with Jimmy. Jimmy Stewart, who starred with him in It's a Wonderful Life, once joked, "When they call Jimmy, we both answer." He also said the raven was "the smartest actor on the set." Jimmy often needed fewer re-takes than the human actors!
Jimmy's Special Treatment
Because Jimmy was so popular, the movie studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer insured him for $10,000. This was a lot of money back then! A company called Lloyd's of London made sure that if Jimmy forgot his lines or tricks, his high weekly fee would still be paid.
Jimmy earned $500 a week, and Curly Twiford, his handler, earned $200. These earnings helped Curly during World War II. Jimmy even had 21 "stand-ins" – other ravens who would fill in for him when a scene didn't need him to do any tricks.
Awards and Recognition
Jimmy was not just a movie star; he was also a hero! He received a Red Cross gold medal. This was for spending 200 hours entertaining veterans after the war.
His footprints were even put in cement at a pet store in Los Angeles. They were placed next to other famous animal stars like Lassie the dog!
Later Life
Jimmy's last known movie was 3 Ring Circus in 1954. After that, we don't know much about what happened to him. Curly Twiford once told newspapers that Jimmy would "probably live to be 150" years old. However, ravens usually live for about 30 years when cared for by humans. Curly Twiford passed away in 1956.
See also
- Bird intelligence
- Grip (raven)
- List of individual birds
