Murray[Smiley/Maui]
Paul's dog is a collie-shepherd mix that Paul found in Central Park as a puppy. It was 7-years before Murray got to meet his mother Mona. He is a girl magnet for Paul and Ira and does the equivalent for Lisa.
Murray had a brief acting career doing TV commercials, even appearing in a MegaDeath video and auditioning for a TV series. But for Paul's and Jamie's sake, he ended all prospects of a show-biz career by doing an impression of Cujo, something only Mark and Paul had seen before.
Known primarily for his immobility ("a rug with organs") and lack of awareness of his surroundings -- "Murray-ness", his tendency to chase an imaginary mouse acquired legendary status in season #2. He once had an affair with Sophie, the Conways' Cairn Terrier show dog from across the hall, but love blossomed in season #3, and they had 5 puppies. He has been Maggie Conways' favourite ever since.
While Murray sees in black and white, he dreams in colour, one sure sign of a wonder dog!
Maui, an 8-year-old collie mix, got his first major break as Murray, during the first season.
Originally found in a Castaic, California, animal shelter by noted Hollywood animal trainer Boone Narr, Maui weighs 58 pounds and is now trained primarily by Betty Linn. His first assignments came in TV commercials and as the backup for the top dog in the feature film "Bingo."
"Maui is very sweet and takes direction well," says Linn, who has trained him for the past four years. "He's completely spoiled by everyone and consequently loves to go to the set when we begin a new show on Mondays."
As Murray, Maui has been known to chase phantom mice and collide with walls, and he excels at getting lost. However, Linn vouches for her canine charge: "Maui is definitely smarter than Murray, and he knows tons of tricks." Among Maui's favourite skills are "hiking" (making people believe he is relieving himself), sneezing, crawling, shaking his head and rolling over. In the summer of 1994 he shared the cover of TV Guide with Moose (Eddie, the dog on "Frasier")
Away from the set, Maui enjoys watching movies on videotape, including "Beethoven," "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," "Old Yeller" and "Dog Day Afternoon."
KAYPEE
LAST EDITED 19/09/97