Air Bud: The Golden Retriever’s Rise to Fame

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Buddy aka Air Bud is probably the most famous Golden Retriever. In the 1990s he made a career as an acting dog and was seen in a popular production.

The Golden Retriever became world famous in 1997 with the film “Air Bud – Champion on Four Paws”. He started his acting career a few years earlier. But his life began anything but glamorous. In 1988, Buddy laut “Los Angeles Times” adopted by Kevin DiCicco, who found the young golden retriever. Until then, Buddy was living as a stray in the Sierra Nevada. DiCicco took Buddy to San Diego, California. His sporting career was to begin there, as his new owner trained the dog in three different sports.

Buddy and his passion for basketball

“Bud knows hockey, Bud knows baseball, but Bud knows basketball best of all,” DiCicco told the Los Angeles Times in 1992. The Golden Retriever also became famous for basketball. His first appearances were on the show “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” where viewers could submit their own entertaining home video clips. And DiCicco did that from his dog.

This apparently brought Buddy so much attention that he was soon a guest on David Letterman’s “Late Night Show.” He is said to have received more applause there than actor Bill Murray and musician Bob Dylan.

Kevin DiCicco ambitiously tried to make his dog a star. He wrote to all the teams in the American professional basketball league NBA to get Buddy in a halftime show. He eventually had success with at least three teams. Roles in film and television followed.

Buddy in “Air Bud – Champion on Four Paws”

According to his IMDb page Buddy played the family dog ​​Comet in an episode of the series “Full House” (1995). In 1997 the four-legged friend got the role in “Air Bud – Champion on Four Paws”. In the children’s film, Josh, played by Kevin Zegers, is having a hard time making contacts after moving when the boy’s golden retriever Buddy runs into him. He discovers the four-legged friend’s basketball talent and together they successfully join the school team. For his role, Buddy was nominated for Favorite Animal Star at the 1998 Kids’ Choice Awards.

1998 reported E! News about Buddy’s death. Accordingly, he is said to have fallen asleep peacefully after a years-long battle with cancer. Buddy lost a leg in 1997 due to cancer. As the Seattle Times reportedBuddy had started limping toward the end of filming “Air Bud.”

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Kevin DiCicco took his dog to a vet, who diagnosed Buddy with cancer. “He can still shoot hoops,” a Disney spokeswoman announced about the movie star after the amputation of a hind leg. Kevin DiCicco dedicated the book “Go Buddy! The Air Bud Story” in 2012 to his late dog, who fathered nine puppies before his death.

And his film memorial was also continued. The “Air Bud” series then had sequels, with Buddy’s successors taking over the animal role. In “Air Bud 2 – Golden Receiver” from 1998 it was all about football, in “Air Bud 3 – A Dog for All Balls” (2000) it was all about football. Baseball and volleyball were also covered in “Air Bud 4 – It’s Better with Baseball” (2002) and “Air Bud 5 – Four Paws Strike Up” (2003). A spin-off series with eight films based on the “Buddies” puppies was also developed.

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