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The Littlest Hobo is a well remembered show from the early 1980’s that follows the adventures of a stray german shepherd dog as it travels across America making friends with different humans with problems that the dog somehow manages to help them sort out. Once that weeks adoptive owner had been helped, off the dog went to find another needy human to help.
In the average episode it seemed that the human being helped would normally choose a name for the dog, which always seemed to be something like “lucky” or “champ”, usually chosen because the dog just happened to turn up at a time of need and would help the human achieve some goal they were struggling with. The real name of the dog actor (for want of a better phrase) that portrayed The Littlest Hobo was actually London however.
Whilst there were obvious similarities to that other famous dog star Lassie, I always preferred The Littlest Hobo. Lassie always bored me, as it seemed to just be about some stupid kid getting into trouble every week and the dog coming to the rescue. I also always thought Lassie sounded really sad when she whined. The Littlest Hobo may have been similar in so far as the dog helped a human out of some scrape each week, but at least it was a different human each week, so the storylines seemed less repetitive than Lassie.
I remember when I first came across the show I didn’t know what the word “Hobo” meant, so I thought for ages it must be the breed of the dog. When I later found out it was basically what we in the UK would call a tramp, this confused me further. Where was the ragged old man begging for money? Was he the dogs real owner? Was he very small? Why was the show named after this tramp when it was obviously about a dog? As you can tell it puzzled me at the time!
The show became a stalwart of the BBC’s childrens line up, appearing both in the afternoon kids TV slot on The Broom Cupboard and also during the school holidays in the morning programmes. It seemed like it was good filler material, slotting handily into gaps in the TV schedule as each episode was completely self contained.
Of course, the show will probably be best remembered for its theme song, Maybe Tomorrow, which I’m willing to bet most of you remember the words to even if you don’t remember watching the programme itself. Also, before writing this post I didn’t realise that there was also a film and another TV series from the 1960’s on which the show was based. I wonder what that shows theme song was like?
The video clip below is of the shows opening sequence, so get ready to join in with the theme song. There’s a voice, keeps on calling me…
Search for The Littlest Hobo items on Amazon.co.uk
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You nasty so and so. Get that song back out of my head.
Heh heh heh! You can’t help but hum it, can you!
The littlest hobo is an amazing dog, the tune always has me in tears!!! Hope he has got a home now??
Sadly London, the dog featured in The Littlest Hobo, has already passed away.
I read an interview with his old owner and trainer, Chuck Eisenhamm, in the book Chasing the Eighties (http://www.childofthe1980s.com/2008/10/16/review-chasing-the-eighties/) which is quite touching as the man is getting on in years and becoming a bit forgetful. He still is owner of London’s off spring, and starts mistaking the new dog for London part way through.
[…] visit to the owner and trainer of London, the dog from The Littlest Hobo is a rather poignant moment, with the old man clearly being a great animal lover who is sadly […]
Along the same lines as The littlest hobo, can anyone remember the Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince TV series?
I certainly remember it, though I don’t think I watched much of it. Zax was a weird floating yellow robot if I recall, and Benji was one of the famous canine “actors” of the time. Weren’t there some alien bounty hunters trying to track down the prince who had crash landed on Earth?
The new Dulux ad takes me back to the series every time I hear it, and no, I can’t stop singing/humming the tune. Even now, after all these years, I get watery eyed every time I hear it. Shame they don’t show the series again, maybe todays kids could learn something. I also thought Benji was great, especially in Oh Heavenly Dog, voiced by Chevy Chase. There was also a british dog around, a bit later I think. It was featured on something like Blue Peter and if told to play dead could go completely limp and be picked up as if it was dead. I believe he/she starred in a pre schoolers TV series, looked a lot like Benji, but cannot remember the name. As an end note and totally off the wall……………..who else remembers BJ and the Bear about the trucker and his Chimp. Ahhhhhhhh, the old days of GOOD TV.
I have vague memories of BJ and the Bear, though over time I think the memories have got mixed with Clint Eastwood flick Any Which Way But Loose, which also featured a trucker (or trucking type anyway) with an ape companion.
I think the dog Warf25 is thinking of is probably Pippin, and the pre-schoolers programme in question is likely Come Outside, where Lynda Baron flies around in a spotty plane with said Dog, and finds out about how everyday things are made. I saw it on CBeebies recently, so it hasn’t been consigned to the vault just yet.
Love the Hobo!!! you wondered what the theme song was like from the original tv series in the 1960’s also called The Littlest Hobo well here you go http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFIj9oJmF6w and the dog that stared in the 1970’s 1980’s series was the grandson of the dog that stared in the 1960’s series both dogs were named London and were both owned and tained by Charles P. Eisenmann. Other dogs were also used for diffarent scenes in both series.
[…] a far more traditional feeling about it at the same time. I suppose it was kind of Star Trek meets The Littlest Hobo in a way. The situations that Sam ended up in were usually all very human in the end, involving […]
Saw a advert the other day with the music to little hobo and has drove me crazy trying to remember the kids show, thankfully just remembered loved that show and that SONG!!!