Jimmy (often erroneously credited as Jimmy the Crow) was a raven[1] actor who is reported to have appeared in more than 1,000 feature films[2] from the 1930s to the 1950s.
Jimmy belonged to Hollywoodanimal trainer Curly Twiford, who stole the bird from a nest in the Mojave Desert in 1934. Twiford trained Jimmy to do an assortment of tricks, such as typing and opening letters. He could even ride a tiny motorcycle. These talents would make him appealing to use in films. Jimmy could understand several hundred words, though only around 50 were what Twiford called "useful". It took Jimmy a week to learn a new useful word, two weeks if it had two syllables.[4] Twiford said that Jimmy could perform any task possible for an 8-year-old child.[5]
His human co-stars were complimentary of the bird. "When they call Jimmy, we both answer," remarked Jimmy Stewart on the set of It's a Wonderful Life, noting that the raven "is the smartest actor on the set" requiring fewer re-takes than his human counterparts.[6]
After he had become more popular with the studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer had Jimmy insured for $10,000.[7]Lloyd's of London wrote a policy to cover Jimmy's $500 a week fee as well as Curly Twiford's $200 handler fee, in the event Jimmy forgot any of the words he would need on the set.[4] Twiford credited these fees with keeping him solvent during World War II.[8] At one point, Jimmy had 21 "stand-ins", 15 of which were female, who would fill in for him when the scene did not require any tricks or movement.[9]
Jimmy received a Red Cross gold medal in acknowledgement of 200 hours spent entertaining veterans after the war,[5] and his footprints were enshrined in cement at a large Los Angeles pet store, alongside those of Lassie and other Hollywood animal stars.[10]
Jimmy's last-credited film was 3 Ring Circus in 1954, after which little is known about him.[11] Curly Twiford said that Jimmy would "probably live to be 150" years old,[8] which the papers re-printed.[7] In reality, ravens seldom live more than 30 years in captivity.[12] Curly Twiford died on April 5, 1956, at the age of 60.[13]
