Uggie the dog dead: Star of The Artist was 13

Uggie, the Jack Russell terrier who charmed audiences in the Oscar-winning film The Artist, has died. He was 13.

His owner and trainer, Omar von Muller, confirmed the news after TMZ reported Uggie was put to sleep Friday in Los Angeles.

“We regret to inform to all our friends, family and Uggie’s fans that our beloved boy has passed away,” he wrote on Facebook. “We were not planning on posting anything until we healed a little more but unfortunately somebody leaked it to TMZ and they will be announcing it. In short, Uggie had a cancerous tumor in the prostate and is now in a better place not feeling pain. Thank you for your support, I will not be reading any comments for a while as it is too painful at the moment.”

Uggie starred as “The Dog” alongside Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo in Michel Hazanavicius’ The Artist, which won five Oscars including Best Picture in 2012. He received the Palm Dog Award for his work in the film at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and also became the first dog to put his paw prints in cement outside Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, at a ceremony marking his “retirement” from showbiz in 2012.

“Everybody thinks I am great trainer. I don’t think so. I think he is just a great dog,” von Muller said at the time.

His other acting credits included Water for Elephants with Reese Witherspoon, The Campaign, and an episode of Key & Peele. IMDB lists his most recent credit as the 2013 TV movie Holiday Road Trip, in which he played a character named Scoots. He even has a biography, Uggie — My Story, which was released in 2012.

•Uggie the dog to publish a memoir

•Uggie, the dog from The Artist, retires

•The Artist‘s Uggie takes home Golden Collar

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