Robert Altman

R.I.P. Robert Altman... American Patriot, Filmmaker, Crazy Coot, Great Unique Talent, Dog Tattooist...

GA: ...Is it true that in the forties you used to tattoo dogs?

RA: Absolutely.

GA: Can you explain?

RA: Well, in the forties, I tattooed dogs.

Right after the war I got a dog for myself, a personal dog. I don't know why, it was a terrible Bull Terrier. The guy I bought it from had this thing called an identicode, which he would tattoo on to dogs for identification. I thought this was a terrific idea. Before I got out of the shop with my Bull Terrier, I was the vice-president of this company.

So, I became the tattooist. We would take the dog, and inside the groin, by the right-hind leg, we would shave and put on the antiseptic fluid and then with the tattooing machine I would do letters, and I got pretty good at it, and we'd put the number of that dog that was registered. We thought we were off to be millionaires. It turned out that I just got a few dog bites.

GA: I also heard that you tattooed President Truman's dog.

RA: Yes, I did. We tattooed Harry Truman's dog in Washington. That was a publicity stunt. Although the dog was actually tattooed. I also tattooed a waiter.

He was bringing drinks up to a hotel and he said, 'What are you guys doing.' We told him we tattooed and he said, 'I always wanted to have that!' So, we were a little drunken, I remember this guy took his shoe off and I tattooed on the bottom of his foot his army serial number and his name. His name was D W Stiles. I don't remember his number.

GA: Do you regret having given that up for film-making?

RA: Well...they're both about the same.