Based on the National Dog Show and infamous Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, the movie “Best in Show” took us inside the dog world for the first time. We laughed in disbelief at how seriously the characters — comic exaggerations of real-life people in the sport — took themselves and their dogs.
Some of the most memorable quotes come from banter between fictional show co-hosts Buck Laughlin and Trevor Beckwith. Laughlin provided hilarious color commentary offset by Beckwith’s dryer expert knowledge of the dogs. Beckwith might be one of the movie’s characters that actually comes close to an “accurate” portrayal of his real-life counterpart, David Frei.
Frei has been in the dog world since he accepted a position at the American Kennel Club in 1990 and in that same year began hosting the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. He has been co-host of the National Dog Show since its inception in 2002, and director of communications for Westminster since 2003.
While not involved in the movie’s production, Frei acknowledged that the Beckwith character was based on him.
“I think they needed someone that was a little drier to counter Buck’s antics, and that guy was me,” he said.
The comedic tension is palpable at points in the movie, when Beckwith is stopped in his tracks by Laughlin’s one-liners:
Laughlin: “I don’t think I could ever get used to being poked and prodded like that. I told my proctologist one time, ‘Why don’t you take me out to dinner and a movie sometime?’”
Beckwith: “Yes, I remember you said that last year.”
“Every once in a while my co-host, Gary Giola, would say something and make me hesitate and smile for a moment. They took those, and they ended up being some of the funniest moments in the film,” Frei said.
Beyond the film’s comedic portrayal of himself and his colleagues, Frei is thankful that it finally introduced the sport to the mainstream.
“Before the movie, we didn’t know how the outside world looked at us — dogs and people running around on green carpet,” he said. “But then we were very pleased when we saw it. They didn’t make fun of the dogs or the show — they were very true to those — but they did make fun of the people.
“We are a pretty targetable audience,” Frei admitted. “They were pretty spot-on in a number of ways. We laughed at it, and it lives on.”
The hit movie also helped draw people to the sport and led to increased viewership of the Westminster show, and eventually to the creation of the National Dog Show.
“It did a lot for the telecast for Westminster and the National Dog Show. It actually led to the creation of the National Dog Show,” Frei said.
Frei estimates that more 20-million people watched the broadcast of the National Dog Show last year, which takes place in early November and is shown on Thanksgiving Day.
Thanks to its prime television slot, Frei has become a much-loved staple in American homes over the years.
His rise in popularity enabled him to start his charity, “Angel on a Leash,” a therapy-dog program based in Staten Island, with health-care facilities around the country. One of their partners is the Staten Island LGBT Center, through which they run a therapy-dog training program for puppies.
“We have a lot of people from the LGBT community in the dog-show world,” Frei said.
And he is proud of the dog-show community for its early advocacy work with the LGBT community, of which he was informally a part.
“There was a charity created 25 years ago called Take the Lead to provide support for people who had major diseases, but it was really for our friends with AIDS,” he said. “I think we have given over $3 million, helping our friends that may not have the means to take care of themselves. I think that brings our world a little closer to theirs.”
These charities “have brought us a lot of new friends,” Frei said.
Over the years, the show has remained relatively unchanged.
“It’s pretty much the same show every year, we just have different players,” Frei said. “Depending on who comes, and the judges that come, you end up with a different dog winning best-in-show. The other things are the new breeds. We do a good job of showing those off to people. We have probably had 20-25 new breeds since 2002.”
Part of the show’s continuing success is what Frei calls “the alma-mater factor.”
“I think they watch it for the competition, sure; they want to see who will win. And to see all the different breeds. But I also think they watch it for the alma-mater factor. I have a Brittany Cavalier, Grace. If you see the Brittany you are going to root for the Brittany and say to yourself, ‘Maybe we could do that, Grace?’”
While it might be hard for Frei to imagine a world without dogs in his life, he says his first dog was a surprise.
“I didn’t have any dogs growing up. It actually wasn’t until college that a girl I was dating brought home an Afghan Hound. The girl left three weeks later, but I still had the dog,” he adding jokingly. “But it all led to good things. I found marriage in the dog-show world. I am truly blessed. So many things have come to me because of my involvement with dogs.”
Frei currently lives with his wife, Cherilyn, in New York City.
The National Dog Show will be broadcast at noon Nov. 27 in all time zones on NBC.
For more information on Angel on a Leash, visit www.angelonaleash.com. To learn more about the National Dog Show, visit www.nds.nationaldogshow.com.
