‘Talking’ dog in baked beans commercials dies

An undated photo shows Sam, a dog famous for playing "Duke" in commercials selling Bush's baked beans | Photo courtesy of David Odom via Facebook, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Sam, one of the dogs famous for portraying “Duke” in Bush’s Baked Beans commercials, has died after a battle with cancer.

Sam lived in Apopka, Florida, with his owner who trains animals to work in commercials, according to a Facebook post Thursday from David Odom, a friend of Sam’s owner.

“Sadly, she had to euthanize Sam yesterday due to an aggressive cancer he was suffering from,” reads Odom’s post. “She is as we are heartbroken.”

Sam played a talking dog in the baked beans commercials that bragged about knowing the “secret family recipe” of Bush’s Baked Beans.

According to a statement on Facebook from Bush’s Beans, the relationship between Bush spokesman Jay Bush and his dog Duke in the commercials “is the embodiment of the Bush’s brand, and has been a part of our family story for more than 20 years.”

“While Sam has not worked with us in years, we are saddened by the news of his passing and are grateful to have had him depict Duke. Because Duke is iconic to Bush’s and so adored by our fans, we will continue to use him in our ads.”

Many social media users have shared their sadness of Sam’s passing, which one commenter reminiscing about Sam portraying an “American icon” and another offering to send prayers to the family.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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3 Comments

  • Mike P July 5, 2018 at 2:01 pm

    Ya know, Sam played a talking dog in the baked beans commercials but he didn’t actually talk…….

    • comments July 5, 2018 at 5:42 pm

      You would know, mike. I’m sure “you were there” hahahahahah. 😉

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