Humble, the dog who greeted Charles Theatre moviegoers, dies at 10

The audience gasped. Someone cried out, “No!” And “The Odyssey” hadn’t even started.

Last Saturday night, the Charles Theatre played its usual introduction video to welcome patrons: a cute clip of a determined pup’s quest to reach the Station North cineplex.

Then came the addendum that shocked the crowd: A photo of the black dog standing in a kayak appeared above the all-caps text “HUMBLE 2016-2026.”

On Aug. 3, Humble, the American Bully who became an unofficial mascot for the independent Baltimore theater, died at age 10, said her owner, Bri Giarratano. Giarratano and her husband made the difficult decision to put Humble down after years of health issues, including severe degenerative joint disease and pancreatitis.

“Humble was my soul dog, so I always knew this would be awful,” said Giarratano, a former Charles Theatre general manager. “It’s just an indescribable, unique type of pain.”

When theater owners Kathleen and Chris Lyon heard the news, the couple knew Humble deserved a tribute. “HUMBLE RIP” went up on the marquee above the entrance, and they added the “in memoriam” slide to the video that made Humble locally famous among movie fans.

In the clip, directed by Giarratano’s then-colleague Alec Richker, Humble hops off a streetcar, walks through Charm City and arrives at the theater, where she’s welcomed back like a regular.

Made in 2018, the video now plays before every screening at the Charles.

“I was basically just bribing her with treats,” Giarratano said of the filming. “She enjoyed it. She was a great actress, as you know.”

Richker said the most difficult shot was getting Humble to walk toward the screen and turn into the correct aisle. “That took a few dozen takes,” he said.

Kathleen Lyon said Humble, who often accompanied Giarratano to work, was a “sweetheart,” just as the clip shows.

“They were very close,” Lyon said.

Giarratano adopted Humble at 3 months old to save her from being bred, she said. The name was a natural fit.

“From the beginning, she was incredibly gentle and emotionally intelligent,” Giarratano said, noting a disposition that made the pup a natural star on camera.

Lyon said the video will continue to play before movies. For some, it’s hard to imagine the Charles experience without it. “It’s really become a thing,” she said.

In fact, a few years ago, one fan made it their mission before moving out of Baltimore to have a poster custom-made of Humble from the video.

“That was so sweet,” Giarratano said.

Giarratano made sure Humble, a nature lover, had plenty of adventures before she died.

Last summer, Giarratano, her husband and their beloved companion took a nearly two-month cross-country road trip. Humble kayaked at Oregon’s Mount Hood National Forest, posed for photos in Marfa, Texas, and ran on the beach on the Redwood Coast.

“We wanted to make sure that she still had the energy to enjoy it,” said Giarratano, 35. “The trip was pretty much all about her, and it was magical.”

In more recent months, Humble’s health worsened. The goal became to spend as much time together as possible, which meant “lots of movies together on the couch and lots of snuggles,” said Giarratano, who lives in Silver Spring.

She also made sure Humble got to savor one of her favorite snacks, which traces back to her days at the Charles.

“She loved popcorn, and we gave her popcorn in her final hours,” Giarratano said. “It was just kind of a full-circle moment.”

For Giarratano, the acute pain of saying goodbye to a life-changing pet is still fresh. But the love and support she’s received from the Charles community has provided a needed balm.

“It just means so much,” she said. “Seeing how many people loved her — loved watching that trailer of her — it’s just beautiful to see her impact.”

Banner reporter Sahana Jayaraman contributed to this story.