CASTAIC MAN COACHES FURRY TV, FILM STARS.

Byline: Stacy Brown Daily News Staff Writer

When Hollywood needs an animal, the phone rings in Castaic.

Boone Narr takes the call. He's the man behind the dogs, cats, chimps, birds and, most recently, mice, in movies and TV.

Narr's most recent project was ``Mouse Hunt,'' which led the trainer on the months-long search for the perfect rodents. He traveled this country and abroad, visiting pet stores, where he finally collected 60 English mice - what he calls ``fox'' mice.

``We had to find a mouse people would like,'' Narr explains. ``A sort of church mouse, because most of the time you see horror movies with big and ugly rats that scare people''

Training these tiny creatures involved months of research that included talking to some of the world's top animal trainers and with biology professors and students at the University of California, Los Angeles.

``I needed to know things like how they move around, how fast and what the mice are thinking,'' Narr said. ``I even talked to some of the top exterminators in the business, because who would know better about rodents than exterminators?''

The storyline for the DreamWorks hit involves a pesky and bothersome little rodent and stars Nathan Lane and Lee Evans trying desperately to get rid of it.

And, yes, the mouse eventually becomes the darling of the movie, all the while antagonizing its human co-stars.

For 26 years, Castaic resident Narr has been training animals for hit television shows and motion pictures.

The self-proclaimed ``Animal King'' said when Hollywood needs a dog, cat, mouse or bird, he gets the first call.

``I got involved so heavily with animals and their training because I loved them. I also knew it was something everyone in the industry needed,'' Narr said.

The animal training business has worked out well for Narr. His dog Maui plays Murray - a fixture on TV's ``Mad About You'' - and was voted the most popular hound in America.

``And that includes President Clinton's dog,'' Narr said with a chuckle.

For the second straight year Narr's dog Happy has earned a spot on the sitcom ``Seventh Heaven'' while another canine, Bud, is the pet attraction on prime time's ``Dharma and Gregg.''

Fresh off a three-week vacation in Australia, Narr has taken on a new DreamWorks project - ``Paulie, A Parrot's Tale.'' `` `Paulie' had to be a smart bird. His interaction with a little girl in the movie was critical,'' Narr said.

Narr trained 37 different varieties of birds; a green parrot was eventually tabbed to be Paulie. The movie is tentatively scheduled for a spring release.

When work on ``Paulie'' is complete, the phone in Narr's office is sure to ring shortly with another animal project request from Hollywood.

``That's why I spent three weeks in Australia. I had to recharge my batteries and look at some wildlife,'' Narr said.

ACTING ANIMALS

These creatures from the big and little screens are graduates of Boone's Animals for Hollywood in Castaic:

``MouseHunt'' - 60 mice and a cat named Catzilla.

``Mad About You'' - Maui, the collie mix who plays Murray.

``Seventh Heaven'' - Happy, the terrier mix of the same name

``Dharma and Gregg'' - Bud, a Welsh corgi who plays Nunzio

``Twister'' and the soon-to-be-released remake of ``Parent Trap'' - Bob, a golden retriever.

``A Time to Kill'' - J.J., a yellow Labrador

``Buddy'' and ``Rocketman'' - chimpanzees.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos, Box

PHOTO (1--Color) (Ran in SAC only) No caption (dog)

(2--Color) (Color in AV Edition only) (Ran in AV and SAC Editions only) Trainer Boone Narr hangs out with Happy, Paulie, Bud, Jenny and Maui, some of the animal actors he's taught at his home in Castaic.

(3) (Ran in SAC Edition only)``Mouse Hunt'' star Jenny takes a look around from atop trainer Boone Narr's shoulder.

Box: (Ran in AV Edition only) Acting animals (see text)

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News