William Berloni will have a special night tonight at 8 on NBC’s “Annie Live.”

Berloni trained and will be guiding the dog “Sandy” in the live television production of the new televised musical that stars Harry Connick Jr., Taraji P. Henson, Celina Smith, Tituss Burgess and Megan Hilty. The role of "Sandy" will be played by Macy who was adopted by Berloni from Rocky Spot Dalmatian Rescue in Oklahoma City. Macy has traveled the country and performed more live theater productions than any other "Sandy" in history.

It will mark more than 45 years since Berloni , who when he was an apprentice at Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, was told to find a dog in a local pound and train it for the role of Sandy in the original world premiere production of “Annie.” int 1976.

It launched his career as the foremost animal trainer in film, television and the stage.

Berloni has worked on all major “Annie” revivals all around the country.

In 2011 he received a special Tony Honor for Excellence for his work, which includes more than 20 Broadway shows, including “Bullets Over Broadway,” “The Crucible,” “A Christmas Story,” “The Audience” and countless shows off-Broadway and in regional productions. He is also the author of “Broadway Tails.” He also received the 2017 Drama League’s Unique Contribution to the Theatre and the 2014 Outer Critics Circle award for Special Achievement, He is also the director of animal behavior at the Humane Society of New York.

Berloni is also the animal go-to guy for TV’s “The Leftovers,” “Billions,” ”The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Little Voice,” “Ramy,” “Mr. Robot,” “Sesame Street,” and a host of others shows and commercials (iRobot, Busch Dog Brew, Rachel Ray Nutrish). His first movie was for 1981’s “Neighbors” with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd and was followed by many more, including “The Greatest Showman,” “Charlie Wilson’s War” and the Julia Roberts film, “Ben Is Back.”

He’s no stranger to NBC’s series of live musicals having guided animals for “Peter Pan” and “The Wiz.” (His dog Bowdie was featured as Nana in NBC’s “Peter Pan Live” and was the first dog to play a role on live television in front of 10 million people. Bowdie also starred in a memorable episode of HBO’s “High Maintenance” which was entirely told from the pooch’s point of view. The performance was so extraordinary that producers wanted to nominate the dog for an Emmy. Local audiences know Bowdie as the star of the Goodspeed Musical “Because of Winn Dixie.”

Follow William Berloni Theatrical Animals, Inc. on Facebook and on Instagram @Berlonitheatricalanimals.

www.theatricalanimals.com.