Lassie (1954 TV series)
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Lassie was an American television series which originally aired from 1954 to 1974. It is seen in syndicated reruns as Jeff's Collie and Timmy and Lassie.
The star was Lassie, a Rough Collie, billed as "the world's most famous dog" and a fictional character who has starred in many movies, TV shows, and books over the years.
During the two decades of the 1954-1974 television series, Lassie's owners and her fictional situations changed. Jeff Miller (Tommy Rettig) (reruns of this era were later syndicated as Jeff's Collie) and Timmy Martin (Jon Provost) were Lassie's first two masters. Both were farm boys helped out of frequent scrapes by their super-intelligent dog. Jan Clayton starred as Jeff's mother.
After Rettig finished four seasons, the child actor wanted to be released from his contract, and the story was written to have the Miller family give Lassie to the Martins in one of the most memorable episodes. June Lockhart, who had previously appeared in the movie Son of Lassie, took over the role of Timmy's mother from Cloris Leachman.
After Provost also outgrew the role, an adult master, Ranger Corey (Robert Bray) came, and, near the end of the series, Lassie struck out on her own, with no regular human master. Following its cancellation on CBS, it continued for another three seasons in first run syndication. Lassie was adopted by a combination ranch/orphanage.
The Lassie theme song, "Whistle," was written by Les Baxter.
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[edit] Memorable lines
"I think Lassie's trying to tell us something...what is it, girl?" Spoken by numerous characters after Lassie, anxious to alert her owners to a crisis, would begin running toward the calamity, and then stop, look back and bark.
[edit] Cast
The Miller family
- Tommy Rettig as Jeff Miller (1954-1957)
- Jan Clayton as Ellen Miller (1954-57)
- George Cleveland as George (Gramps) Miller (1954-57)
The Martin family
- Jon Provost as Timmy Martin (1957-1964)
- Cloris Leachman as Ruth Martin (1957-58)
- Jon Shepodd as Paul Martin (1957-1958)
- June Lockhart as Ruth Martin (1958-64)
- Hugh Reilly as Paul Martin (1958-1964)
- George Chandler as Uncle Petrie (1957-64)
Other stars
- Arthur Space as Doc Weaver (1954-1964)
- Robert Bray as Corey Stuart (1964-1968)
- Jack De Mave as Bob Erickson (1968-1969)
- Jed Allan as Scott Turner (1968-1970)
- Darwin Joston as Ed (1966, 1968)
- Joey D. Vieira as Porky Brockway (1954-1958)
The role of Lassie was played by a succession of dogs descended from the Pal, owned by brothers animal trainers Frank and Rudd Weatherwax. Pal and Rudd Weatherwax are credited with making the role famous in the first Lassie movie, 1943's Lassie Come Home.
[edit] See also
- Lassie (main article)
- Lassie Come Home original movie
- Pal the first dog actor to play Lassie
- Rudd Weatherwax Lassie animal trainer
- The New Lassie 1989 tv series
- Lassie (1997 tv series)
