(Exclusive) Whatever Happened to Lassie, Timmy’s Beloved Dog?
One of the nicest stars in Hollywood is Jon Provost, the actor who is famously remembered for playing the role of Timmy Martin on TV’s beloved series Lassie, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. First-run Lassie debuted on CBS on Sept. 12, 1954, and ran until 1973. Provost logged 249 half-hour episodes in seven years (1957-64), starting at the age of 7!
To get the role, however, Provost had to spend a weekend with Lassie owner and trainer Rudd Weatherwax to make sure the duo was a good fit.
“I mean, I fit the part physically, and they knew I could act because of all the movies and everything I had been in [Back From Eternity, Escapade in Japan], but they wanted to know how Lassie and I got along because you couldn’t fake that relationship between the boy and the dog,” Provost told us.
“I mean, if that dog didn’t like me, I think it would be pretty obvious. Or if I was afraid of a big dog, that would be pretty obvious. But at the time, when I got the Lassie series, we were living in Pomona, California, and on a large piece of property, my sister had a horse, I had a pony, we had a goat, we had pigeons and chickens, we had all kinds of stuff. So I was very familiar being around animals and dogs.”
Lassie and Provost immediately bonded. “I like to say when we walked in the production office, Lassie gave me two paws up and I got the job.”
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How Many Lassie Dogs Were There?
During his years on the show, Provost actually costarred with three border collies. Old Man was the first Lassie, who worked with him only through the Tommy Reddig transition when Lassie left the Miller family and went to the Martins. [Reddig played Jeff Miller for four seasons before turning over his beloved collie to Timmy.]
Old Man was replaced with one of his own pups, Spook. Spook, however, didn’t last too long, as a loud noise on set actually spooked the collie and he needed to be replaced.
“One thing Rudd Weatherwax did, which was great, was that the puppies that were going to be the next Lassie, he would raise them on the set. Even before he started training so they were totally familiar with the environment, and the smells, the sounds, everything that goes on a sound stage. So anyway, long story short, that puppy started working and we had an accident on the set where a light fell over; it didn’t hit Lassie, but it spooked him. So whenever we would set up another scene that was similar to that, he would get nervous. And once that happened, there was really no way of getting that out of him. So then Rudd had to bring in his son, which was Baby.”
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How Did Lassie Die?
Provost worked with Baby for five years.
“I mean, we grew up together,” Provost shares. “I loved the dog and he loved me.”
Baby passed away prematurely, at age 8, from melanoma. Provost recalls that it was shocking, as all the other dogs lived well into their mid teens (15 and 16 years old). “It’s a testament to Rudd Weatherwax and the way he treated his dogs, cared for them and fed them. That was a big key. His wife cooked the dog food. I mean, it was all homemade dog food — vegetables, cottage cheese, meat. That’s what they ate.”
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