For nearly two decades, many of us have remembered Lassie, the most famous dog on television.
From 1954 until 1973, this Collie dog graced our screens and even made the transition from black and white to color in the 1960s.
Let’s not forget Timmy Martin, the charming 7-year-old who joined the show in its fourth season when he and his family acquired Lassie.
Jon Provost, who played Timmy, recently celebrated his 72nd birthday and talked about how he was discovered by Hollywood at the age of three and his filming experience with his four-legged pal.
The Los Angeles native auditioned for a Jane Wyman film since his mother was a big fan and wanted to get her autograph.
“My parents were not celebrities.” Jon explained, “My father is from Alabama, and my mother is from Texas.”
He earned a role in a Grace Kelly and Bing Crosby film when he was four years old.
“I didn’t have a manager. I received one, which led to other films like The Country Girl, with Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly.” “I did maybe 12 movies before starting ‘Lassie,’” he said.
When asked about the ties he built with the three different male canines who played the female Lassie, Jon claimed the last dog to play Lassie was the most special.
“I did the show for seven years, and there were 249 half-hour episodes. I had three different Lassies work with me. I worked with the last dog I worked with for five years on his own,” he explained.
“We shared a childhood. We saw each other five days a week and sometimes on weekends for five years.”
He continued, revealing how well-behaved the dog was, “The actors made more blunders than the dog.” “They were a bigger issue,” he joked.
After leaving the program at 14, he went on to work with Natalie Wood and Kurt Russell, and he never fell into the Hollywood child actor trap, claiming, “My parents allowed me pretty much do whatever I wanted to do. I was not required to work.”
“I thought it was a good thing that I left Hollywood.”
Jon now lives in Northern California, away from the spotlight, although he regularly receives fan mail from his time on “Lassie.” The actor was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994.
Meanwhile, Lassie, the canine character, grew so popular that she had her own fascinating radio series called “Lassie.”
Sandy Goosens and Jon Provost married in 1979. They had two children, Ryan and Katie, together.
After 14 years of marriage, the couple split on December 20, 1993.
Jon Provost fell in love again in 1999 when he married Laurie Jacobson, a well-known researcher and novelist.
Please forward to all “Lassie” enthusiasts you know.
