Lassie, a female Rough Collie, is 'the world's most famous
dog' [1] and a fictional character who has starred in (or, more
properly, in variations been the subject of) many radio shows,
movies, TV shows, and books from 1938 through 2006.
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The character of Lassie was created by British-American author Eric Knight in
Lassie Come-Home, published as a short story in the Saturday Evening
Post in 1938 and as a novel in 1940. In Knight's story, a young Yorkshire
boy owns an exceptionally beautiful and loyal collie, but when the family faces
severe economic hardship, the dog is sold to a wealthy nobleman. Both boy and
dog grieve over the separation, made worse when the new owner transports Lassie
hundreds of miles away to his estate in Scotland. However, the collie's instinct
and courage cause her to escape, and the book follows Lassie's desperate efforts
to return to the boy she loves. Lassie is a character loved by many around the
world.
In 1943 the book was made into what would become the first Lassie movie, also
titled Lassie Come Home (no hyphen), which generally followed the plot of
the book, and in which Roddy McDowall starred. Since then, there have been
numerous sequels, television series and spin-offs. Other television series
followed in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, made by various production companies,
with varied casts and themes, making the Lassie concept as a television series
one of the very longest running of any collective series so focused. However, in
reality they were truly different series, which ran from only a few years to
over a decade. There are very few other examples of a character persisting
through various productions (perhaps in mythology, such as the Chinese Monkey,
or popular legends such as Zorro).
Lassie was so popular that it is one of only three dog characters, and one of
very few fictional characters (another being Mickey Mouse) considered "stars"
who were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the others being Rin Tin
Tin and Strongheart.
On the 1954-1974 television series Lassie, she had a series of owners,
the first two being Jeff (Tommy Rettig) (reruns of this era were later
syndicated as Jeff's Collie) and Timmy (Jon Provost). Both were farm boys
frequently helped out of scrapes by their super-intelligent dog. June Lockhart,
who had previously appeared in Son of Lassie, took over the role of
Timmy's mother from Cloris Leachman. Ranger Corey came later and, near the end
of the series, Lassie struck out on her own, with no regular human master.
The first dog to play the role of Lassie was Pal, originally from Glamis
Collies of California. The original owner could not train the dog and hired
Weatherwax Trained Dogs to do the job. When the owner couldn't pay the bill, Pal
became owned by animal trainer Rudd Weatherwax and his brother Frank Weatherwax.
Before Pal's death, he was bred with a number of bitches, resulting in
hundreds of offspring, Nine direct line descendants of Pal have performed as
Lassie. All offspring not chosen to be the next Lassie were adopted with
spay/neuter contracts.
All 9 Lassies have been male, playing a female character. The female collie
loses her coat at least once a year making it unsuitable for use year round.
Also, the male is larger and a child actor can play opposite the dog for a
longer period of time.
In the 1970s, Lassie appeared in a cartoon series by Filmation, Lassie's
Rescue Rangers.
In 1998 a Canadian film company replaced the line dog and outraged fans
staged a worldwide campaign that was spearheaded by www.lassie.net to restore
the genetic line dogs to the Lassie series.
Some of the dogs that played Lassie were owned and trained by Rudd Weatherwax
until his death, and then by his son Robert Weatherwax. Today the dogs are owned
and trained by Bob's Sons replacement... co-trainer, Carol Riggins. The
copyrights to the films and series are various because so many production
companies picked up the story (and changed its characters and focus) over the
years.
Some episodes, including "No Greater Love," and "White River Rapids", were
filmed in Durango, Colorado, at the Baker home and Animas River that it
overlooks alongside the Baker's Bridge, used to film "Butch Cassidy and the
Sundance Kid" jumping into the river.
The current Lassie is busy siring Lassie 10, making personal appearances, and
touring to promote a new 2006 movie and a new dog food line.
In 1994, Nickelodeon and Sony Wonder made six videos.
The rights to "Lassie" are held by Classic Media; however, Warner
Bros./Turner Entertainment holds the rights to the "Lassie" films originally
made by MGM.
Trivia
- In Swedish, Jag mötte Lassie ("I met Lassie") is a common and jocular
idiomatic phrase use to describe an encounter or a far relationship with a
celebrity. The expression comes from a Swedish 1990 pop song by Ainbusk Singers
titled "Jag mötte Lassie" and dedicated to the famous dog.
- In an episode of The Simpsons (The Canine Mutiny), Bart uses a soon to be
overdrawn credit card to mail-order a heroic collie known as "Laddie".
- In Turkey because of the TV series' fame, the word "Lassie" has become a
generic name for the collie breed itself, some calling the whole breed as
"Lassie" not "Collie".
Films
- Lassie Come Home (1943) Pal plays title character
- Son of Lassie (1945 - Pal plays title character, while a different
dog appears as Lassie)
- Courage of Lassie (1946 - stars Elizabeth Taylor, who also appeared
in first film; despite title, features Pal as "Bill."
- Hills of Home (1948 - a.k.a. "Master of Lassie" - Pal actually plays
"Lass.")
- Challenge to Lassie (1949 - retells Greyfriar's Bobby story.)
- The Magic of Lassie (1978)
- Lassie (1994)
- Meiken Lassie (1996) - an animal television series which was produced
in Japan
- Lassie (2005)
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