Lassie the Dog
- Actress
Contrary to popular belief, Lassie was actually a laddie. The female collie originally cast as the lovable canine was replaced due to her excessive shedding of fur during production of Lassie Come Home (1943) and replaced with a more impressive looking male animal named Pal. Pal, born in 1940, was owned by the renowned animal trainer Rudd Weatherwax. He performed so well as a stunt dog that he was given an MGM contract (1943-50) and all future incarnations of Lassie (in fact, Pal's descendants) would thereafter be cast from male animals. This did not, however, deter writers or producers from having Pal play both mother and son in Son of Lassie (1945), or Pal's offspring giving birth to a litter of pups in an episode of the television series.
Pal first played "Lassie" in the above-mentioned Lassie Come Home, based on a 1938 short story, which was later expanded into a novel by English author Eric Knight. He appeared in six more sequels and the two initial pilots for the CBS television series, commencing in 1954 and ending in 1973 after an incredible 591 episodes. While the dog remained the show's main consistent factor, the cast of his owners changed frequently. According to former boy actor Jon Provost who played the character of Timmy Martin in the series "All the actors made more mistakes than the dog."
Pal died in June 1958, aged 18, and was buried on Rudd's ranch. The baton had already been passed to his son, Lassie Jr (1954-1959), who was, in turn, succeeded by his sons, Spook (1960), Baby (1960-66), Mire (1966-71) and Hey Hey (1971-73). All these animals were of Pal's bloodline and trained by Rudd Weatherwax. "Lassie" was also adapted for radio, broadcast as The Lassie Show from 1947-50, on ABC and NBC. The franchise also spawned two animated series for children, Lassie's Rescue Rangers (1973) and Lassie (2014). There was also a 1994 motion picture and a 1997 Canadian iteration of Lassie (1997) in which the dog was played by the Weatherwax-trained collie Howard (an eight generation Pal descendant) and by Pal grandson Hey Hey.
Pal first played "Lassie" in the above-mentioned Lassie Come Home, based on a 1938 short story, which was later expanded into a novel by English author Eric Knight. He appeared in six more sequels and the two initial pilots for the CBS television series, commencing in 1954 and ending in 1973 after an incredible 591 episodes. While the dog remained the show's main consistent factor, the cast of his owners changed frequently. According to former boy actor Jon Provost who played the character of Timmy Martin in the series "All the actors made more mistakes than the dog."
Pal died in June 1958, aged 18, and was buried on Rudd's ranch. The baton had already been passed to his son, Lassie Jr (1954-1959), who was, in turn, succeeded by his sons, Spook (1960), Baby (1960-66), Mire (1966-71) and Hey Hey (1971-73). All these animals were of Pal's bloodline and trained by Rudd Weatherwax. "Lassie" was also adapted for radio, broadcast as The Lassie Show from 1947-50, on ABC and NBC. The franchise also spawned two animated series for children, Lassie's Rescue Rangers (1973) and Lassie (2014). There was also a 1994 motion picture and a 1997 Canadian iteration of Lassie (1997) in which the dog was played by the Weatherwax-trained collie Howard (an eight generation Pal descendant) and by Pal grandson Hey Hey.
