Biography

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.
- IMDb mini biography by: I.S.Mowis

The canine that began the world's love affair with the collie breed was named Pal. Pal's lineage could be traced back to 'Old Cockie' (born 1868), England's first celebrated Rough Collie. A male, Pal was born at the Glamis Kennels in North Hollywood in June 1940. His initial owner passed the dog on to animal trainer Rudd Weatherwax, who, with his brother Frank, proceeded to train the animal. After learning of Eric Knight's novel Lassie Come Home (1943), Rudd took Pal to MGM as one of 1500 contestants for the lead role in what was to become an A-Grade technicolor release, starring a very young beauty named Elizabeth Taylor. Pal was first signed on as a stunt dog but quickly replaced the female collie originally cast as Lassie when the latter began shedding fur excessively. As a male, Pal was also deemed to be more impressive-looking in size. Signed up by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Pal remained under contract from 1943 to 1950, appearing in six sequels, including Son of Lassie (1945) and Courage of Lassie (1946). The storylines rarely varied, the lovable pooch saving the day by rescuing the injured and/or imperiled, or by raising alarm to warn of impending danger. By 1951, the franchise had run out of ideas and Pal's contract with MGM lapsed. In lieu of back pay owed him by the studio, Weatherwax retained full rights to the Lassie trademark.

Robert Maxwell and Jack Wrather at CBS took up the option and brought Lassie into the realm of the small screen. The ensuing television series ran from 1954 to 1973, totaling 591 episodes. Pal appeared only in the two original pilots before retiring. He died at the age of 18 and was buried on his grieving owner's ranch. Over the ensuing years, Pal's descendants, all products of Weatherwax training (beginning with Lassie Junior) took up the baton.
- IMDb mini biography by: I.S.Mowis