Lassie (1954 TV series)

This article is about the American TV series of 1954–1973, later syndicated as "Jeff's Collie" and "Timmy and Lassie". For other Lassie TV shows and movies, see Lassie (disambiguation)

Lassie
File:Title Screen 01.JPG Title screen of Lassie, seasons 1-10
Genre	Children's programs
Created by	Robert Maxwell
Starring	Tommy Rettig Jan Clayton George Cleveland Jon Provost June Lockhart Hugh Reilly Robert Bray Jack De Mave Jed Allan Ron Hayes Larry Wilcox Pamelyn Ferdin
Theme music composer	Les Baxter
Opening theme	Whistle
Composer	Raoul Kraushaar
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	19
No. of episodes	588 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Jack Wrather Robert Maxwell Sherman A. Harris
Producers	Robert Maxwell Robert Golden Dusty Bruce Leon Fromkess
Production location	California
Running time	26 minutes
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	September 12, 1954 – March 24, 1973
Related
The New Lassie

Lassie is an Emmy Award-winning American television series that follows the adventures of a female rough collie named Lassie and her companions, human and animal. One of the longest running dramatic series on television, Lassie was first broadcast from September 12, 1954, to March 24, 1973. The show saw seventeen seasons on CBS before entering first run syndication for its final two seasons. Filmed initially in black-and-white, the show transitioned to color during the 1960s.

The show's first ten seasons follow Lassie's adventures in a small farming community with two boys, Jeff Miller (1954-1957) and Timmy Martin (1957-1964). When her exploits on the farm end in the eleventh season, Lassie finds new adventures in the wilderness with Forest Rangers Corey Stuart, Bob Erickson, and Scott Turner. Following a year without human leads (1970), Lassie finally settles at a children's home for her final seasons.

Lassie found critical favor from its inception and won two Emmy awards in its first years. Merchandise produced during its run included books, Halloween costumes, clothing, toys, and other items. Campbell's Soup offered two premiums (a ring and a wallet), and distributed thousands to fans. A multi-part episode was edited into the feature film, Lassie's Great Adventure and released in August 1963. In 1989, The New Lassie brought series' star Jon Provost back to television as Steve McCullough, a man denying his identity as Timmy Martin after learning the Martins did not properly adopt him. Lassie is occasionally seen in reruns and some episodes are available on VHS and DVD.

Production

Concept and development

In the 1940s, Eric Knight's fictional collie, Lassie became the central character in six popular MGM films. Rudd Weatherwax, owner and trainer of Lassie's canine portrayer, Pal, took all rights to the Lassie trademark and name in lieu of back pay owed him by MGM. Producer Robert Maxwell then sold Weatherwax on his concept of a Lassie television series with a "boy and his dog" theme set on a weatherbeaten American farm. After viewing the two pilots, CBS executives gave the show a full-year contract. Lassie went into production, debuting on Sunday, September 12, 1954.

In 1957, Jack Wrather, owner of the hit western The Lone Ranger, purchased the Lassie trademark and the show's production company. When Maxwell left, Wrather guided the show through the popular Timmy and Lassie seasons. As 1964 and the show's eleventh season approached, the decision was made to completely rework the show by teaming Lassie with a succession of Forest Rangers. In 1970, however, Lassie became a loner for a season, and, in 1971, when new rulings regarding primetime were handed down from the FCC, CBS cancelled the show. The show then entered first-run syndication for two seasons with Lassie living at a children's home. The last first-run episode aired March 24, 1973.

Pilots

Two pilots were filmed in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with associate producer Rudy E. Abel, writer Claire Kennedy, and director Leslie Goodwins. "The Inheritance" became the premiere episode and "The Well" was filmed to give potential sponsors and network buyers an idea of a typical episode. After viewing the pilots, CBS placed the show on its fall 1954 schedule and Campbell's Soup signed on as the show's sole sponsor. As word spread through the Hollywood community about the series, the MGM legal office halted production and drew up a copyright infringement lawsuit, claiming the studio still owned the Lassie trademark and name. Before court action began, Weatherwax produced documentation proving the studio had given up all rights to Lassie two years before for $40,000. Filming for the series went forward in the summer of 1954.

Casting

File:Rettig in 1955.png

Lassie Junior and Rettig (1955)

With the pilots written and ready to film, Jan Clayton, a Broadway star and quiz show panelist was hired to play farm woman Ellen Miller with George Cleveland, a septuagenarian with two hundred film roles to his credit, playing her father-in-law, George “Gramps” Miller. Child actor Tommy Rettig auditioned for the role of Ellen’s eleven-year-old son Jeff Miller and found himself in competition with two other boys (one being Lee Aker, who would later star in television’s Rin Tin Tin). The three juvenile actors spent a week at Rudd Weatherwax's home in North Hollywood, California with Pal, and, as Rettig recalled, “Lassie liked me better than the other two kids. I loved animals, and this seemed to be very important to Rudd.” Rettig won the role. Pal, the canine star of the MGM Lassie films, was cast as Lassie in the two pilots.

With the show in production, producers decided Jeff needed a boy companion his own age. Donald Keeler (Joey D. Vieira, 1954-1957) was cast as Jeff's friend, "Porky" Brockway, after defeating 1,500 other children for the role. Keeler made his debut in "The Lion" (1954).

In 1957, Rettig was outgrowing his role and Clayton wanted to return to musical theater. The decision was made to find a new boy and ease the Miller family out of the show. Two hundred boys were interviewed unsuccessfully. Wrather’s wife Bonita Granville then followed a friend’s tip and brought six-year-old film star Jon Provost to the proceedings. After one interview (and a few days at Weatherwax’s home with Lassie Junior) Provost was hired and made his debut as Timmy in the fourth season opener. Mid-season, George Cleveland's sudden and unexpected death forced producers to drop Clayton, Rettig, and Keeler. Cloris Leachman and Hollywood newcomer Jon Shepodd were quickly hired as Timmy’s adoptive parents with George Chandler playing Paul’s uncle, Petrie. Leachman was unhappy playing a tired farm woman, feuded on-set with co-workers, and proved unpopular with viewers. Ratings dropped. With filming completed for the fourth season in February 1958, Wrather dropped Leachman and Shepodd. Film veteran June Lockhart and stage star Hugh Reilly were hired in the roles of Ruth and Paul Martin and made their debuts in the fifth-season opener. In 1958, Chandler was dropped and replaced in 1959 by Andy Clyde as eccentric farmer Cully Wilson in the show's "grandfather" role.

In 1964, Wrather grew concerned about the show's future. Jon Provost was fourteen and no longer wanted to play a child while teen viewers were leaving the show's homey family format for more exciting fare. Producers decided Lassie needed to be reworked. The Martin family was dropped and Robert Bray, a former Marine and Gary Cooper look-a-like who had appeared in the multi-part wilderness adventure "Disappearance", returned to the series in his role as Forest Ranger Corey Stuart. As time passed, however, Bray's emotional and alcoholic problems forced him from the show. Jack De Mave and Jed Allan were then hired to play Forest Rangers Bob Erickson and Scott Turner for the 1968 and 1969 seasons.

Filming locations

The show's first studio was Stage One of KTTV in Los Angeles, California with the production moving to Desilu in 1957. Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, California, Kanab Movie Ranch, Kanab, Utah, and Red Rock Canyon State Park, Cantil, California also saw shootings. During the Timmy seasons, episodes were filmed at the Grand Canyon and the Air Force Academy and, during the ranger seasons, Monument Valley, Sequoia National Park and other locations.

Theme music

Lassie used several pieces of theme music during its long broadcast history. For the first season, "Secret of the Silent Hills (Theme from the Lassie TV Series)," is used for both the opening and ending theme. Composed by William Lava, the orchestral theme was originally created for the 1940 radio show The Courageous Dr. Christian. For the second and third season, a variation of this theme, titled simply "Lassie Main & End Title", was used for the opening and ending theme. Raoul Kraushaar, the music director for the series, is the listed composer for the theme, however the changes he made to the original are so slight that only a trained ear can tell the difference. The third theme used for the series is the aria "Dio Possente" (Even Bravest Hearts May Swell) from Charles Gounod's opera Faust. The exact time this theme started being used is uncertain due to conflicting records, however it is agreed that it was the third series, and used for at least part of season 4 for the change of ownership of Lassie.

The most famous of the Lassie theme songs, appeared at the start of the fifth season. Copyrighted as "Lassie Main & End Title", the song was created by Les Baxter, with the whistling itself performed by Muzzy Marcellino. Nicknamed "Whistle," it remained the series theme for the rest of the Martin Years. With the coming of the Ranger Years, the opening and ending theme is changed to Nathan Scott's arrangement of the traditional folk tune Greensleeves. "Whistle" returned as the series theme during the thirteenth season for the seven-part "Voyager" episode, and would remain the series theme for the rest of its run.

Sponsor

Campbell's Soup Company sponsored the entire run of Lassie. In 1956, the company held a "Name Lassie's Puppies" contest with the grand prizes being Lassie's pups and $2,000. Company executives hand-delivered puppies to the winner's homes. The company offered two premiums during the show's first ten seasons. One was the friendship ring from the fourth season episode, "The Ring" (1957); the company mailed 77,715 rings to viewers.

File:Lassie Ring 01.jpg

Lassie friendship ring

In 1959, the company offered a wallet "made of rich brown plastic" and emblazoned with a picture of Lassie in conjunction with the episode, "Old Henry"; 1,343,509 wallets were mailed to viewers who sent in five different labels from Campbell products. The labels represented 6.5 million cans of Campbell's products sold. The company asked that their products be visible on the set and so, in episode after episode, Campbell's products are seen in background shots.

Lassie was spokesdog for Recipe Dog Food, a Campbell's product introduced in 1969, which was reportedly based on the homemade stew mixture Weatherwax prepared for Lassie. Printed advertisements for the product announced, "Now all dogs can come home to the dinner Lassie comes home to." In its first year, Recipe earned $10 million for Campbell's, and, in its third year, $40 million. To help boost sales, Campbell's paid Weatherwax to write a dog-training manual called The Lassie Method which the company used as a premium offer.

Characters and cast

The show's titular character is portrayed in the two pilots by Pal, the MGM film Lassie. Thereafter, five of his male descendants play the role. His son Lassie Junior performs through the Jeff years and first two Timmy years (1954-1958), retiring in 1959 to battle cancer. His son Spook plays the role briefly in season five, in all of season six, most of season seven, and very briefly in season eight (1958-1961). Baby, son of Lassie Junior and brother to Spook, shares Spook's thespian chores at the end of season seven, the last Timmy years, and two of the Ranger years (1960-1965). Mire appears in the last Ranger years and the Lassie alone year (1966-1970). Hey Hey portrays Lassie during the two syndicated years (1971-1972).

The Miller family seasons follow Jeff Miller (Tommy Rettig, 1954-1957), his widowed mother Ellen (Jan Clayton, 1954-1957) and his grandfather, George "Gramps" Miller (George Cleveland, 1954-1957). Recurring characters include Jeff's friend "Porky" Brockway (Donald Keeler, 1954-1957), his father Matt Brockway (Paul Maxey, 1954-1957), and veterinarian Doc Weaver (Arthur Space, 1955-1964). Porky's basset hound Pokey is a recurring animal character.

File:MartinFamilyLassie.jpg

Lockhart, Reilly, Provost, and Baby

The Martin years begin when Paul and Ruth Martin (Jon Shepodd and Cloris Leachman, 1957; Hugh Reilly and June Lockhart, 1958-1964) buy the farm and adopt Timmy (Jon Provost, 1957-1964). Paul's uncle Petrie (George Chandler, 1957-1958) co-stars, and eccentric farmer Cully Wilson (Andy Clyde, 1959-1964) is a semi-regular. Timmy's friend Boomer Bates (Todd Ferrell, 1958) and his dog Mike are recurring characters. Guest appearances include baseball great Roy Campanella, Olympian Rafer Johnson, and Clayton Moore (The Lone Ranger). When children were needed for background parts, cast and crew brought their own children to play classmates, 4-H members, and church goers.

Following seasons feature Forest Rangers Corey Stuart (Robert Bray, 1964-1968) and Bob Erickson and Scott Turner (Jack De Mave and Jed Allan, 1968-1969). Lassie wanders for a season then settles at a children's home where director Garth Holden (Ron Hayes, 1971), his brother Keith (Larry Pennell, 1972), his college-age son, Ron (Skip Burton, 1971-1972), and Ron's friend, Dale Mitchell (Larry Wilcox, 1971-1972), provide for Lassie. Sue Lambert (Sherry Boucher, 1971), is a veterinarian, and Lucy Baker (Pamelyn Ferdin, 1971-1972), is a deaf child. Guest stars include Ken Osmond, Paul Peterson, Suzanne Sommers, Victor French, and Morgan Brittany.

Plot

While Lassie is far from being Superdog, she does have an unnatural understanding of human vocabulary, an uncanny knack for reading human motives and emotions, and a keen sense of moral right and wrong. Lassie plays a significant part in most episodes, coming forward at critical moments to save the day. The first ten seasons dramatize juvenile interests and concerns such as escaped zoo animals and polio vaccinations. Jeff and Timmy learn valuable life lessons from their adventures. Two episodes launch Campbell's Soup premiums while two others promote a UNICEF Halloween project and the Peace Patrol, a children's savings bond program spearheaded by Lassie and The Lone Ranger. The Timmy seasons see several Christmas episodes while the same seasons bring conservation and environmentalism center stage. Color filming is exploited during the Ranger Years with Lassie and her friends sent to exotic locations such as Sequoia National Forest and Monument Valley. Lassie rescues humans and animals from floodwaters and forest fires. In the seventeenth season, Lassie wanders alone, aiding needy humans and animals. Some episodes are animals-only. In her final seasons, Lassie is again in a domestic setting reminiscent of the early years of the show yet enjoying outdoor adventures that recall her wilderness years.

Themes

Lassie themes explored the relationship between boys and their dogs with the show helping to shape the viewer's understanding of mid-twentieth century American boyhood. Lassie was associated with the wholesome family values of its period but some parents' groups monitoring television content found cliffhanger plots showing children in danger too intense for very young viewers and objected to some of Timmy's actions which were believed to encourage children to disobey parents. Lassie, however, was consistently depicted as caring, nurturing, and responsible with a commitment to family and community, often rescuing those in peril and righting wrongs. She was the perfect 'mother' within the American ideology of the 1950s and 1960s.

Media information

Broadcast history

First-run Lassie was televised September 12, 1954 to March 24, 1973 with its first seventeen seasons airing on CBS Sunday evenings 7:00 P.M. EST. In 1971, in order to promote community-related programming among local affliates, the Federal Communications Commission moved primetime Sundays to 8:00 P.M. EST. CBS executives felt Lassie would not be well received in a time slot other than its seventeen-year held 7:00 P.M. slot, and, with the network's other family programs set, the show was cancelled. Lassie then entered first-run syndication with Jack Wrather and Campbell's Soup still on board, and remained on the air for another two years Sundays 7:30 P.M. EST with its final episode airing March 24, 1973. In rerun syndication, the Miller family episodes often aired under the title Jeff's Collie, while the Martin family episodes aired under Timmy and Lassie. Classic Media currently owns the rights to the entire Lassie television series, as well as the Lassie trademark.

Marketing and merchandise

Merchandise from the show's first-run includes Lassie-themed children's clothing such as pyjamas and sneakers, Halloween costumes, Viewmaster reels, a variety of books and other items. Studio materials, promotional photographs, tie-ins from the "Peace Patrol" episode, props and costumes with documented provenance, and the two Campbell's Soup premiums are prized by collectors. In 2005, Karen Pfeiffer released The Legacy of Lassie: an Unauthorized Information and Price Guide on Lassie Collectibles (ISBN 978-0975887066).

Spinoff

Following the show's demise in 1973, two short-lived series unrelated to the original aired: a 1973 CBS animated program called Lassie's Rescue Rangers, and a 1997 live-action series set in Vermont called Lassie. Rudd Weatherwax described the animated series as "trash" while the live-action series was criticized for relegating Lassie to the background. In 2001, a two volume manga title was published which was unrelated to the original television series.

In 1989, The New Lassie, starring Jon Provost as Steve McCullough, aired in first-run syndication. In its seventh episode, June Lockhart reprised her Ruth Martin role when Steve McCullough is revealed to be Timmy Martin. The viewer learns Timmy was never properly adopted by the Martins and consequently forced to remain in the States when they emigrated to Australia. Timmy was then adopted by the McCulloughs and began using his middle name, Steven. Tommy Rettig makes guest appearances as professor and computer specialist, Jeff Miller.

Feature film

During Thanksgiving week 1962, a five-part color episode was filmed in the High Sierras called "The Journey". First broadcast in February and March 1963, the episode follows Timmy and Lassie as the two are swept away in a carnival hot air balloon that eventually comes to rest in the Canadian wilderness, forcing the the voyagers to face many perils before being rescued by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Richard Simmons, star of another Jack Wrather property, Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, made an appearance while Lassie star, Jon Provost, performed his own whitewater stunts. Lassie sponsor Campbell's Soup objected to multi-part episodes, believing viewers would not want to tune in week after week to find out what happens from one segment to the next, but three of the five segments from "The Journey" hit the top-ten for the weeks in which they aired. The five segments were edited into a feature length film and released in August 1963 through Twentieth Century Fox as Lassie's Great Adventure. The film is approximately 73 minutes in length and is available on DVD.

DVD releases

DVD Name	# Ep	Release Date
Lassie's Great Adventure	5	June 26, 2001
Lassie: Best of the Lassie Show	3	November 25, 2003
Lassie: Lassie's Christmas Stories	3	November 25, 2003
Lassie: Best of Jeff's Collie	3	November 25, 2003
Lassie: Lassie's Birthday Surprise	3	November 25, 2003
Lassie: Lassie's Gift of Love	3	November 25, 2003
Lassie: 50th Anniversary Collection	24	September 14, 2004
Lassie: Flight of the Cougar	3	March 6, 2006
Lassie: A Mother's Love	4	May 1, 2007

Reception

Ratings

Every year of its 17 year run on CBS, Lassie placed first in its time slot, Sunday 7:00 P.M. EST and often ranked among the top twenty-five shows on television. The show's highest ranking years in the Neilsen rankings were the Martin years when the show placed #24 in 1957, #22 in 1958, #15 in 1959, #15 in 1961, #21 in 1962, #13 in 1963, and #17 in 1964. The only Martin year Lassie did not climb into the top twenty-five was 1960, when it ran opposite Walt Disney Presents on ABC and Shirley Temple Theatre on NBC. With the departure of the Martin family in the first episode of the eleventh season, the show began a steady decline in ratings.

Awards

Lassie won Emmy Awards for Best Children's Program in 1955 and for Best Children's Series in 1956. Jan Clayton was nominated for two Emmys in 1957 and 1958 for her portrayal of Ellen Miller, while June Lockhart was nominated for an Emmy in 1959 for her role as Ruth Martin. The show received another Emmy nomination in 1960 for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Children's Programming. The show was awarded a Peabody Award in 1956. Honors for the show were also received from the PTA, the National Association for Better Radio and Television, Gold Star, and Billboard. In 2003, Jon Provost was nominated for TV Land's Favorite Pet-Human Relationship Award (Timmy and Lassie).

Cultural impact

In 1960, the Lassie character became one of only three animal characters to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Jon Provost's Keds sneakers are in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution. Lassie and the show's stars have appeared on nine TV Guide covers.

In 1967, in conjunction with Lassie's unofficial role with the United States Forestry Service and her perception by many Americans as an environmental activist, Lassie was welcomed to the White House by Lady Bird Johnson. In January 1968, the President of the United States of America signed into a law a bill that targeted soil and water pollution unofficially called by many "the Lassie program". Lassie was honored with a luncheon in the Senate Dining Room on March 19, 1968 when a plaque recognizing her commitment to environmentalism was presented her by senators Edmund Muskie and George Murphy.

References

General

• "Lassie ... My Best Friend". Jack and Jill, November 1959.
• "The Life and Times of Lassie". TV Guide, July 4, 1959.
• "The Man with Dog Appeal". TV Guide, August 14, 1965.
• "At Lunch With June Lockhart, Jon Provost and Lassie" New York Times, September 16, 2004.

Specific