|
Lassie
Lassie is a fictional female Rough Collie dog and is featured in a short story by Eric Knight that was later expanded to a full-length novel called ''Lassie Come-Home''. Knight's portrayal of Lassie bears some features in common with another fictional female collie of the same name, featured in the British writer Elizabeth Gaskell's 1859 short story "The Half Brothers". In "The Half Brothers", Lassie is loved only by her young master and guides the adults back to where two boys are lost in a snowstorm. Published in 1940, Knight's novel was filmed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1943 as ''Lassie Come Home'', with a dog named Pal playing Lassie. Pal then appeared with the stage name "Lassie" in six other MGM feature films through 1951. Pal's owner and trainer, Rudd Weatherwax, then acquired the Lassie name and trademark from MGM and appeared with Pal (as "Lassie") at rodeos, fairs, and similar events across America in the early 1950s. In 1954, the long-running Emmy-winning television ser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lassie (1954 TV Series)
''Lassie'' is an American television series that follows the adventures of a female Rough Collie dog named Lassie and her companions, both human and animal. The show was the creation of producer Robert Maxwell and animal trainer Rudd Weatherwax and was televised from September 12, 1954, to March 25, 1973. The sixth longest-running U.S. primetime television series after ''The Simpsons'', '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', ''Gunsmoke,'' ''Law & Order and Family Guy,'' the show ran for 17 seasons on CBS before entering first-run syndication for its final two seasons. Initially filmed in black and white, the show transitioned to color in 1965. The show's first 10 seasons follow Lassie's adventures living on a farm. 11-year-old Jeff Miller, his mother Ellen, and his grandfather are Lassie's first human companions until seven-year-old Timmy Martin and his adoptive parents take over in the fourth season. When Lassie's exploits on the farm end in the 11th season, she finds new adve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pal (dog)
Pal (June 4, 1940 – June 18, 1958) was a male Rough Collie performer and the first in a line of such dogs to portray the fictional female collie Lassie in film, on radio, and on television. Pal was born in California in 1940 and eventually brought to the notice of Rudd Weatherwax, a Hollywood animal trainer. In 1943, the dog was chosen to play Lassie in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer feature film ''Lassie Come Home''. Following his film debut, Pal starred in six more ''Lassie'' films for MGM from the mid-1940s to early 1950s, then appeared briefly in shows, fairs, and rodeos around the United States before starring in the two pilots filmed in 1954 for the television series, '' Lassie''. Pal retired after filming the television pilots, and died in June 1958. He sired a line of descendants who continued to play the fictional character he originated. In 1992, ''The Saturday Evening Post'' said Pal had "the most spectacular canine career in film history". Birth and early years Pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lassie Come Home
''Lassie Come Home'' is a 1943 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Technicolor feature film starring Roddy McDowall and canine actor Pal, in a story about the profound bond between Yorkshire boy Joe Carraclough and his rough collie, Lassie. The film was directed by Fred M. Wilcox from a screenplay by Hugo Butler based upon the 1940 novel ''Lassie Come-Home'' by Eric Knight. The film was the first in a series of seven MGM films starring "Lassie." The original film saw a sequel, ''Son of Lassie'' in 1945 with five other films following at intervals through the 1940s. A British remake of the 1943 movie was released in 2005 as ''Lassie'' to moderate success. The film has been released to VHS and DVD. In 1993, ''Lassie Come Home'' was included in the annual selection of 25 motion pictures added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and recommended for preservation. Plot Set in Depression-era Yorkshire, Eng ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Son Of Lassie
''Son of Lassie'' (also known as ''Laddie, Son of Lassie'') is a 1945 American Technicolor feature film produced by MGM based on characters created by Eric Knight, and starring Peter Lawford, Donald Crisp, June Lockhart and Pal (credited as Lassie). A sequel to ''Lassie Come Home'' (1943), the film focuses on the now adult Joe Carraclough after he joins the Royal Air Force during World War II and is shot down over Nazi-occupied Norway along with a stowaway, Lassie's son "Laddie" – played by Pal. ''Son of Lassie'' was released theatrically on April 20, 1945, by Loew's. Plot In Yorkshire, at the estate of the Duke of Rudling (Nigel Bruce), the British Army converted the grounds into a training camp for war dogs. The camp is placed under the supervision of Sam Carraclough (Donald Crisp), the kennel caretaker, who immediately begins the process of selecting the best dogs for training, including Laddie, the young pup of the champion collie, Lassie. Joe Carraclough (Peter Lawford), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Courage Of Lassie
''Courage of Lassie'' is a 1946 Technicolor MGM feature film starring Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Morgan, and dog actor Pal in a story about a collie named Bill and his young companion, Kathie Merrick. When Bill is separated from Kathie following a vehicular accident, he is trained as a war dog, performs heroically, and, after many tribulations, is eventually reunited with his beloved Kathie. ''Courage of Lassie'' is the third of seven MGM films featuring a canine star called Lassie, based on Eric Knight's fictional character. Pal, a male Rough Collie, using the stage name Lassie, appeared as the title character in the first film, ''Lassie Come Home'' and as Laddie in its sequel, ''Son of Lassie''.Collins, Ace. ''Lassie: a Dog's Life.'' Penguin Books, 1993. Despite this film's title, the character Lassie does not appear in ''Courage of Lassie''; Pal (credited as Lassie) portrays "Bill", also referred to as "Duke" for part of the movie. ''Courage of Lassie'' has been released to VHS ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Rettig
Thomas Noel Rettig (December 10, 1941 – February 15, 1996) was an American child actor, computer software engineer, and author. He is remembered for portraying the character "Jeff Miller" in the first three seasons of CBS's '' Lassie'' television series, from 1954 to 1957, later seen in syndicated re-runs with the title ''Jeff's Collie''. He also co-starred with another former child actor, Tony Dow, in the mid-1960s television teen soap opera ''Never Too Young'' and recorded the song by that title with the group, The TR-4. Early life and acting career Rettig was born to a Jewish father, Elias Rettig, and a Christian Italian–American mother, Rosemary Nibali, in Jackson Heights in the Queens borough of New York City. He started his career at the age of six, on tour with Mary Martin in the play '' Annie Get Your Gun'', in which he played Little Jake. Rettig was selected from among 500 boys for the role of Jeff Miller, to star in the first '' Lassie'' television se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lassie Come-Home
''Lassie Come-Home'' is a novel written by Eric Knight about a rough collie's trek over many miles to be reunited with the boy she loves. Author Eric Knight introduced the reading public to the canine character of Lassie in a magazine story published on December 17, 1938, in ''The Saturday Evening Post'', a story which he later expanded to a novel and published in 1940 to critical and commercial success. In 1943, the novel was adapted to the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer feature film ''Lassie Come Home'' starring Roddy McDowall as the boy Joe Carraclough, Pal as Lassie, and featuring Elizabeth Taylor. The motion picture was selected for inclusion in the National Film Registry. A remake of ''Lassie Come Home'', entitled '' Lassie'', was released in 2005. The hyphen in the title is both an adjective referring to Lassie's purpose as a dog that must turn home and it is the name given to the dog in the final chapter where the boy says to the dog: "Ye brought us luck. 'Cause ye're a come-homer. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
June Lockhart
June Lockhart (born June 25, 1925) is an American actress, beginning a film career in 1930s & 1940s in such films at ''A Christmas Carol'' and ''Meet Me in St. Louis''. She primarily acted in 1950s and 1960s television, and with performances on stage and in film. On two television series, '' Lassie'' and ''Lost in Space'', she played mother roles. She also portrayed Dr. Janet Craig on the CBS television sitcom ''Petticoat Junction'' (1968–70). She is a two-time Emmy Award nominee and a Tony Award winner. With a career spanning over 80 years, she is one of the last surviving actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Early life June Lockhart was born on June 25, 1925, in New York City, New York. She is the daughter of Canadian-American actor Gene Lockhart, who came to prominence on Broadway in 1933 in ''Ah, Wilderness!'', and English-born actress Kathleen Lockhart ((née Arthur). Her grandfather was John Coates Lockhart, "a concert-singer". Lockhart attended the Westlake Schoo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudd Weatherwax
Ruddell Bird "Rudd" Weatherwax (September 23, 1907 – February 25, 1985) was an American actor, animal trainer, and breeder. He and his brother Frank are best remembered for training dogs for motion pictures and television. Their collie, Pal, became the original Lassie, handled by Rudd for the 1943 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film ''Lassie Come Home''. He also handled the dogs for the ''Lassie'' television series which ran from 1954 to 1974, and trained Spike for the 1957 feature film ''Old Yeller''. After his death, his son, Robert, took over the training of the animals. Weatherwax was also responsible for training the official New York Mets’ team mascot in the 1960s, a beagle named Homer. Biography Weatherwax was born in Engle, New Mexico Territory, the son of Anna Elisa (née Wallis) and Walter Smiley Weatherwax. Pal became a movie star through a weather-related event. MGM, which had decided to use a show collie trained by Frank Inn in the movie, took advantage of a ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Collie
Collies form a distinctive type of herding dogs, including many related landraces and standardized breeds. The type originated in Scotland and Northern England. Collies are medium-sized, fairly lightly-built dogs, with pointed snouts. Many types have a distinctive white color over the shoulders. Collies are very active and agile, and most types of collies have a very strong herding instinct. Collie breeds have spread through many parts of the world (especially Australia and North America), and have diversified into many varieties, sometimes mixed with other dog types. Some collie breeds have remained as working dogs for herding cattle, sheep, and other livestock, while others are kept as pets, show dogs or for dog sports, in which they display great agility, stamina and trainability. While the American Kennel Club has a breed they call "collie", in fact ''collie dogs'' are a distinctive type of herding dog inclusive of many related landraces and formal breeds. There are usua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eric Knight
Eric Mowbray Knight (10 April 1897 – 15 January 1943) was an English novelist and screenwriter, who is mainly known for his 1940 novel ''Lassie Come-Home'', which introduced the fictional collie Lassie. He took American citizenship in 1942 shortly before his death. Biography Born in Menston, West Riding of Yorkshire, Knight was the youngest of three sons born to Marion Hilda (née Creasser) and Frederic Harrison Knight, both Quakers. His father was a rich diamond merchant who, when Eric was two years old, was killed during the Boer War. His mother then moved to St. Petersburg, Imperial Russia, to work as a governess for the imperial family. The family later settled in the United States in 1912. Knight had a varied career, including service in the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry during World War I as a signaller then served as a captain of field artillery in the U.S. Army Reserve until 1926. His two brothers were both killed in World War I serving with the Pennsyl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rough Collie
The Rough Collie (also known as the Long-Haired Collie) is a long-coated dog breed of medium to large size that, in its original form, was a type of collie used and bred for herding sheep in Scotland. More recent breeding has focused on the Collie as a show dog, and also companion. The breed specifications call for a distinctive long narrow tapered snout and tipped (''semiprick'') ears, so some dogs have their ears taped when young. Rough Collies generally come in shades of sable and white (sometimes mahogany), blue merle, tri-colored, and colour-headed white. Originating in the 19th century, the breed is now well known through the stories of author Albert Payson Terhune about his dog '' Lad'', and later with Eric Knight's character of '' Lassie'' and her novels, movies, and television shows. There is a smooth-coated variety known as a Smooth Collie; some breed organisations, including both the American and Canadian Kennel Clubs, consider smooth-coat and rough-coat collies t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_from_1915.JPG "Click for more on -> Rough Collie")