HomeCover Story, American T-Vue Time
Sunday, April 6 – April 12, 1958
Jon, 8, Is ALL Boy
Jon Provost, a mite of a lad at 8, is a typical boy, “with ants in his pants.” He never sits still for a minute.
Blonde, blue – eyed and wearing size 6 clothes, he is every bit an actor, however.
He has the ability to memorize his lines with incredible speed. His mother spends about 15 minutes reading and re-reading a page of script to him, whereupon he not only repeats the dialogue with great feeling, but gives suggestions to author as well as director in the filming of “Lassie” and other shows.
He has appeared in several films in his brief career, including “So Big,” with Jane Wyman, and “Country Girl,” with Bing Crosby. He went to Japan more recently to do “Escapade,” with Teresa Wright, for Bill Dozier, of RKO.
Jon got his present role of pal to Lassie when the wife of the owner of Lassie complained to Ann Rutherford, Dozier’s wife, her husband could not find a new boy for the show. Miss Rutherford, knowing Jon’s talents, recommended him. He has done one live TV show for Climax, and 12 others.
He was born March 12, 1950, in Los Angeles, has a brother, Bill, 12, and sister, Francile, 11.
Parade Magazine
September 26, 1954
Old Dog, New Medium
At 14, Lassie Comes Out of Retirement to Star on Television
Hollywood. When the “Lassie” pictures were discontinued in 1951, trainer Rudd Weatherwax-who owned the male collie familiar to the public under the name-bought the rights to the Lassie trademark for $40,000. It now appears he will get his money back.
For Lassie has just started a television series (CBS, Sunday nights) which may make millions of Americans collie-conscious all over again. Each week they can watch Lassie’s intelligence, agility, speed and loyalty take over when human resources fail.
All this, of course, is an old story to Pal (Lassie’s real name). At 14, he has starred in seven movies (best loved: Eric Knight’s Lassie Come Home).
For his TV films, Lassie has special privileges, including not one but four stand-ins. All are his own sons, (Named Pal, Lassie Jr., Laddie and Big Laddie, they’re shown on today’s cover with Lassie at top center). Their hair is dyed so they look just like their own father. (This statement made in the original article is not true. The dogs portraying Lassie were never dyed. Their coloring and markings were all natural. They were chosen because they had the correct markings. /kdp)
“Collies live only 18 or 19 years,” says Weatherwax. “I think Lassie should take it easy now, so I let his sons spell him. But he’s a real trouper and loves fast action shots.”
How did the trainer acquire Lassie-er, Pal?
“As a pup, he had a bad habit of chasing automobiles,” says Weatherwax, “so his owners farmed him out to Howard Pack, a dog trainer for the U.S. Army. Pack broke him of the habit but then the owners didn’t want him back. He sold Pal to me for ten dollars-and he’s never forgiven himself!”
Weatherwax, who has 38 other dogs “on call” for studio needs, worked a long time to fit Pal for a career: “For three years he ate like a horse and didn’t earn a red cent. Then one day MGM tested him and the next thing I knew the dog had a contract and a new name.”
The trainer says any dog can teach his pet “Lassie tricks.” Weatherwax’s method: teach a dog to obey oral commands unhesitatingly, then break him in on physical tricks.
“I never hit a dog,” he says. “It kills his spirit. If a dog misses a trick, I shake him up a little. If he does well, I reward him with something to eat. It’s a foolproof system.”
It is with Lassie, anyway. His movie work brought Weatherwax $264,000. From TV the take will be $1,000 for each of the first 26 films, $1,250 for the next 26 and $1,500 thereafter, plus 10 per cent of the residual income.
The dog is man’s best friend. If his name is Lassie, he’s one man’s gold-mine.
Saturday Evening Post
December 3, 1956
A High-Living Pooch is a Durable Star
Lassie’s Son, Lassie, Gets $100,000 a Year
Television stars come and go, fretting about their ratings. But one star seems destined to go on forever and unworried. She (or more accurately, he) is Lassie, a 4-year-old collie who is currently wowing them for the third season (Sunday, CBS-TV, 7:00 p.m. E.S.T.) and who will this year earn a purebred $100,000.
The original Lassie hit the big dogtime with the movie Lassie Come Home in 1942. Now 17, he is blind, but his son carries on. living high off the hydrant and supporting a whole kennelful of pooches – including his father.