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Lassie’s Buddy “Timmy”
Remembers The Good Ole Days
By Mike McLeod
A favorite question Jon Provost,
who starred as Little Timmy in
the popular Lassie series, is
almost always asked is, “How
many Lassies did you work
with on the show?”
The answer is three,
but he spent most of the time
(five years) with the third
Lassie.
Jon worked with Lassie
for 250 episodes in the heartwarming
TV show that ran from
1957 to 1964. It was the only
American show that was aired in
the U.S.S.R. at the time because
it featured no violence and no
capitalism. In 1962, it was the
longest-running drama on air
with more adults watching than
kids. Forty percent of the total
TV- viewing audience watched
the show during its fifth year.
Jon humbly attributes those
gigantic numbers to that day
and age. “There were just three
networks then. More people are watching TV today, but there
are so many channels,” he said.
Maybe so, but it’s a sure bet
that the sponsor, Campbell’s
Soup, wishes for those numbers
again today. By advertising
on Lassie, its profits rose by
70%. At one time, Campbell’s
offered a Lassie wallet in return
for sending in five labels. As a
barometer to the popularity of
Timmy and Lassie then, fans
mailed in 6.7 million labels and
received 1,343,509 wallets.
“It’s hard to find a Lassie
wallet today,” Jon remarked.
“They go for a premium on
eBay.”
Just to get one thing clear,
Timmy never fell down a well
on the show, contrary to the
popular joke among comedians.
He fell down hills and off cliffs,
but Timmy never fell down a
well.
Jon’s career really began
just before he turned three with
the movie, So Big, starring Jane
Wyman and Sterling Hayden.
He won the role at an audition
that attracted about 300 kids.
What made Jon stand out from
the crowd were his composure
and his willingness to follow
directions. While other kids
cried or fidgeted, Jon sat quietly.
When asked to say “Hello,
Daddy,” to an actor, Jon did it.
Most of the other kids balked at
talking with a stranger.
Jon’s mother, Cecile
Provost, took him on that first
audition. Her husband B.A.
Provost thought it was a waste
of time. Both were shocked
when they learned the part paid
$70.
“Is that a month?” B.A.
asked after Jon won the part.
“It’s a day,” his wife
replied.
After So Big, some minor
movie roles followed, and then
Jon was hired for Back From
Eternity with Robert Ryan and
Anita Ekburg.
(An airplane crash lands in a
jungle, and the survivors are
attacked by cannibals.) More
movie appearances followed,
including Escapade in Japan,
which was shot on location.
Then came his big break
with Lassie. Timmy was hired
to be the friend of Lassie’s first
owner, Jeff Miller, played by
Tommy Rettig. Jon joined the
show after Tommy had starred
in more than 100 episodes with
Jan Clayton, who played his
TV mom, Ellen. Tommy was a
teenager who had been acting
since the age of two, and he was
ready to return to the normal
life of going to a public school
and dating girls. Clayton also
wanted to leave the show.
Replacing them were not
June Lockhart and Hugh Reilly,
as many may think. Cloris
Leachman (recently of Dancing
With The Stars and earlier of The
Mary Tyler Moore Show) and
Jon Shepodd were first hired to
play Ruth and Paul Martin. But
Leachman wasn’t happy with
the role, and other complication
led to June and Hugh assuming
the identities of Ruth and Paul.
Jon worked full days on
the set (with breaks for meals,
tutoring and recreation) for nine
months out of the year. In those
days, they filmed TV shows with
just one camera, so they shot the
same scene over and over again
to get it from different angles.
To fight boredom and to keep
himself amused, Jon pulled
pranks. He moved props around
between takes when no one was
looking. If a glass of milk was
on the kitchen table by the everpresent
plate of cookies, Jon
would drink half the glass or
add milk to the glass. Next time
you watch an old episode, look for one of Jon’s pranks.
When the show finally ended
in 1964, Jon was 14, a teenager
and ready to move on. He got
a part in the Disney movie, The
Computer Wore Tennis Shoes,
with Kurt Russell in 1966, and
The Secret Forest in 1970. In
1989, The New Lassie began
airing starring Dee Wallace and
her real-life husband Chris Stone
as the owners of a descendant
of Lassie’s. Jon was called on
to play Steve, the brother of
Chris. A young Leonardo Di
Caprio also guest starred in the
32-episode show that ran until
1992. June Lockhart also made
a guest appearance.
Lassie, in all its television
and movie versions, has been a
“comfort food” for TV viewers
ever since it aired. Its feel-good
stories have appealed to just
about everyone.
“Most shows of that time
were family shows, wholesome
shows,” Jon explained. “They
had moral values that the shows of today don’t have, which is
one reason why it has held up so
long. It is shown in 60 countries
today. I was in Branson,
Missouri, recently, and people
visiting from Japan, told me, ‘I
saw you in Tokyo last week, and
you spoke perfect Japanese.’”
People all over the world
still watch and love Timmy and
Lassie. Is there an audience out
there now for a boy-and-his dog
show?
“I think there is. When I
talk with people, they ask me
why I don’t have a show today.
Shows like Little House on the
Prairie would work today, and
audiences would enjoy them.”
The Smithsonian contacted
Jon about donating a memento
from the show to its History of
Television exhibit.
“When I got the letter
in 1989, I asked my mom,
and she said, ‘I have your whole
outfit.’”
The “Timmy outfit” was the red-checked shirt, jeans and
high top tennis shoes that he
always wore.
“She sent it, and when I
opened box, I had déjà vu all
over again. My son, Ryan, was
6, and he wanted my tennis
shoes. I explained to him that
they were going to a museum.
After I packaged the outfit and
sent it, I took Ryan to the mall
got him some high tops.”
Jon invited his whole family,
including June Lockhart and
Hugh Reilly, to the exhibit’s
opening. Timmy’s outfit was
placed between Fonzie’s jacket
and Archie Bunker’s chair.
Today, Jon is busy, doing
commercials and appearances
with the current Lassie.
“Bob Weatherwax has
the ninth generation Lassie
that his family has bred and
trained.” Bob is the son of Rudd
Weatherwax, the original owner
and trainer of Lassie.
Last year was the 50th anniversary of the show, and
Jon has been on tour promoting
an autobiography he co-wrote
with his wife, Laurie Jacobson.
Timmy’s in the Well: The Jon
Provost Story is an in-depth
look at Jon’s life before, during
and after Lassie, and it has
photos on almost every one of
its 313 pages. For Timmy and
Lassie fans, it is a must-read.
Jon writes in the book of his
feelings about the show and his
career: “ ‘Being Timmy’ has
acted like a universal passport,
gaining me immediate entry
into hearts around the world.
Wherever I am, when people
realize I was Timmy, they travel
right back in their minds to
that warm, happy time where,
for thirty minutes every week,
they were transported by the
adventures of a boy and his dog;
and I am greeted with warm
smiles, hugs, and even some
tears along with many stories
about what it all meant to them.
And today, I love it. I am proud
of my legacy and grateful for
the opportunity to have left
such a mark.”
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