Lassie! Memories of a Boy And His Dog…

We couldn’t wait for Sunday nights on CBS – 30 minutes of a boy and his dog – a “Rough” Collie named “Lassie.” The “Lassie” television series ran for 19 years on network television from 1954-73.

The timing couldn’t have been any more perfect in an age of millions of young baby boomer kids who loved animals and fictional stories about animals. It was all about a dog saving the day for a boy, his rural farm family, and animal friends. Lassie taught us kindness that could only come from man’s best friend.

“Lassie” spawned a succession of nature-oriented television series like “Flipper,” “Daktari,” “Gentle Ben,” and the like that extended into the 1970s. Disney’s great success has always been fueled by the universal love of animals. Rare is the person who doesn’t love animals.

Lassie was a fictional “female” Collie, which began in a 1938 short story penned out by Eric Knight. Ultimately, “Lassie” grew into a full-length novel, Knight’s “Lassie Come-Home” in 1940. In 1943, MGM turned “Lassie Come Home” into a movie only with a lead character named Pal. The “Pal” character went on to become “Lassie” in a series of MGM “Lassie” movies, which wrapped up in 1951 before going to television in 1954.

With the advent of television came “Lassie”, which had the same kind of following as “Law & Order” has had since 1990. Viewers just can’t get enough of it nor could they ever see every episode. “Lassie” debuted and, for the next 19 years, a long succession of “Lassie” Collies ensued, trained and owned by animal trainer Rudd Weatherwax. While most viewers saw Lassie as a female, Lassie was, in truth, always a male. Lassie appeared in radio, television, and films as well as hordes of toys, comic books, some animated cartoon series, novels, and a host of other media.

By 1973, the viewers had had their share of “Lassie” and Timmy had long been saved from the well. It was time to move on. Yet, the Lassie legacy never ended. We put “Lassie” on the shelf, but never forgot the magic and tenacity of the Collie. She never let us down.

In 2005, a redo of the original “Lassie Come Home” movie was shot in the United Kingdom starring Peter O’Toole and Samantha Morton. It hit the big screen the following year. What’s more, two animated television series featuring this legendary Collie were produced in the early 1970s after the series went off. A new animated series – “The New Adventures of Lassie” was produced by Superprod and Classic Media where Lassie was owned by the Parker family living in a national park.

When we were very young, “Lassie” kept us entertained every Sunday night along with Ed Sullivan and Disney. It was a wonderful time to be alive, grow up, and be entertained with the animal heroes we loved so much. In this age of mean-spirited tasteless television, old TV shows like “Lassie” are a nice escape.