Lassie Also known as Jeff's Collie 1954–1964


Plots during the first ten "boy and his dog" seasons were similar: the boy (Jeff or 
Timmy) got into some sort of trouble. Lassie then dashed off to get help or 
rushed in to save her master's life herself. After being reunited with family and 
breathing a sigh of relief, the boy received a light lecture on why he should not 
have done what he had done. In 2004, June Lockhart described the show as 
"...a fairy tale about people on a farm in which the dog solves all the problems in 
22 minutes, in time for the last commercial. 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. However, 
Lassie 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

Human leads

Tommy Rettig starred as Jeff Miller during the early years of the series ('54
-'57), which were syndicated as Jeff's Collie
Jon Provost starred as Timmy Martin during the middle years of the series ('57
-'64), which were syndicated as Timmy & Lassie


1954–1957: Miller Family (later syndicated as Jeff's Collie)

Ellen Miller - war-widowed farm woman (Jan Clayton)
Jeff Miller - Ellen's eleven-year-old son (Tommy Rettig)
George "Gramps" Miller - Ellen's father-in-law and Jeff's paternal grandfather 
(George Cleveland)
"Porky" Brockway - a farm boy and Jeff's friend (Joey D. Vieira - using the stage 
name "Donald Keeler")

1957–1964: Martin Family (later syndicated as Timmy & Lassie)

Timmy Martin - a foster boy on the Miller farm (Jon Provost)
Paul Martin - a young farmer, Ruth's husband and Timmy's adoptive father (Jon 
Shepodd 1957–1958; Hugh Reilly 1958–1964)
Ruth Martin - Paul's wife and Timmy's adoptive mother (Cloris Leachman 1957
–1958; June Lockhart 1958–1964)
Petrie J. Martin - Paul's uncle (George Chandler) (Jan. 1958–1960)
Cully Wilson - a neighbor of the Martins, who was a farmer and nature lover 
(Andy Clyde) (1959–1964)


Menus without titles...
46 show, 30 with Tommy Rettig, the rest with Jon Provost

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