For nearly two decades most of us can remember tuning in to see the latest adventures of the most famous dog on TV – Lassie.
This much-loved Rough Collie dog and her human companions graced our screens for 17 seasons from 1954 to 1973 and even made the transition from black and white to color in the ’60s.
But who could forget the adorable little boy who joined the show in its fourth season when he and his family adopted Lassie – 7-year-old Timmy Martin.
Now Jon Provost, who played Timmy, has celebrated his 74th birthday and shares the joy he had filming with his four-legged friend and how he was discovered by Hollywood at just 3 years old.
The Los Angeles-born actor said when he was 3 years old he was taken to an audition for a Jane Wyman movie because his mom was a huge fan and hoped to get her autograph. But, out of the 200 kids auditioning for the part, Jon got it.
It was far from evident that Jon would become an actor. His father worked with something completely different – he was an aeronautical engineer.
”My parents weren’t Hollywood people. My father is from Alabama and my mother is from Texas,” Jon said.
At age 4, he landed a role in a Grace Kelly and Bing Crosby movie.
“I didn’t have an agent. I got one and that led to more movies like The Country Girl with Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly. I did about 12 movies before I started ‘Lassie’”, he told Fox News.
Three different Lassies
Recalling the bonds he formed with the three different male dogs that played the part of the female Lassie, Jon said he developed the biggest bond with the last dog to play Lassie.
“I did the show for seven years, 249 half-hour episodes. I worked with three different Lassies. The last dog I worked with, I worked with him for five years alone,” he told Fox News.
“We grew up together. For five years, we saw each other five days a week and sometimes on weekends.
Revealing how well behaved the dog was he added: “The actors made more mistakes than the dog. They were more of a problem,” he laughed.
After leaving the show at 14 years old he starred alongside the likes of Natalie Wood and Kurt Russell and never fell into the Hollywood child actor trap saying: “My parents let me pretty much do what I wanted to do. I didn’t have to take a job.
“When I left Hollywood, I thought it was good that I did.”
Today Jon lives out of the limelight in Northern California but still gets fan mail from his time in “Lassie”. In 1994, the actor received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Meanwhile, Lassie, the canine character, became so popular that she even had a “Lassie” riveting radio series.
Jon Provost wife
In 1979, Jon Provost tied the knot with Sandy Goosens. Together, they had two children, Ryan and Katie.
After being married for 14 years, the two divorced on December 20, 1993.
In 1999, Jon Provost found love again when he married Laurie Jacobson, a well-known researcher, and author.
I was such a fan of the adventures this sweet duo got up to. And with a moral to every episode, it was the perfect show for kids.
Please share with all the “Lassie” fans you know.
Shiloh Jolie-Pitt has come to a painful conclusion
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, once one of the most talked-about couples globally, have seen their relationship deteriorate into a state of open hostility.
Since their divorce in 2019, the pair, famously known as “Brangelina”, have been embroiled in ongoing legal disputes and public disagreements, along with a series of serious allegations against one another.
Most recently, in April, Jolie submitted court documents to the Los Angeles Superior Court claiming Pitt had physically abused her, a charge he has strongly denied. The former couple is also locked in a contentious dispute over the sale of a French winery they acquired during their marriage.
In a notable development, reports have emerged that Vivienne, one of their daughters, has chosen to drop “Pitt” from her surname. Now, it appears that her sister Shiloh is following suit, taking steps to make this change official.
According to TMZ, Shiloh celebrated her 18th birthday by filing for a legal name change to Shiloh Jolie. The timing of her paperwork submission, on the day she turned 18, suggests that this was one of her first actions as an adult.
While the name change is pending, it seems likely to go through. Shiloh is one of the six children Jolie and Pitt share, and she isn’t the only one showing strained relations with her father.
Recently, Vivienne made headlines when her name appeared in the official Playbill for the production of The Outsiders, which she helped her mother produce, listed simply as Vivienne Jolie. Similarly, 19-year-old Zahara has reportedly begun using the name Zahara Jolie, and the eldest sibling, Maddox, 22, has also dropped ‘Pitt’ from his name.
While Shiloh is the only child to have formally initiated a name change, the broader trend among the siblings suggests a unified stance in support of their mother amid the ongoing tensions with their father.
In 2020, their brother Pax even took to Instagram to express his disdain for Pitt, saying: “You have made the lives of those closest to me a constant hell”.
He added ominously: “You may tell yourself and the world whatever you want, but the truth will come to light someday”, finishing with: “So Happy Father’s Day, you f*****g awful human being”.
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