Lassie is a fictional female

Rough Collie The Rough Collie (also known as the Long-Haired Collie) is a long-coated dog breed of medium to large size that, in its original form, was a type of collie used and bred for herding sheep in Scotland. More recent breeding has focused on the Co ...

dog and is featured in a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

Eric Knight Eric Mowbray Knight (10 April 1897 – 15 January 1943) was an English novelist and screenwriter, who is mainly known for his 1940 novel ''Lassie Come-Home'', which introduced the fictional collie Lassie. He took American citizenship in 1942 sh ...

that was later expanded to a full-length novel called ''

Lassie Come-Home ''Lassie Come-Home'' is a novel written by Eric Knight about a rough collie's trek over many miles to be reunited with the boy she loves. Author Eric Knight introduced the reading public to the canine character of Lassie in a magazine story pu ...

''. Knight's portrayal of Lassie bears some features in common with another fictional female collie of the same name, featured in the British writer Elizabeth Gaskell's 1859 short story "The Half Brothers". In "The Half Brothers", Lassie is loved only by her young master and guides the adults back to where two boys are lost in a snowstorm. Published in 1940, Knight's novel was filmed by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

in 1943 as ''

Lassie Come Home ''Lassie Come Home'' is a 1943 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Technicolor feature film starring Roddy McDowall and canine actor Pal, in a story about the profound bond between Yorkshire boy Joe Carraclough and his rough collie, Lassie. The film was dire ...

'', with a dog named

Pal Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

playing Lassie. Pal then appeared with the stage name "Lassie" in six other MGM feature films through 1951. Pal's owner and trainer,

Rudd Weatherwax Ruddell Bird "Rudd" Weatherwax (September 23, 1907 – February 25, 1985) was an American actor, animal trainer, and breeder. He and his brother Frank are best remembered for training dogs for motion pictures and television. Their coll ...

, then acquired the Lassie name and trademark from MGM and appeared with Pal (as "Lassie") at rodeos, fairs, and similar events across America in the early 1950s. In 1954, the long-running Emmy-winning television series '' Lassie'' debuted and, over the next 19 years, a succession of Pal's descendants appeared on the series. The "Lassie" character has appeared in radio, television, film, toys, comic books, animated series, juvenile novels, and other media. Pal's descendants continue to play Lassie today.

History

Elizabeth Gaskell short story

An early depiction of Lassie is found in British writer Elizabeth Gaskell's 1859 short story "The Half-brothers". In the story, Lassie is described as a female

collie Collies form a distinctive type of herding dogs, including many related landraces and standardized breeds. The type originated in Scotland and Northern England. Collies are medium-sized, fairly lightly-built dogs, with pointed snouts. Man ...

with "intelligent, apprehensive eyes" who rescues two half-brothers who are lost and dying in the snow. When the younger brother can no longer carry on, elder brother Gregory, Lassie's master, ties a handkerchief around Lassie's neck and sends her home. Lassie arrives home, and leads the search party to the boys. When they arrive Gregory is dead, but his younger half-brother is saved. Thus, Gaskell apparently originated the character Lassie and, at the same time, defined the "Lassie saves the day" storyline that is the essence of subsequent Lassie tales.

World War I incident

According to writer Nigel Clarke in the "Shipwreck Guide to Dorset and South Devon", the original Lassie that inspired so many films and television episodes was a rough-haired crossbreed who saved the life of a sailor during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Half collie, Lassie was owned by the landlord of the Pilot Boat, a pub in the port of

Lyme Regis Lyme Regis is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and beaches on the Heri ...

. On New Year's Day in 1915 the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

battleship was torpedoed by a German submarine off Start Point in South Devon, with the loss of more than 500 men. In a storm that followed the accident, a life raft containing bodies was blown along the coast to Lyme Regis. In helping to deal with the crisis, the local pub in Lyme Regis, called the Pilot Boat, offered its cellar as a mortuary. When the bodies had been laid out on the stone floor, Lassie, a crossbred collie owned by the pub owner, found her way down amongst the bodies, and she began to lick the face of one of the victims, Able Seaman John Cowan. She stayed beside him for more than half an hour, nuzzling him and keeping him warm with her fur. To everyone's astonishment, Cowan eventually stirred. He was taken to hospital and went on to make a full recovery. He visited Lassie again when he returned to thank all who saved his life. When the officers heard the story of Lassie and what she did to rescue Cowan, they told it again and again to any reporter who would listen as it was inspirational and heart-warming. Hollywood got hold of the story, and so a star was born.

Eric Knight short story and novel

The fictional character of Lassie was created by English author

in ''

'', first published as a short story in ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

'' in 1938 and later as a full-length novel in 1940. Set in the

Depression-era The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the novel depicts the lengthy journey a

rough collie The Rough Collie (also known as the Long-Haired Collie) is a long-coated dog breed of medium to large size that, in its original form, was a type of collie used and bred for herding sheep in Scotland. More recent breeding has focused on the Co ...

makes to be reunited with her young

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

master after her family is forced to sell her for money.

Movies and television

In 1943, the novel was adapted into a feature film, ''

'', by

(MGM) that starred

Roddy McDowall Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1 ...

and Elizabeth Taylor. The movie was a hit and enjoyed favorable critical response. MGM followed this with several additional films, including a sequel entitled ''

Son of Lassie ''Son of Lassie'' (also known as ''Laddie, Son of Lassie'') is a 1945 American Technicolor feature film produced by MGM based on characters created by Eric Knight, and starring Peter Lawford, Donald Crisp, June Lockhart and Pal (credited as L ...

'' (1945), starring

Peter Lawford Peter Sydney Ernest Lawford ( Aylen; 7 September 1923 – 24 December 1984) was an English-American actor.Obituary '' Variety'', 26 December 1984. He was a member of the " Rat Pack" and the brother-in-law of US president John F. Kennedy and se ...

and

June Lockhart June Lockhart (born June 25, 1925) is an American actress, beginning a film career in 1930s & 1940s in such films at ''A Christmas Carol'' and '' Meet Me in St. Louis''. She primarily acted in 1950s and 1960s television, and with performances on ...

, and ''

Courage of Lassie ''Courage of Lassie'' is a 1946 Technicolor MGM feature film starring Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Morgan, and dog actor Pal in a story about a collie named Bill and his young companion, Kathie Merrick. When Bill is separated from Kathie followin ...

'' with Elizabeth Taylor. A

radio series A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio networ ...

, ''Lassie Radio Show'', was also created, airing until 1949. Lassie

Between 1954-1973, the television series '' Lassie'' was broadcast, with Lassie initially residing on a farm with a young male master. In the eleventh season, it changed to U.S. Forest Service rangers as her companions, then the collie was on her own for a season before ending the series with Lassie residing at a ranch for orphaned children. The long-running series was the recipient of two Emmy Awards before it was canceled in 1973. Lassie won several

PATSY Award The PATSY Award was originated by the Hollywood office of the American Humane Association in 1939. They decided to honor animal performers after a horse was killed in an on-set accident during the filming of the Tyrone Power film ''Jesse James''. T ...

s (an award for animal actors). A second series followed in the 1980s. In 1997,

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

production company Cinar Inc. produced a new ''Lassie'' television series for the

Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the network is primarily ...

network in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and YTV in Canada. It ran until 1999. In 2005, a remake of the original ''Lassie Come Home'' movie was produced in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Starring Peter O'Toole and

Samantha Morton Samantha Jane Morton (born 13 May 1977) is an English actress and director. Known for her work in independent cinema, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for two ...

, ''Lassie'' was released in 2006. Lassie continues to make personal appearances as well as marketing a line of pet food and a current pet care TV show, '' Lassie's Pet Vet'' on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

stations in the United States. Lassie is one of only four animals (and one of very few fictional characters, such as Mickey Mouse,

Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Introduced in 1955, Kermit serves as the everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably ''Sesame Street'' and ''The Muppet Show'', as well ...

, and

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Warner Bros. Cartoons, Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring role ...

) to be awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame—the others being silent-film stars

Rin Tin Tin Rin Tin Tin or Rin-Tin-Tin (September 1918 – August 10, 1932) was a male German Shepherd born in Flirey, France, who became an international star in motion pictures. He was rescued from a World War I battlefield by an American soldier, L ...

Uggie Uggie (February 14, 2002 – August 7, 2015) was a trained Parson Russell Terrier famous for his roles in ''Water for Elephants (film), Water for Elephants'' and ''The Artist (film), The Artist''. His memoir ''Uggie, My Story'' was published in ...

and

Strongheart Etzel von Oeringen (October 1, 1917 – June 24, 1929), better known as Strongheart, was a male German Shepherd who was one of the early canine stars of feature films. Biography Born October 1, 1917, Etzel von Oeringen was a male German Shepherd ...

. In 2005, the show business journal ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' named Lassie one of the "100 Icons of the Century"—the only animal star on the list. An animated TV series was made based on the dog. It was called "The New Adventures of Lassie". In this animated TV series Lassie was a dog that was owned by the Parker family in a national park. The animated TV series is mainly a traditionally animated (2D hand-drawn animated) TV series with some CGI animation (vehicles) in it. The TV series was shown on

TVOntario TVO Media Education Group (often abbreviated as TVO and stylized on-air as tvo) is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario ...

in Ontario, Canada, from 2013 to 2016. Lassie was an animated TV series entitled: "Lassie's Rescue Rangers" created by Filmation Associates TV-G , 30min , Animation, Adventure, Family , TV Series (1973–1975).

Media

Art

Lassie is featured in '' Our Nation's 200th Birthday, The Telephone's 100th Birthday'' (1976) by Stanley Meltzoff for Bell System."Stanley Meltzoff Archives: The 1976 Bell System Telephone Book Cover"
JKL Museum of Telephony (December 19, 2015); retrieved March 16, 2021

Films

List of films

Box office performance

Radio

Television

Video games

Books

* ''

'' * ''Lassie: The Prize'' * ''Forest Ranger Handbook'' * ''Lassie: A Boy's Best Friend & Buried Treasure'' * ''Lassie: Party Nightmare & Water Watchdog'' * ''Lassie: Skateboard Stunt & Danger Zone''

Seafarer Books

* ''Lassie and the Lost Little Sheep'' * ''Lassie's Forest Adventure''

Whitman Cozy-Corner

* ''Lassie: Rescue in the Storm''

Whitman Novels

* ''Lassie and the Mystery of Blackberry Bog'' * ''Lassie and the Secret of the Summer'' * ''Lassie: Forbidden Valley'' * ''Lassie: Treasure Hunter'' by Charles S. Strong * ''Lassie: the Wild Mountain Trail'' * ''Lassie and the Mystery of Bristlecone Pine'' * ''Lassie and the Secret of the Smelter's Cave'' * ''Lassie: Lost in the Snow'' * ''Lassie: Trouble at Panter's Lake''

Big Little Books

* ''Lassie: Adventure in Alaska'' * ''Lassie and the Shabby Sheik'' * ''Lassie: Old One Eye''

Golden Books

* ''The Adventures of Lassie'' * ''Lassie and Her Day in the Sun'' * ''Lassie and Her Friends'' * ''Lassie and the Big Clean-Up Day'' * ''Lassie and the Daring Rescue'' * ''Lassie and the Lost Explorer'' * ''Lassie Shows the Way'' * ''Lassie: The Great Escape''

Tell-a-Tale Books

* ''Hooray for Lassie!'' * ''Lassie and the Cub Scout'' * ''Lassie and the Deer Mystery'' * ''Lassie and the Firefighters'' * ''Lassie and the Kittens'' * ''Lassie Finds a Friend'' * ''Lassie's Brave Adventure'' * ''Lassie: The Busy Morning''

Tip-Top Books

* ''Lassie: The Sandbar Rescue''

Wonder Books

* ''Lassie's Long Trip''

Marian Bray

* ''Lassie to the Rescue'' * ''Lassie: Hayloft Hideout'' * ''Lassie Under the Big Top'' * ''Lassie: Treasure at Eagle Mountain'' * ''Lassie: Danger at Echo Cliffs''

The New Lassie

* ''The Puppy Problem'' * ''Digging Up Danger'' * ''The Big Blowup'' * ''Water Watchdog'' * ''Skateboard Dare'' * ''Dangerous Party''

References

External links

* {{Authority control Fictional dogs Dog actors Characters in American novels of the 20th century Drama television characters Literary characters introduced in 1940 American film series Film series introduced in 1943 Mass media franchises