page_title: Lassie (1954 TV series)
section_title: Human leads
hierarchical_section_title: Lassie (1954 TV series) / Characters and cast / Human leads
caption_attribution_description: Publicity photo of American child actor, Tommy Rettig, and American canine performer Lassie promoting the CBS television series Lassie, circa 1955.
context_page_description: Lassie is an American television series that follows the adventures of a female Rough Collie dog named Lassie and her companions, both human and animal. The show was the creation of producer Robert Maxwell and animal trainer Rudd Weatherwax and was televised from September 12, 1954, to March 25, 1973. The fifth longest-running U.S. primetime television series after The Simpsons, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Gunsmoke and Law & Order, the show ran for 17 seasons on CBS before entering first-run syndication for its final two seasons. Initially filmed in black and white, the show transitioned to color in 1965.
  The show's first 10 seasons follow Lassie's adventures in a fictional small farming community. Eleven-year-old Jeff Miller, his mother Ellen, and his grandfather are Lassie's first human companions until seven-year-old Timmy Martin and his adoptive parents take over in the fourth season. When Lassie's exploits on the farm end in the eleventh season, she finds new adventures in the wilderness alongside United States Forest Service Rangers. After traveling on her own for a year, Lassie finally settles at a children's home for her final two syndicated seasons.
caption: Tommy Rettig starred as Jeff Miller during the early years of the series (1954–1957), which were syndicated as Jeff's Collie
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 Macintosh", "Image DateTime": "2012:09:27 23:25:42", "Image ExifOffset": "174", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "750", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "600"}