One of the longest enduring and most beloved canine celebrities to ever grace the entertainment history, Lassie has won the hearts of millions of fans over the years, in television, films and radio. And her television presence, Lassie, which followed her heroic adventures each week, saving all in her path, remains one of the longest-running dramatic series on television.

From her debut in 1943, in the feature film, Lassie Comes Home, to her four year presence on radio, beginning in 1947, audiences were already well-acquainted with the charismatic collie before she made her way to the television airwaves in 1954. And for the next seventeen years, her loyal fans tuned in each week to see her save the day and make the world a better place.

At the start of the series, Lassie was the faithful companion of Jeff Miller, who lived with his widowed mother and “Gramps” on a rural family farm in the town of Calverton. Jeff (played by Tommy Rettig) and Lassie whiled away their days rescuing each other from numerous perils with an impeccable sense of timing. But after three years of these harrowing adventures, Jeff did what all kids eventually do – he grew up.

With her master now attending college, it was time to find a new companion family for Lassie. Enter the Martin family, who adopted the super-dog when the Millers decided to relocate to the big city. The youngest member of the Martin clan, a recently adopted orphan named Timmy, found a new best friend and cohort in the lovable collie. Unfortunately Timmy suffered from the same aging affliction of Lassie’s previous owner and so, the Martins conveniently moved away to Australia and Lassie was off to find some new companions.

She found a friend in Cully Wilson, but the old-timer wasn’t in the best of health and handed her over to a local forest ranger named Corey Stewart to take care of the collie. Working alongside a forest ranger meant no more days cooped up at a farm and soon, Lassie was tagging along on a whole new set of treacherous and rugged adventures. As fate would have it, however, Stewart was injured while fighting a fire, and unable to care for the dog any longer, he turned her over to a pair of fellow rangers named Scott Turner and Bob Erickson. But it would appear that Lassie tired of going from owner to owner every couple of years, for in the later part of the series, she became sort of a vagabond, traveling from town to town and lending a paw to whoever might need her assistance. And after a while of living this hobo existence, Lassie eventually settled down at last, living at a spacious ranch with a new owner named Keith Holden.

A total of 588 episodes of Lassie were produced between 1954 and 1973, making Lassie the most-watched dog star in all of history. Other celebrity canines such as Rin Tin Tin and Benji would attempt to take a bite out of her popularity, but, although they were certainly popular in their own right, it’s hard to match the sheer longevity of the courageous collie, which persists to this day. As recently as 2006, a remake of the classic film, Lassie Come Home, was released and enjoyed by audiences and critics alike. And episodes of the original series, mostly from the first three seasons, continue to run in syndication.

A total of six dogs, all of them surprisingly male, portrayed the lovable and sassy Lassie during the run of the series. But audiences never noticed the differences between pooches. They were too busy sharing in the heartwarming adventures of one of the best friends any boy (or full-grown man) could ever hope for.   

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