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Lassie, a Rough Collie, is "the world's most famous dog" and a fictional character who has starred in many movies, TV shows, and books over the years.
The character of Lassie was created by American author Eric Knight in his 1940 novel Lassie Come Home. In the novel, a young Yorkshire boy owns an exceptionally beautiful and loyal collie, but when the family faces severe economic hardship, the dog is sold to a wealthy nobleman. Both boy and dog grieve over the separation, made worse when the new owner transports Lassie hundreds of miles away to his estate in Scotland. However, the collie's instinct and courage cause her to escape, and the book follows Lassie's efforts to return to the boy she loves. In 1943 the book was made into what would become the first Lassie movie, also titled Lassie Come Home, and which generally followed the plot of the book. Since then, there have been numerous sequels and spin-offs, including television shows. The dog was so popular that it is one of only two dogs awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the other being Rin Tin Tin.
In the later movies and on television, Lassie is a super-intelligent Rough Collie who is owned by a boy named Timmy and his farm family. Timmy often gets into difficult scrapes, and Lassie has to rescue him. On television, Lassie had a series of owners, the first being Jeff (reruns of this era were later syndicated as Jeff's Collie), then Timmy, and finally Ranger Corey, before, near the end of the series, Lassie struck out totally on her own, with no regular human master.
The original dog who portrayed Lassie was a male dog named Pal. Before Pal's death, he was bred with a number of bitches, resulting in hundreds of offspring. All ten subsequent Lassies have been direct descendants of Pal in some form and are also usually male because their coats are usually fuller and more impressive than for the bitches. Currently, the "official" Lassie is used mainly for "celebrity appearances" at dog shows.
Television
The television show had a variety of actors over time, including June Lockhart.
Movies
See Lassie Come Home, 1943, for a list of films.
Lassie is also the title of a 1994 film produced by Lorne Michaels.
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