Tommy Rettig, First Boy With Lassie, Dies

LOS ANGELES - Tommy Rettig, the first boy who tagged after Lassie during the famous collie's 20 years on television, has died. He was 54.

Mr. Rettig was found dead of natural causes in his Marina del Rey home, the Los Angeles County coroner's office said Thursday night.

Already an established child star in 1954, Mr. Rettig was chosen over 500 other boys to play the 11-year-old Midwestern farm boy, Jeff Miller, when "Lassie" premiered on CBS.

He stayed with the collie for four years, ultimately handing the pet over to Jon Provost as Timmy and a whole new family in 1958. The dog, actually a series of male collies, had three families and three forest rangers during two decades of televised adventures.

Mr. Rettig made his debut at 6 in a touring company of "Annie Get Your Gun" starring Mary Martin. He landed his first screen role at 9 and made 17 films, starring with Marilyn Monroe and Robert Mitchum in "River of No Return" and with Richard Widmark in "The Last Wagon."