ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 18, 1996 TAG: 9602190055
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES
TYPE: NEWS OBIT
Tommy Rettig, the first boy who tagged after Lassie during the collie's 20 years on television, has died. He was 54.
Rettig was found dead of natural causes in his Marina del Rey home, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said Thursday.
Already an established child star in 1954, Rettig was chosen over 500 other boys to play the 11-year-old Midwestern farm boy Jeff Miller when ``Lassie'' premiered on CBS that Sept. 12. ``With Lassie I'd gladly work for free!'' Rettig declared when he got the job.
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.
Born Thomas Noel Rettig in Jackson Heights, N.Y., Rettig made his debut at age six. He landed his first screen role at age nine and made 17 films, starring with Marilyn Monroe and Robert Mitchum in ``River of No Return,'' with Richard Widmark in ``The Last Wagon,'' and as a boy with a vivid imagination in ``The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.''
After that came ``Lassie,'' and then came a troubled life filled with failure to land adult roles, drug-related legal troubles, bankruptcy and divorce.
Rettig remained a staunch advocate of recreational drug use throughout his adult life.
LENGTH: Short : 35 linesby CNB