Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 26, 1994 TAG: 9407260033
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 135 lines
LASSIE COMES HOME
AMERICA'S MOST BELOVED COLLIE, WHO SET HER PAWS ON VIRGINIAN SOIL, LIGHTS UP
THE SCREEN IN ``LASSIE.''
SHE'S REGAL, LOYAL and loving and for 50 years, she's held the hearts of
Americans in her well-groomed paw.
Now our favorite dog is back in all her russet-haired glory, romping across
the big-screen in ``Lassie,'' a new motion picture filmed in the Virginia
mountains.
The latest Lassie sat attentively for her interview, shifting from paw to
paw with nervous energy but still grinning. This is the eighth in the dynasty,
the great-great-great-grand-pup of Pal, the star of ``Lassie Come Home,'' the
1943 movie which started the whole phenomenon.
The secret path to his heart is to rub him behind the ears. His real name
is Howard but he's trained to answer only to Lassie.
Yes, what you've heard is true. Lassie is now, and always has been, played
by a male. Trainer Robert Weatherwax, son of the original Lassie trainer Rudd
Weatherwax, explained: ``Females shed drastically in the summer and we usually
had to shoot rapidly. It would have looked like it was a different dog from
scene to scene.'' At one time, a special editor was hired to keep a close
watch, making sure that Lassie's gender-bending was not noticeable in any
scene. Weatherwax remembers the dreaded ``Cut'' yell when an error in camera
angles had been made. This was the REAL ``Crying Game.''
And there is only ONE Lassie. It's not true, not ever, that there are
several collies wandering around somewhere with the title.
Weatherwax was doing most of the talking on the morning we met with Lassie.
After all, he's been around the Lassie dynasty since he was born. Pal was his
playmate.
``We went through 2,500 pups to find the eight who have played Lassie,'' he
said. ``For the current Lassie, there were three with the right markings but
Howard turned out to be the smartest, and the one who liked people the
most.''
Lassie, of course, is the most famous doggie of all time. We're talking
icon here - the ``name'' who was billed above Elizabeth Taylor, who visited
the White House, who starred in nine movies and was on TV for a whopping
20-year run of over 600 episodes.
This is the doggie who endured hearing Timmy whisper, ``Lassie's trying to
tell us something'' hundreds of times. The dog who has been through more
white-water rapids than the African Queen.
There have been comic books, a hit radio show (in which Lassie was only
heard barking, whining or growling), board games and lunch pails. Today, the
Baby Boomers, who gathered about the TV set at 7 on all those Sunday nights,
may have to explain Lassie to their own kids.
Not for long, though. Lassie is ready to emerge in a big way in the '90s.
The new ``Lassie'' was produced by Lorne Michaels, creator of ``Saturday Night
Live,'' and has a distinctly '90s touch. The soundtrack, probably due to
Michaels's influence, features the likes of Smashing Pumpkins, Alice in
Chains, Primal Scream and the Red Hot Chili Peppers - music that might have
sent the ultimate mom, June Lockhart, up the walls.
Then there's the publication of ``Lassie: A Dog's Life - The First Fifty
Years'' by Ace Collins, currently in book stores ($12 and filled with glorious
color photographs). There's also a TV special, to be hosted by TV-mom June
Lockhart and starring original-boy Roddy McDowall (now 65). It airs on PBS
Aug. 21. There is also a marathon run of ``Lassie'' TV shows coming up. It's
something to bark about.
Accompanying Lassie to his interview was his best canine friend, Mel, a
Jack Russell terrier. ``Mel comes along because it's a calming effect on
Lassie to have another dog around,'' Weatherwax explained. ``He can get a
little panicked if there are always only humans around. Mel is named for Mel
Gibson because he's a tough little dog who likes to get a firm grip on a
cloth, or whatever, and not let go. I guess we thought of the `Lethal Weapon'
action movies when we named Mel.''
Lassie looks from Mel to Robert, those huge eyes signaling the kind of
emotion that can light up screens and send millions into tears.
Lassie's secret is the fact that he has always been a dramatic actor -
never a trick dog. ``You'll never see Lassie doing `cutsie' things,''
Weatherwax said. ``You'll never see Lassie wearing a funny hat or sunglasses.
That wouldn't be the style. It would lack dignity. Lassie does realistic
things that most dogs could do.
``The secret has always been that Lassie obeys vocal signals so that he
doesn't have to look at the trainer. He looks at Elizabeth Taylor or whoever
is in the scene - not at the trainer. He's trained, with hundreds of voice
signals, to suggest emotions - sadness, happiness etc. In this way, Lassie was
truly unique in movie history. She was an acting animal.''
Montana was originally considered for the new movie but the winters were
too rough. Subsequently, Virginia's Shenandoah Valley will get millions of
dollars of tourism publicity in the film. (Although most of it was actually
filmed farther west, in Tazewell County). Filmed during the peak of the
autumn colors, the movie tells the story of a family that moves from Baltimore
after hard times. They settle in Virginia and Dad switches his job to sheep
herding, with the help of Lassie. The requisite boy of the piece is played by
Thomas Guiery (who debuted in ``The Sandlot'') as a MTV junkie who initially
resents being relocated to the country.
``Lassie is real friendly,'' 8-year-old Brittany Boyd, the redhead who
makes her movie debut in ``Lassie'' whispered, preparing the visitor to meet
the top dog. ``Even though he's a big star, he hung around us other actors
during the filming.''