Boy In ‘Lassie’ Series Dies

Tommy Rettig, the first boy who tagged after Lassie during the famous 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 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 Jeff Miller when “Lassie” premiered on CBS that Sept. 12.

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.

Rettig landed his first film role at age 9 and made 17 films, starring with Marilyn Monroe and Robert Mitchum in “River of No Return” and perhaps most memorably as a boy with a vivid imagination in “The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.”

After that came “Lassie,” and after that came a troubled life filled with failure to land adult roles, convictions for growing marijuana and importing cocaine, and a string of jobs ranging from photographer to health club manager.