

On New Year's Day in 1915 the Royal Navy battleship Formidable was torpedoed by a German submarine off Start Point in South Devon, with the loss of more than 500 men. Half collie, Lassie was owned by the landlord of the Pilot Boat, a pub in the port of Lyme Regis.

Thus, Gaskell apparently originated the character Lassie and, at the same time, defined the "Lassie saves the day" storyline that is the essence of subsequent Lassie tales.Īccording to writer Nigel Clarke in the "Shipwreck Guide to Dorset and South Devon", the original Lassie that inspired so many films and television episodes was a rough-haired crossbreed who saved the life of a sailor during World War I. When they arrive Gregory is dead, but his younger half-brother is saved. Lassie arrives home, and leads the search party to the boys. When the younger brother can no longer carry on, elder brother Gregory, Lassie's master, ties a handkerchief around Lassie's neck and sends her home. In the story, Lassie is described as a female collie with "intelligent, apprehensive eyes" who rescues two half-brothers who are lost and dying in the snow. History Elizabeth Gaskell short story Īn early depiction of Lassie is found in British writer Elizabeth Gaskell's 1859 short story "The Half-brothers". Pal's descendants continue to play Lassie today. The "Lassie" character has appeared in radio, television, film, toys, comic books, animated series, juvenile novels, and other media.
#Desktop toys python series
In 1954, the long-running Emmy-winning television series Lassie debuted and, over the next 19 years, a succession of Pal's descendants appeared on the series. Pal's owner and trainer, Rudd Weatherwax, then acquired the Lassie name and trademark from MGM and appeared with Pal (as "Lassie") at rodeos, fairs, and similar events across America in the early 1950s. Pal then appeared with the stage name "Lassie" in six other MGM feature films through 1951. Published in 1940, Knight's novel was filmed by MGM in 1943 as Lassie Come Home, with a dog named Pal playing Lassie. In "The Half Brothers", Lassie is loved only by her young master and guides the adults back to where two boys are lost in a snowstorm. Knight's portrayal of Lassie bears some features in common with another fictional female collie of the same name, featured in the British writer Elizabeth Gaskell's 1859 short story "The Half Brothers". Lassie is a fictional female Rough Collie dog and is featured in a short story by Eric Knight that was later expanded to a full-length novel called Lassie Come-Home. Tommy Rettig with Lassie Junior, son of Pal, the first Lassie, in the Lassie television series
