Tommy rettig wife
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Tommy Rettig
Tommy Rettig (born Thomas Noel Rettig on December 10, 1941 in Queens, New York - February 15, 1996, in Marina del Rey, California) was a popular American child actor of especially the 1950s, best known for his performance as Bartholomew Collins in Roy Rowland's screen musical adaption of Dr.Seuss' (born "Theodor Seuss Geisel") famous children book The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953), starring Hans Conried as eccentrically weird piano teacher Dr. Terwilliker and Peter Lind Hayes as the boy's befriended plumber August Zabladowski. In 1954 he co-starred as Robert Mitchum's screen son in the WesternclassicRiver of No Return opposite Marilyn Monroe, and an already established child star, he was eventually chosen to play the Midwestern farm boy Jeff Miller in the first Lassie television series, running from 1954-1957.
After his time with Lassie he temporarily retired from acting in order to lead a normal teenager's life and eventually married in 1959. Especially due to his shortness in height (5'4") his adult acting career never panned out. In the mid-1960s h
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Tommy Rettig
American child actor (1941–1996)
Tommy Rettig | |
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Former child actor Tommy Rettig in syndicated anthology Western TV series | |
| Born | Thomas Noel Rettig (1941-12-10)December 10, 1941 Queens, New York, U.S.A. |
| Died | February 15, 1996(1996-02-15) (aged 54) Marina del Rey, California, U.S.A. |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, software engineer, author |
| Years active | 1946–1994 |
| Spouse | Darlene Portwood (m. 1959–1977) |
Thomas Noel Rettig (December 10, 1941 – February 15, 1996) was an American child actor, computer software engineer, and author. He portrayed the character "Jeff Miller" in the first three seasons of CBS's Lassie television series, from 1954 to 1957, later seen in syndicated re-runs with the title Jeff's Collie. He also played the young orphan adopted by British star David Niven in an episode of the TV anthology series Four Star Playhouse (Season 1, episode 13), entitled "No Identity. He also co-starred with another former child
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Tommy Rettig; Child Star of TV’s ‘Lassie’
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 Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Thursday night.
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 said 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 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.
Born Thomas Noel Rettig in Jackson Heights, N.Y., Rettig made his debut at age 6 in a touring company of “Annie Get Your Gun” starring Mary Martin. He landed his first screen role at age 9 and made 17 films, starring with Marilyn Monroe and Robert Mitchum in “River of No Return,” with
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