Jon Provost
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| Jon Provost | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jonathan Provost March 12, 1950 Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Occupation | Actor; Educator; Businessman |
Jon Provost (born Jonathan Provost on March 12, 1950, in Los Angeles, California) is a former child actor of film and television. He is best known for his role as young Timmy Martin in the CBS series, Lassie.
At the age of three, Provost was cast as the son of Jane Wyman and Sterling Hayden in the film So Big based on an Edna Ferber novel. He then appeared in The Country Girl, co-starring with Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly, Back from Eternity, with Anita Ekberg, and Escapade in Japan, again with Ekberg and an unknown (and unbilled) Clint Eastwood. He then procured his most famous role in Lassie.
Provost's television parents were played by Hugh Reilly and June Lockhart. For seven seasons, 1957-1964, audiences grew to love Timmy and his perilous adventures with the invincible canine. By 1964, Provost decided[1] to end his participation at the end of his contract[2]. The format of the series was revamped, and Robert Bray joined the series as forest ranger Corey Stuart, Lassie's new owner from 1964-1968. The story line was that the Martins moved to Australia and were unable to take Lassie because of government travel regulations. Provost's career as a television child star hence ended, and he left show business when he was eighteen. He received a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and worked for a time in the field of special education.
Later, he sold real estate in Sonoma County north of San Francisco and donated his time to various causes. In 1991, Provost returned to television with a recurring role in The New Lassie series -- as a real estate agent. In one nostalgic episode, he appeared together with Lassie's original master, Jeff Miller, played by Tommy Rettig in four seasons of the series. In another episode, June Lockhart reprised her role as Timmy's mother and revealed that Provost's character was actually an adult Timmy Martin after having been taken in by new adoptive parents.
Provost continues to attend celebrity conventions and autograph parties. He sometimes appears on network news programs to speak about classical television and American culture. In 1994, Provost received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7080 Hollywood Blvd.
In August of 2008, Provost will be honored with a "Lifetime Achievement Award" at the Pocono Mountains Film Festival.
His memoirs, Timmy's in the Well, were released in December 2007. Provost will be signing copies of his book at the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention in September of 2008.
[edit] Complete filmography
- 1970: The Secret of the Sacred Forest
- 1969: The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, starring Kurt Russell
- 1966: This Property Is Condemned
- 1963: The Wayfarers [TV]
- 1962: Lassie's Great Adventure [TV]
- 1960: The Disappearance [TV]
- 1957: Escapade in Japan
- 1956: Toward the Unknown
- 1956: All Mine to Give
- 1956: Back from Eternity
- 1954: The Country Girl
- 1953: So Big
[edit] References
- ^ Timmy's in the Well: The Jon Provost Story by Laurie Jacobson and Jon Provost (2007)
- ^ though Campbell's Soup Company, the sponsor, wanted three more years
