Boys who played Lassie’s pal had different fates in real life
Question: What became of the two little boys on the old “Lassie” show back in the ’50s and ’60s?
Answer: I think you are referring to Tommy Rettig, who played Jeff on the original “Lassie” series in 1954-’57, and Jon Provost, who played Timmy on the series in 1957-’64.
An experienced actor before “Lassie,” Rettig acted for a time after the series, but struggled with what the Washington Post called “a troubled life filled with failure to land adult roles, arrests and convictions for growing marijuana and for importing cocaine, bankruptcy, divorce and a string of jobs including photographer, tool salesman, computer programmer and health club manager.”
He was 54 years old when he died in 1996 from natural causes.
Provost, also a young pro when he joined the series, is still with us. A September post on his website
said he was having a great time being a grandfather and still appearing at autograph shows and comic cons.
He acts occasionally, including a reprise of his old “Lassie” character on the syndicated “New Lassie” series in 1989-’92.
He also is busy with various animal causes such as Canine Companions for Independence, a group providing service dogs for the handicapped. He also wrote a memoir, “Timmy’s in the Well: The Jon Provost Story.”
Q: Can you find out when the series “Power” on Starz will start again?
They left us wondering what comes next.
So far, Starz has only said the drama will be back in 2018. A reasonable guess is sometime that summer, since the four previous seasons have started in June or July.
As for what comes next, series creator Courtney Kemp told Deadline .com:
“The plan is to make some huge moves and some huge cast changes in Season 5, for sure. So the show, at the very least, is going to transform into something slightly different as we go forward. … No one’s been safe on our show for quite some time, but … the main characters are less safe than they have ever been before.”
Q: That earpiece that singers wear on TV — what does it do?
Years ago, you never saw singers with that thing in their ears.
The earpiece is called an in-ear monitor, and it helps singers and musicians to hear what they need to more clearly, especially if they are wandering a stage or playing before a loud crowd.
On her website shop.com, voice teacher Lis Lewis explains this way:
“If you are a singer singing with a live band, there is a lot of noise onstage with you, especially from the drummer. It can be very hard to hear yourself, which can make you sing louder and even shout. … If you use in-ears, you can have the sound engineer put only your voice and, let’s say, the keyboard in your ears. You won’t hear the drummer at all! You can choose how much or little of each instrument you hear.”
Professional Music Technology, a retailer whose product includes inears, adds that they also can help prevent hearing loss by controlling the sound, and provide freedom of movement by keeping the sound constant even if the musician has moved away from a stage monitor.
Of course, like with any device, an in-ear may not work all the time, or the audio mix may be off, so occasionally you see singers remove them during performances.
You also may have seen newscasters with earpieces; those, known as IFBs, let producers and directors feed information and guidance to the newscaster during a broadcast report.
Q: Is “Chicago Fire” coming back? A: Yes. Look for it Jan. 4 on NBC.
Q: I love “Person of Interest,” and I watched it from the beginning diligently and I’m kind of confused, how did it end?
It seemed either I missed it or there wasn’t really a final conclusion.
A: The series had a finale in June 2016. Reese, played by Jim Caviezel, was killed.
Added Nellie Andreeva of Deadline.com:
“Actually, two main characters saw their demises as the Machine also was destroyed but, in a twist, came back to life in the final minutes of the show, reaching out to Sameen Shaw (Sarah Shahi), who emerged as a potential Reese successor.
Meanwhile, Finch (Michael Emerson), who was gravely injured for most of the final episode and appeared on the brink of death as he sacrificed himself to destroy Samaritan, lived on after Reese tricked him (with help from the Machine) to take his place.” Write to Rich Heldenfels at P.O. Box 417, Mogadore, OH 44260 or brenfels @gmail.com. Letters may be edited. Replies are not guaranteed.
CBS