Tommy Rettig

Scripted by Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, the semi-musical cult film presented Rettig as the day-dreaming son of a single mother who so deeply resents his daily piano lesson that he escapes into a surreal world that allows him to act out his frustrations. Retting brought an admirably straight-faced sincerity to the decidedly odd goings-on. He gained fame playing another boy without a father in "Lassie," in stories that were fairly conventional but heartwarming tales of canine heroism. Jon Provost's Timmy was the first of many people who inherited the wonder dog after Retting aged out of the part.Retting failed to make the transition to adult roles and retired with his wife to a California farm. His name resurfaced several times over the 70s in relation to drug arrests, convictions, appeals, and dropped charges. Rettig went on to work as a computer programmer and drug addiction counselor and periodically popped up in specials about grown-up child stars and profiles of Lassie until his death in 1996.