Robert Weatherwax Dies: Second-Generation ‘Lassie’ Trainer Was 83
deadline.comRobert Weatherwax, a second-generation Hollywood animal trainer and the son of Lassie co-creator Rudd Weatherwax, has died.
He was 83. The late trainer’s son Robert Jr., who has also continued in the family business, announced his father’s death on Friday with a throwback photo of the two of them and one of the rough collie descendants of the original Lassie dog actor Pal. “It is with great sorry that I announce the passing of my legendary dog training father,” wrote Robert Jr.
in the post. “He was born exactly one year after my grandfather’s MGM Lassie – ‘Pal’. I’m proud to be the last representative of the greatest dog training family in history.” Rudd created Lassie for CBS in 1954 with producer Robert Maxwell.
Robert Weatherwax Sr. joined his father on the show in the early ’60s, continuing to carry on the Lassie legacy after Rudd died at 77 in 1985.
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