Tommy Rettig

Data di nascita
10 dicembre 1941 · Queens, New York, Stati Uniti
Data di morte
15 febbraio 1996 · Marina del Rey, California, Stati Uniti (attacco cardiaco)
Nome alla nascita
Thomas Noel Rettig
Altezza
1,63 m

For the last ten or so years of his life (starting in at least 1984), he was a computer software developer working on business application frameworks. He was regarded as one of the experts, a software guru in the area of desktop PC database applications such as dBase. At the time of his untimely death he was a central figure in the community of FoxPro database developers.
In the 1970s he and his family lived on a farm near Arroyo Grande, CA, where he secretly grew marijuana between rows of corn. His multiple drug busts eventually destroyed his marriage.
Was Marilyn Monroe's youngest date ever when he escorted her to the premiere of La magnifica preda (1954) in 1954.
After appearing with Mary Martin in "Annie Get Your Gun" for 22 months, Tommy was offered more stage roles, including "Peter Pan" and "The Member of the Wedding," the latter play featuring Brandon De Wilde. His strong-willed mother, however, decided Tommy should go for the movies. Interestingly, Tommy won the boy role on Lassie (1954) after de Wilde turned it down.
While making Le 5.000 dita del dr.T (1953) he became acquainted with dog trainer Frank Weatherwax, whose brother Rudd bought the "Lassie" rights from MGM for an upcoming TV series. He auditioned and, to determine who would make the best Jeff, the brothers invited Tommy and two other child actors up for the part to spend a week at their North Hollywood ranch with the three collies who would play the lead. Tommy won the contract at $2,500 a week.

With Lassie, I'd gladly work for free!
By the time I was nine I'd done everything--movies, stage, radio, TV. Everybody thought it was real cute for a kid my age to be so sophisticated, but it was murder on my emotional development. More than anything else, I wanted to be normal. I wanted to have friends, go out on dates--just lead a normal life. But things were always going too fast. Then, too, I was spoiled as a kid, and still am. I was an only child, and that was about 80% of the problem.
When I found out it was my last season on "Lassie" I was ecstatic. I had gotten to the point where I really resented not being able to go out except on Saturday nights. Of course, when I did date girls their parents always trusted me because of my goody-goody TV image. The fools!