Robert Weatherwax obit

Robert Weatherwax Dies: Second-Generation ‘Lassie’ Trainer Was 83

 He was not on the list.

Robert 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. The family voted to sell the character’s trademark in 2002.

“Due to my father’s genius, we transformed the training of dogs from simple props on a movie set into actors who seemed to behave with human-like emotions,” Robert previously said in his bio. “Dad was a transitional figure in Hollywood animal training, and my experiences with him from childhood to adulthood have transformed my life and made me who I am today.

“I hope that my father’s life-long labor of love, of which I am proud to have shared by his side, will be uplifting in a world that – more than ever – needs some inspiration from the past,” he added.

In addition to his work on Lassie, Robert trained the dog Einstein from the Back to the Future films, as well as animals on Big Jake (1971), The Thing (1982) and Dennis the Menace (1993).

The Weatherwax family has been in Hollywood since Rudd’s father Walter Weatherwax moved the family to Hollywood and got into the business. Robert’s uncle Jack trained Toto in The Wizard of Oz, and his uncle Frank trained Spike, the dog who starred in Old Yeller (1957).

 

Additional Crew

Corey Sevier in Lassie (1997)

Lassie

6.1

TV Series

consultant

dog supplier

dog owner and trainer ...

1997–1999

25 episodes

 

Top Dog (1995)

Top Dog

4.2

animal trainer (as Rob Weatherwax)

1995

 

Tom Guiry and Howard in Lassie (1994)

Lassie

5.8

dog owner and trainer

1994

 

Walter Matthau and Mason Gamble in Dennis the Menace (1993)

Dennis the Menace

5.7

animal trainer

1993

 

Lassie in The New Lassie (1989)

The New Lassie

6.3

TV Series

dog owner and trainer: "Lassie"

program consultant

animal trainer

1989

3 episodes

 

Corey Haim in Watchers (1988)

Watchers

5.4

animal handler: second unit

1988

 

Dennis the Menace (1987)

Dennis the Menace

4.4

TV Movie

animal trainer (as Bob Weatherwax)

1987

 

Stone Fox (1987)

Stone Fox

6.2

TV Movie

animal owner: O.J.

1987

 

Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future (1985)

Back to the Future

8.5

animal handler

1985

 

Meg Foster in The Osterman Weekend (1983)

The Osterman Weekend

5.8

animal trainer

1983

 

Second Thoughts (1983)

Second Thoughts

5.3

animal trainer

1983

 

Skeezer (1982)

Skeezer

7.8

TV Movie

trainer

1982

 

The Thing (1982)

The Thing

8.2

animal trainer (as Bob Weatherwax)

1982

 

John Travolta and Lily Tomlin in Moment by Moment (1978)

Moment by Moment

3.2

dog trainer (as Robert W. Weatherwax)

1978

 

James Stewart and Mickey Rooney in The Magic of Lassie (1978)

The Magic of Lassie

5.5

assistant trainer: Lassie

1978

 

Nickelodeon (1976)

Nickelodeon

6.2

dog trainer

1976

 

Arch Whiting in Run, Joe, Run (1974)

Run, Joe, Run

7.4

TV Series

dog trainer

1975

1 episode

 

Big Jake (1971)

Big Jake

7.1

dog trainer (uncredited)

1971

 

Jon Provost, Tommy Rettig, Lassie the Dog, and Lassie in Lassie (1954)

Lassie

6.5

TV Series

animal trainer

assistant animal trainer

1956–1967

2 episodes

 

Director

Lassie in The New Lassie (1989)

The New Lassie

6.3

TV Series

Director

1992

1 episode

 

Writer

Lassie in The New Lassie (1989)

The New Lassie

6.3

TV Series

written by

1991

1 episode