Jon Provost Information

Jon Provost

Actor
Santa Rosa, CA

Biography:
Jon Provost is a national treasure. The check shirt and jeans he wore for seven years as Timmy on "Lassie" hang in The Smithsonian next to Archie Bunker's chair. "Lassie" continues to air in 50 countries and Jon receives letters and email from fans of all ages around the world.

Jon was already a seasoned professional when he won the role of Timmy at age seven. He was not even three when cast as Jane Wyman and Sterling Hayden's son in "So Big". During his career as a child actor and teen heart throb, he worked with some of the biggest stars in Hollywood: Grace Kelly and Bing Crosby in "The Country Girl", Natalie Wood and Robert Redford in "This Property is Condemned", Rod Steiger and Anita Ekberg in "Back From Eternity", Clint Eastwood in "Escapade in Japan", Kurt Russell in "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes" and on television with Kim Novak, Jack Benny, James Garner and even with that famous talking horse, Mr. Ed.

By the time Jon Provost was nineteen, he'd worked in film and television for sixteen years. With a strong desire to try something new, he headed for Northern California and college. The beauty of the wine country seduced him and Jon never returned to L.A., preferring eventually to raise a family in Sonoma County. Of his many accomplishments, he is most proud of his children, Ryan and Katie; and he is over the moon about his 4-year-old granddaughter, Juliana.

Jon has also earned a nationwide reputation as a philanthropist, giving his time to: children's hospitals, animal shelters, and humane societies and, closest to his heart, Canine Companions for Independence, providing service dogs to the handicapped. He served on their Board of Governors for close to 25 years. And he's received many awards, among them, The Motion Picture Council's award for Outstanding Contribution as a Humanitarian for his dedication in helping the physically challenged, the Allen Ludden Humanitarian Award presented by Betty White and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Youth in Film Association.

In 1990, Jon returned to television as Timmy all grown up in "The New Lassie" with Dee Wallace. He received a Genesis Award for Outstanding Television in a Family Series for a story he penned for the show focusing on the inhumane treatment of research animals. In recent years, Jon was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and added the internet to his resume, directing and hosting short videos about dogs and cats for a Purina website. 2008 marked Jon�s 50th anniversary as Timmy. He celebrated with the release of his autobiography, TIMMY'S IN THE WELL which he wrote with his wife, Hollywood writer Laurie Jacobson. He is currently writing a cookbook: TIMMY'S IN THE KITCHEN. Recently, Jon signed 4000 Timmy & Lassie photos for military K-9 teams currently serving our nation in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Still a sought-after celebrity guest, Jon appears at fund-raisers, comic cons, pet expos and special events throughout the year.