Timmy from 'Lassie' Has Same 'Soft' Eyes at 72 - He Showed Wife & Grandkids after Escaping Child Star Curse

• Jon Provost a.k.a. Timmy from “Lassie” is 72 now and has the same soft eyes and gentle smile as he had on a show.
• The actor revealed why he left the series and later Hollywood, and how he managed to escape the child star curse.
• Jon shared photos of his beautiful family along with his longtime wife he is still in love with.

Jon Provost was only two-years-old when he had his big Hollywood break and later worked with the industries biggest stars. However, he was well known for his role in CBS' series "Lassie" where he featured as Timmy Martin.

The show ran from 1957 until 1964, and afterward Jon escaped the child star curse, but continued to engage fans of the series. However, in 2019, the show continued airing in over 50 countries, according to the actor's website.

The star also still received emails and letters from fans of all ages. when asked how he escaped the notorious child star curse, Jon revealed that his parents allowed him to do what he wanted and didn't have to take jobs if he didn't want to.

However, he knew children whose parents made them take jobs. When those children got series roles, their parents quit working and lived off of them, but the actor's father continued working as an airplanes and didn't care about television, with Jon adding:

"I was lucky. When I left Hollywood, I thought it was good that I did."

The star had a seven-year contract and when they were up he had a choice to continue of not. He was 14 at the time when producers wanted him to do three more years and when they were done he would've been 17.

So he refused, but they offered him all sorts of perks to keep him. His parents told him to do what he wanted, and Jon wished to acted but didn't want to be Martin anymore because he was tired of the role.

The actor wanted a break and thought it was a good thing to do. With his parents' support and them leaving the decision to him, Jon left in 1968, but despite no longer being there he still got fan mail with people confessing how they didn't have childhoods and escaped by growing up with him.

No one ever told him they'd hated the show and it gave him a positive and "great feeling." In 2020, Jon shared how a morning show he watched explained how "Lassie's" portrayal of morals and values might be why it still had appeal.

The character he played wasn't the smartest and the dog was probably why he was there and always learned a lesson. Martin never spoke back to his parents and that moral compass kept people intrigued.

The actor said that era didn't have mindless entertainment like today, and always went deeper. He believed back then writers, producers, and directors cared what they were feeding the public and still made their money.

However, they also ensured they gave the public something meaningful. Jon left "Lassie" after starting to appear on it at age seven, starring on 249 episodes, and seven seasons, and everyone thought of him as Martin, whom he wasn't.

The star had enough of looking at dogs and was now focused on girls. In 2023, Jon was 72, had married, and was a doting grandfather after having left Hollywood completely.

How Does Jon Look Now & What Did He Do after “Lassie?”

In February 2023, a Facebook page shared images of Jon when he was a child on "Lassie" and what he looked like now at age 72. The account noted how he now bore no resemblance to his boyish self.

A fan replied to the post disagreeing with the assessment noting how Jon's "sweet" and "gentle face" still remained. The follower also felt the actor's eyes were "still soft" and his "smile is gentle."

The person revealed how they'd always loved his "soft, clear eyes" and was glad to see that Martin was still around, and someone agreed "100%." Someone else seemed to see the same thing noting how his eyes were the same in both images, before wishing him a happy birthday.

Another fan said they could still see a young Martin who was very cute. After he was done with "Lassie," Jon, who was almost 15, starred alongside Natalie Wood in 1966's “This Property Is Condemned.”

He confessed how Wood was great and probably the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. In 2019, he revealed he'd left Southern California and relocated to Northern California to attend Sonoma State University where he studied psychology, after initially selling real estate in the area, and lived there now.

He said his life was good and he was still involved in the industry doing voice-over work. After leaving "Lassie," his career slowed down and in 1969 he appeared in "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes" and the following year he was on "The Secret of the Sacred Forest," before leaving Hollywood that year at age 20.

By age 19 he'd worked in the industry for 16 years and eventually settled in Sonoma Country and started a family with two children but divorced and them remarried. However, in 1990 he returned to television in "The New Lassie" and received a Genesis Award for Outstanding Television in a Family Series for a story he'd written about the inhumane treatment of research animals for the show.

Jon started hosting and directing dog and cat online videos for a Purina website. He wrote his autobiography, "Timmy's in the Well," went on a multi-city tour, and in 2013, he appeared in the drama "Susie's Hope."

Their [Jon Provost and Laurie Jacobson] grandchildren looked happy to be with them and on the outing.

For over 25 years he served on the Board of Directors for Canine Companions for Independence. One of his other awards was given to him by the Motion Picture Council for his dedication in helping the physically challenged.

Jon's father was an aeronautical engineer while his mother would accompany him on the "Lassie" set. She received a salary plus expenses for being with him and on February 1, 1994, the star was given a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and said this about working with children and dogs:

"Visiting kids in the hospital with Lassie influenced what I've done over the years. They didn't let dogs in hospitals then, but they let Timmy and Lassie in."

Jon found love again after his marriage with his first wife failed to endure and fans got to see what his family looked like in recent years. He met his first wife by chance and had been with his second one for decades in 2023.

How Does Jon’s Family Look & How Do They Spend Time Together?

Jon's second wife, Laurie Jacobson, was a documentary writer whom he married on March 28, 1999, and by 2023 they celebrated 24 years of marriage. His first wife, Sandra Marie Goosens, was married to him on august 4, 1979, welcomed two children - Ryan and Katie Provost - and divorced on December 13, 1993.

He met Goosens by chance after backing into her car. Over the years, Jon shared Instagram images showing how he spent time with his wife, children, and grandchildren like in January 2023, when he uploaded two photos.

In the pictures, he and Jacobson rode in a car while their two grandchildren were seated at the back. The star revealed how he and his wife had their grandchildren for a few hours and went to In-N-Out, the children's favorite dinner place, for fastfood and it was "Always so much fun."

Their grandchildren looked happy to be with them and on the outing. That same month, the star uploaded a picture of him and Ryan, who shared a great resemblance to the actor, and said he'd come over for dinner as they celebrated his birthday.

The following month, Jon shared a photo of his wife in an office and said they'd gone in for a "procedure." In June 2022, he revealed how he and Jacobson loved traveling by sharing a photo of them saying goodbye to Prague.

In August 2022, the couple appeared posing in an image taken in Copenhagen with Jon using the hashtag "#truelove." In May 2022, the pair was photographed standing in front of a statue near water and asked his fans to guess where they were.

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