Jon Provost (born March 12, 1950 in Los Angeles, California) was a former child actor on television.
An entertainment veteran before the age of eight, Provost, to many audiences, will forever be known as Timmy Martin, in the television series, Lassie. Provost was only three years old when he was cast as Jane Wyman and Sterling Hayden's son in the film So Big. He then appeared in The Country Girl, co-starring with Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly, Back from Eternity, with Anita Ekberg, and Escapade in Japan, again with Ekberg and an unknown (and unbilled) Clint Eastwood. He was then cast in his most famous role as young Timmy Martin in Lassie.
Provost's television parents were played by Hugh Reilly and June Lockhart. For seven seasons, audiences grew to love Timmy and his perilous adventures with the invincible canine. By 1964, it was decided that Provost had become too old for the role and the format of the series was revamped, bringing to an end Jon's reign as a child star. His post-Lassie years were difficult, and by the time he was eighteen, he decided to quit show business and go to college. He soon graduated with a psychology degree and worked for a time in the field of special education.
Later, he sold real estate in Sonoma County, California and donated his time to various causes. In 1991, Jon returned to television with a recurring role in The New Lassie series--as a real estate agent. In one nostalgic episode, he appeared together with Lassie's original master, Tommy Rettig, who was making a guest appearance. In yet another, June Lockhart appeared, reprising her role as Timmy's mother and revealing that Provost's character was actually an adult Timmy Martin after being taken in by new adoptive parents. Provost continues to show up at celebrity conventions.
In 1994 Jon Provost received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 7080 Hollywood Blvd.
