We each had to spend a week out at Lassie's ranch, and whoever got along best with the dog got the part.

I was totally devastated for four years in the mid '60s when l tried to buck the tide.

It was the worst period of my life. I had all this gigantic acceptance as a kid, and all of a sudden there was this monumental rejection.

Then l learned to play guitar and l started writing songs and my mother formed for me a publishing business, so we started publishing and managing artists.

Marijuana. Boy, I thought that was just terrible. How could this great man do this to his life?

There was this little shaggy dog on it, and Frank Weatherwax was working the dog. One day we were all sitting around, and Frank said, listen, my brother Rudd just got the rights back from MGM for Lassie, and said have your agent check into it. I did, and I went for a screen test.

I wanted to go to regular high school- it looked like a lot of fun.