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Starting her career in films, June Lockhart, who passed on aged 100, found her biggest success after shifting largely to the small screen. Having been given limited opportunities to shine in movies from her debut as a child in 1938 until 1947, she excelled on television in many popular series, especially in Lassie.

Her Iconic Role in Lassie

Taking over from a previous star in 1958, Lockhart remained in the series until 1964. Her role was Ruth Martin, wed to farmer Paul Martin and the adoptive mother of seven-year-old Timmy Martin, whose dog was the eponymous star of the series.

In her part as a homemaker, Lockhart somehow succeeded to avoid being completely upstaged by the intelligent canine. She described the program as “a fantasy about families on a farm in which the canine resolves all the problems in 22 minutes, in time for the last commercial”. After she departed the show, Lockhart commented: “In six sexless years of playing a country spouse and parent, I was rarely permitted to peck my on-screen husband on the face.”

Journey into Lost in Space

Lockhart went straight into a second successful series, Lost in Space (1965-68), a semi-spoof science fiction series targeted primarily at children and based by The Swiss Family Robinson. Lockhart and her co-star played Maureen and John Robinson, two scientists investigating alien planets. Lockhart had to spend the majority of her time deftly trying to survive special effects. As the series continued, the storyline became less and less about this space clan and increasingly about the young son and his bond with a mechanical being, and the cowardly antagonist Dr Zachary Smith.

Initial Career and Family Background

Lockhart’s feature film debut, at the age of 13, had come as Belinda Cratchit in A Christmas Carol (1938). In the roles of her mother and father, Bob and Mrs Cratchit, were her actual parents, Gene and Kathleen Lockhart. As UK-native Kathleen and Canada-native Gene were both actors in dozens of films, as well as on stage, it was almost certain that June, who was born in New York, would enter show business.

Her first theatrical performance, at the tender age of six, came in a non-musical role in an opera at the Metropolitan Opera in New York (1931).

Hollywood Work

When her parent was offered a contract by a film studio, after his acclaim on Broadway, she relocated with her parents to Hollywood, where Gene made approximately 300 films. After attending school in Beverly Hills, June began her professional life in films, mainly in minor roles in prestigious pictures such as Sergeant York (1941), The White Cliffs of Dover (1942) and Meet Me in St Louis (1944). In the last one, she is charming as a New Yorker at a household party, whose schedule is filled maliciously to prevent Lockhart interacting with her sibling.

More significantly, although she did not realize it at the time, was Son of Lassie (1945). It was one of several sequels to the extremely successful Lassie Come Home (1943), in which a young star had played the female character who assists the canine to return to the family. In the later film, Lockhart played the now grown-up character.

The affectionate way in which she handled both Lassie and her offspring, Laddie, protagonist of a World War II adventure in enemy-held Norway, was in the consideration of the creators when it came to casting the Lassie TV series 13 years later.

Transition to Television and Broadway Success

Although she was offered leading roles in two thrillers, She-Wolf of London (1946) and Bury Me Dead (1947), Lockhart decided her movie career was getting her nowhere and that television would be the solution. Before embarking in a different direction, she received acclaim on Broadway in For Love or Money (1947), a humorous play for which she won a Tony award as most promising newcomer.

A additional substantial run came with Petticoat Junction (1968-70), set in a country hotel, where Lockhart is a doctor and mother figure. She also appeared frequently in TV westerns in the 50s, such as Have Gun Will Travel, Wagon Train, Gunsmoke, and Rawhide. Her hectic schedule persisted for the following five decades, with a regular role in General Hospital between 1984 and 1998. Among her many one-off appearances were as the actress in a 1988 episode of a comedy series, where the host finds a lost collie, and in another sitcom in 1995 as the mother of a dining manager.

Later Roles and Achievements

Her final TV credit came in 2021 as the narration of Alpha Control in an episode of a streaming service’s new version of Lost in Space. In the movie version starring famous actors (1998), she had a digital cameo as a school principal. She took joy in learning how much of an influence the original series had been to future astronauts, and often participated in the agency’s launches and other events. In 2013 her work as a unpaid spokesperson brought her its Exceptional Public Achievement Medal.

Among her few subsequent feature films was the fantasy, Troll (1986) in which she portrayed a sorceress, with her own daughter, Anne Lockhart, playing her younger self.

Personal Life and Family

In 1951 she married John Maloney, a doctor and former Navy doctor. In addition to Anne, they had a second daughter, June. That marriage ended in separation, as did her second marriage, to John Lindsay, an architect.

She is remembered by her daughters and four grandchildren.

June Lockhart, actor, born 25 June 1925; died 23 October 2025