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June Lockhart, who passed away at the remarkable age of 100, began her career in films, but gained recognition after transitioning almost entirely to TV. Having been offered limited chances to excel in films from her debut as a youngster in 1938 until 1947, she excelled on TV in numerous 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. She played Ruth Martin, married to agriculturalist Paul Martin and the foster mother of seven-year-old Timmy Martin, whose dog was the eponymous star of the series.

Even with playing a mother figure, Lockhart adeptly avoided being outshone by the brilliant dog. She described the program as “a fairy tale about people on a rural property in which the canine solves all the problems in 22 minutes, in time for the last commercial”. After she departed the series, Lockhart commented: “In six sexless years of playing a country spouse and mother, I was rarely permitted to peck my on-screen husband on the face.”

Featuring in Lost in Space

Lockhart went straight into a second successful series, Lost in Space (1965-68), a partly comedic sci-fi series targeted primarily at young audiences and inspired by The Swiss Family Robinson. Lockhart and another actor portrayed Maureen and John Robinson, two scientists exploring alien planets. Lockhart had to spend the majority of her time deftly trying to navigate special effects. As the show continued, the storyline became increasingly less about this space clan and more about the young son and his bond with a robot, and the timid antagonist Dr Zachary Smith.

Start in Entertainment

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

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

Move to Hollywood and Movie Roles

When her parent was offered a deal by a motion picture studio, after his acclaim on Broadway, she moved with her parents to Hollywood, where Gene made around 300 films. After going to school in Beverly Hills, June started her career in films, mainly in small roles in acclaimed pictures such as Sergeant York (1941), The White Cliffs of Dover (1942) and Meet Me in St Louis (1944). In the latter, she is delightful as a New Yorker at a family party, whose schedule is arranged maliciously to prevent Lockhart interacting with her brother.

More importantly, although she did not realize it at the time, was Son of Lassie (1945). It was one of several sequels to the hugely successful Lassie Come Home (1943), in which another actress had played the girl who assists the canine to escape to the family. In the subsequent film, Lockhart played the now adult version.

The affectionate way in which she handled both Lassie and her offspring, Laddie, protagonist of a wartime story in Nazi-occupied Norway, was in the consideration of the producers when it came to selecting the Lassie TV series 13 years later.

TV and Stage Career

Although she was offered leading roles in two suspense films, She-Wolf of London (1946) and Bury Me Dead (1947), Lockhart concluded her film career was getting her nowhere and that TV would be the answer. Before going in a different direction, she won praise on Broadway in For Love or Money (1947), a humorous play for which she won a Tony award as most promising newcomer.

A further significant run came with Petticoat Junction (1968-70), set in a country hotel, where Lockhart is a doctor and mother figure. She also featured regularly in TV cowboy shows in the 50s, such as Have Gun Will Travel, Wagon Train, Gunsmoke, and Rawhide. Her busy schedule continued for the following five decades, with a recurring role in General Hospital between 1984 and 1998. Among her many guest appearances were as herself in a 1988 episode of a comedy series, where the presenter finds a stray collie, and in another sitcom in 1995 as the mother of a dining manager.

Final Career and Impact

Her final TV credit came in 2021 as the narration of Alpha Control in an episode of a digital platform’s new version of Lost in Space. In the big screen version starring well-known actors (1998), she had a holographic cameo as a school principal. She took joy in learning how much of an inspiration the original series had been to later 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 limited later feature films was the fantasy, Troll (1986) in which she played a witch, with her own daughter, Anne Lockhart, playing her younger self.

Private Information

In 1951 she wed John Maloney, a physician and former Navy medical officer. In addition to Anne, they had a second daughter, June. That union ended in separation, as did her second marriage, to John Lindsay, an designer.

She is survived by her children and four grandkids.

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