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Starting her career in films, June Lockhart, who passed on aged 100, achieved her greatest success after switching largely to the small screen. Having been offered few chances to excel in films from her first appearance as a youngster in 1938 until 1947, she thrived on television in numerous popular series, most notably in Lassie.

Her Iconic Role in Lassie

Taking over from a previous star in 1958, Lockhart remained in the show until 1964. She played Ruth Martin, wed to farmer Paul Martin and the adoptive mother of young Timmy Martin, whose collie was the eponymous hero of the series.

Despite playing a mother figure, Lockhart adeptly avoided being outshone by the smart dog. She characterized the show as “a fairy tale about people on a rural property in which the dog resolves all the issues in 22 minutes, in time for the last commercial”. After she departed the series, Lockhart commented: “In six sexless years of playing a rural spouse and mother, I was hardly ever permitted to peck my on-screen husband on the face.”

Starring in Lost in Space

Lockhart went straight into another successful series, Lost in Space (1965-68), a semi-spoof sci-fi series aimed primarily at children and inspired by The Swiss Family Robinson. Lockhart and another actor played Maureen and John Robinson, two researchers investigating distant planets. Lockhart had to spend most of her time deftly trying to survive special effects. As the show continued, the storyline became less and less about this interstellar clan and more about the boy and his friendship with a robot, and the cowardly villain Dr Zachary Smith.

Beginnings in Show Business

Lockhart’s feature film first role, at the young age of 13, had come as Belinda Cratchit in A Christmas Carol (1938). In the roles 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 theater, it was nearly inevitable that June, who was born in New York, would enter show business.

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

Hollywood Career

When her parent was given a deal by a motion picture studio, after his acclaim on Broadway, she relocated with her family to Hollywood, where Gene made approximately 300 films. After attending school in Beverly Hills, June began her career in films, mostly in small 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 delightful as a New Yorker at a household party, whose dance card is filled maliciously to prevent Lockhart dancing with her sibling.

More importantly, although she did not realize it at the time, was Son of Lassie (1945). It was one of several follow-ups to the hugely successful Lassie Come Home (1943), in which a young star had played the girl who helps the dog to escape to the owners. In the later film, Lockhart played the now adult character.

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

Shift to Television and Stage Achievement

Although she was offered major roles in two suspense films, She-Wolf of London (1946) and Bury Me Dead (1947), Lockhart decided her film career was stagnating and that television would be the answer. Before embarking in a new direction, she received 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 rural hotel, where Lockhart is a physician and maternal character. She also appeared frequently in TV westerns 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 lost collie, and in another sitcom in 1995 as the parent of a restaurant manager.

Later Roles and Achievements

Her last TV appearance came in 2021 as the voice of Alpha Control in an episode of a digital platform’s remake of Lost in Space. In the big screen version starring well-known actors (1998), she had a digital cameo as a school principal. She took pleasure in learning how much of an inspiration the first series had been to future astronauts, and often participated in the agency’s launches and other events. In 2013 her work as a volunteer representative brought her its prestigious award.

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

Personal Life and Family

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

She is remembered by her children and four grandkids.

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