🔗 Share this article

June Lockhart, who died at the remarkable age of 100, started her professional journey in films, but gained fame after moving almost entirely to TV. Having been given limited opportunities to shine in movies from her debut as a child in 1938 until 1947, she excelled on TV in numerous popular series, most notably in Lassie.

Her Memorable Role in Lassie

Stepping in from a previous star in 1958, Lockhart continued in the series until 1964. Her role was Ruth Martin, wed to agriculturalist Paul Martin and the foster mother of young Timmy Martin, whose collie was the eponymous star of the series.

Despite playing a housewife, Lockhart skillfully avoided being outshone by the smart dog. She characterized the program as “a fantasy about people on a farm in which the canine resolves all the issues in 22 minutes, in time for the last commercial”. After she departed the show, Lockhart commented: “In six sexless years of playing a rural spouse and mother, I was hardly ever permitted to peck my co-star on the cheek.”

Adventure into Lost in Space

Lockhart went directly into a second successful series, Lost in Space (1965-68), a semi-spoof science fiction series aimed primarily at children and based by The Swiss Family Robinson. Lockhart and another actor portrayed Maureen and John Robinson, two researchers investigating distant planets. Lockhart had to spend the majority of her time deftly trying to navigate special effects. As the show continued, the storyline became less and less about this space clan and increasingly about the boy and his friendship with a mechanical being, and the timid villain Dr Zachary Smith.

Start in Entertainment

Lockhart’s feature film debut, 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 Canadian-born Gene were both performers in many of films, as well as on theater, it was nearly certain that June, who was born in New York, would enter the entertainment industry.

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

Hollywood Work

When her parent was given a contract by a film studio, after his acclaim on Broadway, she relocated with her parents to Hollywood, where Gene made around 300 films. After going to school in Beverly Hills, June started her professional life 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 charming as a New Yorker at a household party, whose dance card is arranged spitefully to prevent Lockhart dancing with her brother.

More significantly, although she did not realize it at the time, was Son of Lassie (1945). It was one of several follow-ups to the extremely successful Lassie Come Home (1943), in which another actress had played the female character who helps the canine to return to the family. In the subsequent film, Lockhart played the now grown-up character.

The loving way in which she interacted with both Lassie and her offspring, Laddie, hero of a wartime story 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 Stage Achievement

Although she was given leading roles in two thrillers, 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 embarking 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 best 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 featured frequently 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 regular 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 dining manager.

Later Career and Legacy

Her last TV credit came in 2021 as the voice of Alpha Control in an episode of a streaming service’s new version of Lost in Space. In the big screen version featuring famous actors (1998), she had a digital 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 attended the organization’s launches and other events. In 2013 her work as a unpaid spokesperson brought her its prestigious award.

Among her few later feature films was the fantasy, Troll (1986) in which she played a sorceress, 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 divorce, as did her second marriage, to John Lindsay, an designer.

She is remembered by her children and four grandchildren.

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