🔗 Share this article

Starting her career in films, June Lockhart, who died aged 100, found her biggest success after shifting predominantly to television. Having been offered limited chances to excel in movies from her first appearance as a child in 1938 until 1947, she excelled on television in many beloved series, most notably in Lassie.

Portraying Ruth Martin on Lassie

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

Despite playing a mother figure, Lockhart adeptly avoided being outshone by the smart animal star. She described the program as “a fairy tale about people on a farm in which the dog resolves all the issues in 22 minutes, in time for the last advertisement”. After she departed the series, Lockhart commented: “In six sexless years of playing a rural spouse and parent, I was hardly ever permitted to peck my co-star on the cheek.”

Adventure into Lost in Space

Lockhart went directly into another hit, Lost in Space (1965-68), a semi-spoof science fiction series aimed primarily at children and inspired by The Swiss Family Robinson. Lockhart and another actor portrayed Maureen and John Robinson, two researchers exploring alien planets. Lockhart had to spend the majority of her time skillfully trying to survive visual effects. As the show continued, the storyline became less and less about this space family and increasingly about the young son and his bond with a mechanical being, and the cowardly antagonist Dr Zachary Smith.

Start in Show Business

Lockhart’s feature film first role, at the age of 13, had come as Belinda Cratchit in A Christmas Carol (1938). In the parts of her mother and father, Bob and Mrs Cratchit, were her actual parents, Gene and Kathleen Lockhart. As British-born Kathleen and Canada-native Gene were both performers in many of films, as well as on stage, it was almost certain that June, who was born in New York, would join the entertainment industry.

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

Transition to Hollywood and Film Roles

When her father was given a contract by a film studio, after his acclaim on Broadway, she relocated with her family to Hollywood, where Gene made around 300 films. After attending school in Beverly Hills, June started her career in movies, mainly 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 charming as a New Yorker at a family party, whose schedule is arranged maliciously to stop Lockhart dancing with her sibling.

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

The loving way in which she interacted with both Lassie and her son, Laddie, protagonist of a wartime story in enemy-held Norway, was in the minds of the producers when it came to selecting the Lassie TV series 13 years later.

Television and Stage Work

Although she was offered leading roles in two suspense films, She-Wolf of London (1946) and Bury Me Dead (1947), Lockhart concluded her movie career was getting her nowhere and that television would be the answer. Before embarking in a new 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 significant run came with Petticoat Junction (1968-70), set in a country hotel, where Lockhart is a doctor and mother figure. She also appeared regularly in TV westerns in the 50s, such as Have Gun Will Travel, Wagon Train, Gunsmoke, and Rawhide. Her busy schedule continued for the next five decades, with a recurring role in General Hospital between 1984 and 1998. Among her many one-off appearances were as herself in a 1988 episode of a talkshow, where the presenter finds a lost collie, and in another sitcom in 1995 as the parent of a restaurant manager.

Later Roles and Contributions

Her final TV appearance 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 starring well-known actors (1998), she had a holographic cameo as a school principal. She took pleasure in learning how much of an inspiration the first 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 portrayed a witch, with her own daughter, Anne Lockhart, playing her younger 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 second marriage, to John Lindsay, an designer.

She is remembered by her daughters and four grandkids.

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