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Launching her career in films, June Lockhart, who passed on aged 100, found her greatest success after switching largely to the small screen. Having been offered limited chances to shine in movies from her debut as a youngster in 1938 until 1947, she thrived on television in numerous beloved series, especially in Lassie.

Portraying Ruth Martin on Lassie

Stepping in from another actress in 1958, Lockhart continued in the series until 1964. Her role was Ruth Martin, married to agriculturalist Paul Martin and the adoptive mother of young Timmy Martin, whose dog was the titular star of the series.

In her part as a homemaker, Lockhart somehow succeeded to avoid being completely overshadowed by the intelligent canine. She characterized the show as “a fantasy about families on a farm in which the canine solves all the issues in 22 minutes, in time for the last commercial”. After she departed the series, Lockhart remarked: “In six sexless years of playing a rural spouse and parent, I was rarely allowed to peck my co-star on the cheek.”

Featuring in Lost in Space

Lockhart went straight into another successful series, Lost in Space (1965-68), a partly comedic science fiction series aimed mostly at children and based by The Swiss Family Robinson. Lockhart and another actor played Maureen and John Robinson, two scientists exploring distant planets. Lockhart had to spend the majority of her time skillfully trying to navigate visual effects. As the show progressed, the storyline became less and less about this space family and more about the young son and his friendship with a mechanical being, and the timid villain Dr Zachary Smith.

Initial Career and Family Influence

Lockhart’s feature film debut, at the young 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 British-born Kathleen and Canadian-born Gene were both performers in dozens of movies, as well as on stage, it was almost inevitable that June, who was born in New York, would join the entertainment industry.

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

Hollywood Work

When her father was given a deal by a film studio, after his acclaim on Broadway, she moved with her family to Hollywood, where Gene made approximately 300 films. After going to school in Beverly Hills, June started her professional life in films, mostly 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 latter, she is charming as a New Yorker at a family party, whose dance card is filled 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 multiple sequels to the extremely successful Lassie Come Home (1943), in which another actress had played the female character who helps the dog to return to the owners. In the subsequent film, Lockhart played the now adult version.

The loving way in which she handled both Lassie and her offspring, Laddie, hero of a World War II story in enemy-held Norway, was in the minds of the producers 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 suspense films, She-Wolf of London (1946) and Bury Me Dead (1947), Lockhart concluded her film career was stagnating and that TV would be the solution. Before embarking in a new direction, she received praise on Broadway in For Love or Money (1947), a comedy 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 frequently in TV westerns in the 50s, such as Have Gun Will Travel, Wagon Train, Gunsmoke, and Rawhide. Her busy schedule persisted for the next five decades, with a recurring 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 presenter finds a lost collie, and in another sitcom in 1995 as the mother of a dining manager.

Later Career and Impact

Her last TV credit came in 2021 as the voice of Alpha Control in an episode of a digital platform’s new version of Lost in Space. In the big screen version featuring well-known actors (1998), she had a digital cameo as a school principal. She took pleasure in learning how much of an influence the first series had been to future astronauts, and often attended the organization’s launches and other events. In 2013 her work as a volunteer spokesperson brought her its Exceptional Public Achievement Medal.

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 earlier self.

Personal Life and Family

In 1951 she married 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 survived by her daughters and four grandkids.

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