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

Becoming Ruth Martin on Lassie

Taking over from another actress in 1958, Lockhart remained in the series until 1964. She played Ruth Martin, married to agriculturalist Paul Martin and the foster mother of young Timmy Martin, whose collie was the titular star of the series.

In her role as a housewife, Lockhart somehow managed to avoid being completely upstaged by the intelligent dog. She described the show as “a fantasy about people on a farm in which the dog resolves all the issues in 22 minutes, in time for the last advertisement”. After she left the show, Lockhart commented: “In six chaste years of playing a rural wife and parent, I was hardly ever permitted to peck my on-screen husband on the face.”

Featuring in Lost in Space

Lockhart went straight into another successful series, Lost in Space (1965-68), a partly comedic science fiction series targeted mostly at young audiences and inspired by The Swiss Family Robinson. Lockhart and another actor played Maureen and John Robinson, two scientists investigating alien planets. Lockhart had to spend most of her time skillfully trying to navigate special effects. As the series continued, the narrative became less and less about this space family and increasingly about the young son and his bond with a robot, and the cowardly antagonist Dr Zachary Smith.

Beginnings in Show Business

Lockhart’s movie 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 Canada-native Gene were both actors in many of movies, as well as on stage, it was nearly inevitable 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-musical role in an opera at the Metropolitan Opera in New York (1931).

Transition to Hollywood and Movie Roles

When her father was offered 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 acclaimed 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 dance card is filled maliciously to stop Lockhart interacting with her sibling.

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 a young star had played the female character 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 son, Laddie, protagonist of a World War II story in Nazi-occupied Norway, was in the minds of the creators when it came to selecting the Lassie TV series 13 years later.

Shift to Television and Broadway Achievement

Although she was given 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 TV would be the answer. Before going in a different direction, she won praise on Broadway in For Love or Money (1947), a comedy for which she won a Tony award as best newcomer.

A additional substantial 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 westerns in the 50s, such as Have Gun Will Travel, Wagon Train, Gunsmoke, and Rawhide. Her hectic schedule continued for the following five decades, with a regular role in General Hospital between 1984 and 1998. Among her many one-off appearances were as the actress 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 dining manager.

Later Career and Legacy

Her final TV appearance came in 2021 as the narration of Alpha Control in an episode of a digital platform’s remake of Lost in Space. In the big screen version starring famous 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 future astronauts, and often attended the organization’s launches and other events. In 2013 her work as a unpaid representative brought her its Exceptional Public Achievement Medal.

Among her few 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 wed John Maloney, a doctor and former Navy doctor. 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 remembered by her children and four grandkids.

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