June Lockhart, beloved for her roles as a mother in Lassie and in Lost in Space, died on Oct. 23 at her Santa Monica, California home of natural causes. She was 100.
Harlon Ball, Lockhart’s spokesman, confirmed her death to The New York Times.
Lockhart made an indelible mark playing Ruth Martin, the foster mother of John Provost’s character, Timmy, and his collie Lassie, on the series Lassie beginning in 1958. She took over the role from Cloris Leachman in the show’s fifth season, and she remained on the show through 1964.
She went on to star as Dr. Maureen Robinson — a biochemist, wife, and mother — in the sci-fi adventure television series, Lost in Space. She appeared in all three seasons of its run, from 1965 through 1968, alongside her family of space castaways, which included a robot who warned “Danger, Will Robinson” to her character’s precocious son (Bill Mumy) whenever a threat was perceived. In 2024, Lockhart revealed that playing Robinson was her favorite role. “It was so campy,” she told Closer Weekly. “And I truly enjoyed my relationship with my space family.”
She went on to join Petticoat Junction in its sixth season in 1968, where she portrayed Janet Craig and continued the role until the series ended in 1970.
While she became widely known for her roles in the Sixties, she had already won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Newcomer (the category no longer exists) for her Broadway debut in For Love or Money in 1948 when she was 22 years old. She made her big screen debut even earlier, at age 13, when she appeared in an uncredited role in the 1938 version of A Christmas Carol, alongside her actor parents Gene Lockhart and Kathleen Lockhart.
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Through the course of eight decades, the actress portrayed a range of roles on the small and big screen, appearing in films including Son of Lassie, the 1945 sequel to Lassie Come Home and a precursor to her television role; All This, and Heaven Too; Meet Me in St. Louis; The Yearling; and Sergeant York. On television, she had recurring roles on the daytime soap opera General Hospital and Beverly Hills 90210, and was a guest star on shows such as Happy Days, Full House, and Grey’s Anatomy. She most recently appeared in the films Zombie Hamlet (2012) and The Remake (2016). She also voiced Mindy the Owl in 2019’s animated Bongee Bear and the Kingdom of Rhythm and voiced Alpha Control in the third season of Netflix’s reboot of Lost in Space in 2021.
She was nominated for two Emmys, including Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series for her performance in Lassie. Lockhart was also the recipient of two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one recognizing her motion picture work, the other honoring her television career.
