June Lockhart: Lassie and Lost In Space actress dies aged 100 | Ents & Arts News

June Lockhart, who starred in television shows such as Lassie and Lost In Space, has died at the age of 100.

The US actress died of natural causes at her home in Santa Monica, California, on Thursday, according to family spokesman Lyle Gregory.

He said: “She was very happy up until the very end, reading the New York Times and LA Times every day.

“It was very important to her to stay focused on the news of the day.”

For more than 200 episodes between 1958 and 1964, she played the role of Ruth Martin, who raised the orphaned Timmy (Jon Provost) in Lassie – a show about the adventures of a brave and intelligent Rough Collie dog.

And from 1965 to 1968 spanning over 80 episodes, Lockhart was Maureen Robinson, a mother who was part of a marooned family that travelled on the spaceship Jupiter II in Lost In Space.

She was nominated for two Emmys, including best actress in a leading role in a dramatic series for her performance in Lassie in 1959.

She also received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for motion picture and one for television.

Born in New York City in 1925, she was the daughter of actor Gene Lockhart and actress Kathleen Lockhart.

Feature film debut

She made her feature film debut aged 13, starring alongside both of her parents in the 1938 production A Christmas Carol, where she played Belinda Cratchit, the daughter of Bob Cratchit.

After her breakout role, she appeared in films such as All This, and Heaven Too, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Yearling, and Sergeant York.

She was also in Son Of Lassie, the 1945 sequel to Lassie, Come Home, playing the grown-up version of the role created by Elizabeth Taylor.

Over almost eight decades on screen, Lockhart appeared in dozens of TV series and movies, including when she was well in her 80s.

Other roles

She had recurring roles on Petticoat Junction, General Hospital, and Beverly Hills 90210, and guest appearances on shows including The Beverly Hillbillies, The Colbys, Knots Landing and Happy Days, as well as Full House, Roseanne and Grey’s Anatomy.

Of her time on Lassie, Lockhart spoke frankly about her canine co-star.

She said: “I worked with four Lassies. There was only one main Lassie at a time. Then there was a dog that did the running, a dog that did the fighting, and a dog that was a stand-in, because only humans can work 14 hours a day without needing a nap.

“Lassie was not especially friendly with anybody. Lassie was wholly concentrated on the trainers.”

Even though she sometimes mocked the show, she conceded: “How wonderful that in a career there is one role for which you are known. Many actors work all their lives and never have one part that is really theirs.”

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In Lost In Space, Lockhart was part of a family that left Earth on a five-year flight to a faraway planet.

After their mission was sabotaged by fellow passenger Dr Zachary Smith, the group went from planet to planet, encountering strange creatures and near-disasters where viewers needed to watch the following week to learn of the escape.

Speaking fondly about working on Lost in Space, Lockhart said: “It was like going to work at Disneyland every day.”

She was married and divorced twice: to John Maloney, a physician, father of her daughters Anne Kathleen and June Elizabeth; and architect John C Lindsay.