Posted on 10/25/2025 10:12:47 PM PDT by Morgana
LOS ANGELES (AP) - June Lockhart, who became a mother figure for a generation of television viewers whether at home in "Lassie" or up in the stratosphere in "Lost in Space," has died. She was 100.
Lockhart died Thursday of natural causes at her home in Santa Monica, family spokesman Lyle Gregory, a friend of 40 years, said Saturday.
"She was very happy up until the very end, reading the New York Times and LA Times everyday," he said. "It was very important to her to stay focused on the news of the day."
The daughter of prolific character actor Gene Lockhart, Lockhart was cast frequently in ingenue roles as a young film actor. Television made her a star.
From 1958 to 1964, she portrayed Ruth Martin, who raised the orphaned Timmy (Jon Provost), in the popular CBS series "Lassie." From 1965 to 1968, she traveled aboard the spaceship Jupiter II as mother to the Robinson family in the campy CBS adventure "Lost in Space."
Her portrayals of warm, compassionate mothers endeared her to young viewers, and decades later baby boomers flocked to nostalgia conventions to meet Lockhart and buy her autographed photos.
Offscreen, Lockhart insisted, she was nothing like the women she portrayed.
"I must quote Dan Rather," she said in a 1994 interview. "I can control my reputation, but not my image, because my image is how you see me.
"I love rock `n´ roll and going to the concerts. I have driven Army tanks and flown in hot air balloons. And I go plane-gliding - the ones with no motors. I do a lot of things that don´t go with my image."
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Wow. What a perfect Mom figure. Perfect in every way. RIP.
Sad to hear this . I had the hots for her when she starred in Lost In Space . I was 12 hehe . Remember her in Lassie too , of course .
Watched the original Lassie with Tommy Rettig as Jeff when I was 7. Then watched the second series that started after with Jon Provost as Timmy. Both series were excellent family TV.
RIP June Lockart. I loved the way she used to do the laundry on the Jupiter 2 spacecraft. All the clothes came out clean, folded and wrapped in plastic. Talk about 60’s convenience!
100 years, wow, if we could all be so lucky
I never Timmy was adopted....
We were all there.
😅🛐🙏✝️
RIP, Mom!
She always seemed so classy...not wacky...
RIP nice lady!!!
Prayers for God’s comfort for the Family and Friends of Mrs. Lockhart. In Jesus name, amen.
Americas Mom
I was living in northern California when a close high school/college friend told me that he was going to be in Los Angeles performing with the "Up With People" troupe. He said that if I wanted to come down and see the show, he could arrange for me to stay with a friend of his who lives in the area. I said, "sure, why not?" His friend would meet me at LAX, and he gave her my description and me, hers.
As I deplaned and was walking down the jetway, when I entered the terminal proper a woman who was waiting for someone else noticed me and asked "Are you [first name]?" Surprised, I said "Yes, I am." The woman then said, "The person you're looking for is over there," pointing towards the back of the gathered crowd. I thanked the woman and headed towards my friend's friend.
As we were walking towards baggage claim, I told my new friend what happened at the jetway and she asked, "You know who that was, right?" Surprised, I said "No. Who was it?" She said, "That was June Lockhart!" Astonished, I turned to look back, but the crowd was thick and people were moving about and I never got a second look.
Understand, I watched all of the "Lost in Space" as a child, though the Lassie movies were before my time. Still, when one meets a "celebrity" in an unfamiliar area or an unconventional setting, or when attentions are distracted, it's easy to just see a mass of people and not single out specific people.
Or, it's also possible that some people just aren't focused on "celebrity" and wouldn't recognize the most popular person in the world if they were standing in front of you on the coffee line.
-PJ
RIP June.
June Lockhart, ‘Lost In Space’ and ‘Lassie’ Star, Dies at 100
10/25/2025 12:05:23 PM PDT · by Borges · 54 replies
Variety ^ | 10/25/25 | Leia Mendoza
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4348597/posts
June Lockhart Turns 100: A Celebration Of The Beloved Actress
06/25/2025 7:16:54 AM PDT · by Borges · 8 replies
Forbes ^ | 6/25/25 | Marc Berman
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4325199/posts
Was she vaxed?
It’s getting closer to the holidays, and every Christmas season I try to watch every version of A Christmas Carol that I can. My favorite has always been the one that she was in as a girl, with her real father, Gene Lockhart as her screen father.
Incidentally, her real mother, Kathleen Lockhart, was also her mother in the same film. Gene, Kathleen, and June together in real life and on screen.
The 1938 version of A Christmas Carol was a real Lockhart family affair.
RIP Ms Lockhart.
The remarkable thing is that she could be happy after reading the New York Times and LA Times everyday.
Only if you have big money and don’t outlive devoted trust worthy family or friends.
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