American actress 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 aged 100.
Lockhart died on Thursday of natural causes at her home in Santa Monica, family spokesman Lyle Gregory, a friend of 40 years, said on Saturday.
“She was very happy up until the very end, reading the New York Times and LA Times everyday,” he said.
“It was very vital 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, but 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 travelled 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.
June Lockhart, ‘Lost in Space’ and ‘Lassie’ Star, Dies at 100
https://www.breakingnews.ie/i/bn-noimage.png
June Lockhart, a versatile actress best known for her roles as the mother on the 1960s science fiction series Lost in Space and in several Lassie films, has died at the age of 100.She passed away on November 24, 2023, at her home in Los Angeles, according to her son-in-law, Gary Anhalt.
Born June Evelyn Lockhart on June 25, 1923, in New York City, she was the daughter of actors Gene Lockhart and Miriam Adler. She began her career at a young age,making her stage debut at eight years old in a children’s ballet at the Metropolitan opera House. Her film career began with a small role in the 1938 film adaptation of A Christmas Carol, where she played the daughter of her real-life parents, Gene Lockhart and Miriam Adler, who portrayed Bob and Mrs. Cratchit. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031585/
Lockhart’s career spanned decades, encompassing film, television, and stage. She appeared in Son of Lassie (1945), a sequel to Lassie Come Home, reprising the role of the grown-up character originally played by Elizabeth Taylor. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037648/
However, she became a household name through her role as Maureen Robinson in Lost in space (1965-1968), portraying the resourceful and loving mother of the Robinson family.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058389/ despite sometimes playfully criticizing the show, Lockhart acknowledged the significance of the role, stating, “How marvelous that in a career there is one role for which you are known.”
Following lost in Space,Lockhart continued to work steadily in television,with recurring roles in daytime dramas like General Hospital and nighttime soaps such as Knots Landing and The Colbys.https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0508899/
Beyond acting,Lockhart maintained a keen interest in journalism and frequently attended White House press briefings with her media pass. She also participated in narrating beauty pageants and holiday parades and toured in stage productions including Steel Magnolias, Bedroom Farce, and once More with Feeling.
Lockhart was married twice, first to physician John Maloney, with whom she had two daughters, Anne Kathleen and June Elizabeth, and later to architect John C. Lindsay.
She is survived by her daughters and several grandchildren.