June Lockhart, Last of the Black-and-White TV Moms, Dies at 100
Her career stretched from the stage at age 8 through a 2021 'Lost in Space' TV voice-over
October 27, 2025
June Lockhart, one of the last survivors of a 1930s movie (1938’s A Christmas Carol), died Thursday, October 23, at 100. People Magazine was first to report the sad news.
She was born June 25, 1925, in New York. Her parents were accomplished actors Gene Lockhart (1891-1957) and Kathleen Lockhart (1894-1978), who met when Thomas Edison (1847-1931) hired them to help demonstrate his newfangled invention the phonograph.
Gene had performed in a 1922 play for Edison, and Kathleen was hired in 1923 — in the month of June. When they wed and welcomed their only child, a daughter, they decided to name her June in honor of the month they met.
Lockhart made her stage debut an incredible 92 years ago. At age 8, she appeared in Peter Ibbetson at the Metropolitan Opera.
After the Lockharts moved to Beverly Hills, June’s dad’s career took off. He was one of Hollywood’s most in-demand character actors, knocking down an Oscar nomination for Algiers (1938).
That same year, June made her movie debut in an adaptation of the Dickens tale A Christmas Carol, playing Belinda opposite both her parents as the Cratchits. Her work in the film made her a rare actor still living in 2025 who had appeared in a 1930s movie, although her brother in the film, Terry Kilburn, is still with us at age 98.
Her early film résumé included All This, and Heaven Too (1940) with Bette Davis (1908-1989); Adam Had Four Sons (1941) with Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982); Sergeant York (1941) with Gary Cooper (1901-1961); Miss Annie Rooney (1942) with Shirley Temple (1928-2014); the Judy Garland (1922-1969) classic Meet Me in St. Louis (1944); Keep Your Powder Dry (1945) with Lana Turner (1921-1995); and Son of Lassie (1945).
In 1948, she earned a special Tony Award for Outstanding Performance by a Newcomer for her Broadway debut in For Love or Money.
Lockhart first took TV work in 1949, at the very dawn of the medium.
She was Emmy-nominated for Best Actress in 1953, losing to Helen Hayes (1900-1993). After a final return to Broadway, in 1955’s The Grand Prize, she guest-starred on Wagon Train and Gunsmoke in 1958. That same year, she began her 200-episode run as Ruth Martin, Lassie’s “mom,” on Lassie. Having joined the phenomenally popular series in Season 5 as a replaceme
nt for Cloris Leachman (1926-2001), she stayed on through Season 10.
Her Lassie co-star Jon Provost, 75, remembered her on Facebook, writing:
“She truly was my second mother. I remember some advice June gave me early on. We were on the set and I was misbehaving a bit, being a little mischievous. June took me aside, and very firmly explained to me that we were professionals and that we had a job to do. She told me that I was a young boy playing a young boy, but that one day I would be an adult, playing an adult like her. June was a true professional, with a kind heart and an open mind.”
“We kept in touch all these years after Lassie until recently, we never missed a Birthday card, Christmas card and phone calls. Love you June, and I will miss you a bunch.”
Lockhart received her second and final Emmy nomination in 1959 for her work on Lassie.
She reprised her role as Ruth in a fantasy sequence of Roseanne in 1995 that brought together fellow TV moms Alley Mills (b. 1951) from The Wonder Years, Isabel Sanford (1917-2004) from The Jeffersons, Barbara Billingsley (1915-2010) from Leave It to Beaver, and Patricia Crowley (1933-2025) from Please Don’t Eat the Daisies.
That same year, Lockhart played Leon’s (Martin Mull, 1943-2024) mom on Roseanne, which she called at the time a career highlight.
Guesting on Perry Mason, Bewitched and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in 1964, Lockhart then originated the role of Maureen Robinson, the lovable engineer mom on Lost in Space (1965-1968), appearing on all 84 episodes of the show.
Lost in Space was revived as a 1998 feature film, as The Robinsons: Lost in Space for TV in 2004 and again as Lost in Space for TV from 2018-2021. In fact, Lockhart’s last-ever work was a voice-over as Alpha Command on the second-to-last episode of the Lost in Space TV reboot.
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She was remembered warmly by her son from that show, Billy Mumy, 71, who wrote on Facebook,:
“Goodbye to the brilliant June Lockhart. A one of a kind, talented, nurturing, adventurous, and non compromising Lady. She did it her way. June will always be one of my very favorite moms. 100 years here. Wow! R.I.P.”
Lockhart had a cameo in the feature and made appearances with her original TV cast from time to time. I was lucky enough to meet her at a 2013 Hollywood Show gig.
Lockhart recurred as Dr. Craig on Petticoat Junction (1968-1970) as a replacement for the late Bea Benaderet (1906-1968). Also in the late ‘60s, Lockhart spent six years as a co-host of both the Miss USA Pageant and the Miss Universe Pageant. Her hosting skills led to long stints covering the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
A 1970 talk show appearance on The Virginia Graham Show has gone viral in recent years, showing Lockhart calmly speaking out for LGBTQ+ rights, a cause she continued to hold dear throughout her life, including at a 2005 appearance on behalf of affordable housing for elderly LGBTQ+ folks.
Lockhart was a political buff who traveled with both the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates in 1956 and 1960.
Lockhart’s later career on TV was dominated by guest appearances on the hits Happy Days (1976), Magnum, P.I. (1981), Falcon Crest and Knots Landing (both 1982), Murder, She Wrote (1985), a few stints on General Hospital (1985, 1992 & 1993), Roseanne (1995), Step by Step (1996), Beverly Hills, 90210 (1997-1998) and The Drew Carey Show (2002).
Along with the cult-classic made-for-TV spider flick Curse of the Black Widow in 1977, her later films included Butterfly (1982), the slasher flick Deadly Games (1982), the highly regarded alien-invasion remake Strange Invaders (1983) and the monster movie Troll (1986). She appeared with her actress daughter Anne Lockhart, now 72, in the latter, but the two wound up estranged for years before June’s death.
She continued working, including in high-profile releases Sleep with Me (1994), Deterrence (1999) and One Night at McCool’s (2001).
Lockhart’s final feature was The Remake in 2016. She retired completely after 2021, bringing her overall career to an incredible 88 years.
Married and divorced twice, Lockhart dated younger men, including Jesus Christ Superstar’s Bob Corff when he was 21 and she was 47. She never remarried.
She is survived by her daughters Anne and June Elizabeth. June Elizabeth acted briefly as Lizabeth Lockhart as a youngster.
She is also survived by her four grandchildren.⚡️