June Lockhart

{{Short description|American actress (born 1925)}}

{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}

{{Infobox person

| name = June Lockhart

| image = June Lockhart 1947.JPG

| imagesize =

| caption = Lockhart in 1947

| birthname =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1925|06|25|mf=y}}

| birth_place = New York City, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| education = Westlake School for Girls

| known_for = {{hlist|Meet Me in St. Louis|Lassie|Lost in Space|Petticoat Junction|A Christmas Carol|Sergeant York}}

| othername =

| occupation = Actress

| yearsactive = 1933–2021

| spouse = {{ubl |

{{marriage|John F. Maloney|1951|1959|end=div}} |

{{marriage|John Lindsay|1959|1970|end=div}}

}}

| father = Gene Lockhart

| mother = Kathleen Lockhart

| children = 2, including Anne Lockhart

| awards = Special Tony Award

}}

June Lockhart (born June 25, 1925) is an American retired actress, beginning a film career in the 1930s and 1940s in such films as A Christmas Carol and Meet Me in St. Louis. She appeared primarily in 1950s and 1960s television and with performances on stage and in film. On two television series, Lassie and Lost in Space, she played mother roles. Lockhart also portrayed Dr. Janet Craig on the CBS television sitcom Petticoat Junction (1968–70). She is a two-time Emmy Award nominee{{cite web |title=Best Actress Nominees / Winners 1953 |url=https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/1953/best-actress |website=Television Academy |access-date=March 6, 2023 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series Nominees / Winners 1959 |url=https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/1959/outstanding-lead-actress-in-a-drama-series |website=Television Academy |access-date=March 6, 2023 |language=en}} and a Tony Award winner. With a career spanning nearly 90 years, Lockhart is one of the last surviving actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Early life

File:June lockhart.JPG (1945)]]

File:June Lockhart Lassie National Dog Week 1963.JPG (1963)]]

June Lockhart was born on June 25, 1925, in New York City, New York. She is the daughter of Canadian-American actor Gene Lockhart, who came to prominence on Broadway in 1933 in Ah, Wilderness!, and English-born actress Kathleen Lockhart (née Arthur).{{cite magazine| date=November 24, 1947| title=A Star Is Born| magazine=Life| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1UgEAAAAMBAJ&q=lockhart| pages=59| issn=0024-3019}} Her grandfather was John Coates Lockhart, "a concert-singer".{{cite news| last1=Maays|first1=Stan|title=June Lockhart Jr. To Make TV Debut| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3310362/abilene_reporternews/| newspaper=Abilene Reporter-News| date=February 15, 1970| page=5E| via=Newspapers.com| access-date=March 13, 2020}} {{Open access}}

Lockhart attended the Westlake School for Girls in Beverly Hills, California.

Film

Lockhart made her film debut opposite her parents in a film version of A Christmas Carol in 1938.{{cite journal| url=http://losangeles.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo_Flash_Legendary_Leading_Ladies_Donate_to_National_Museum_of_American_History_20080201| title=Photo Flash: Legendary Leading Ladies Donate to National Museum of American History| date=February 1, 2008| journal=BroadwayWorld| access-date=March 13, 2020}} She also played supporting parts in Meet Me in St. Louis; Sergeant York; All This, and Heaven Too; and The Yearling. She played a key role in Son of Lassie (1945), a concept that she revisited at length during the television series Lassie more than a dozen years later. She was the top-billed star of She-Wolf of London (1946).

Stage

Lockhart debuted on stage at the age of 8, playing Mimsey in Peter Ibbetson, presented by the Metropolitan Opera.{{cite news| last1=Boyle| first1=Hal| title=Gene Lockhart Versatile Man| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1842&dat=19590313&id=4SIsAAAAIBAJ&pg=4388,1536080&hl=en| access-date=November 30, 2015| newspaper=Florence Times| date=March 13, 1959| page=5}} In 1947, her acting in For Love or Money brought her out of her parents' shadow and gained her notice as "a promising movie actress in her own right." One newspaper article began, "June Lockhart has burst on Broadway with the suddenness of an unpredicted comet."{{cite news| last1=Meegan| first1=Jean| title=Winsome June Lockhart Draws Broadway 'Raves'| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3303869/the_corpus_christi_callertimes/| newspaper=Corpus Christi Caller-Times| date=November 23, 1947| page=3B| via=Newspapers.com| access-date=September 26, 2015}}{{Open access}}

In 1951, Lockhart starred in Lawrence Riley's biographical play Kin Hubbard opposite Tom Ewell.

Television

In 1955, Lockhart appeared in an episode of CBS' Appointment with Adventure. About this time, she also made several appearances on NBC's legal drama Justice, based on case files of the Legal Aid Society of New York. In the late 1950s, Lockhart guest-starred in several popular television Westerns, including Wagon Train (in the episode "The Ricky and Laura Bell Story") and Cimarron City (in the episode "Medicine Man" with Gary Merrill) on NBC, Gunsmoke, Have Gun – Will Travel, and Rawhide on CBS.

In 1958, Lockhart was the narrator for Playhouse 90{{'}}s telecast of the George Balanchine version of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, featuring Balanchine himself as Drosselmeyer, along with the New York City Ballet.

File:June Lockhart Lost in Space 1965.JPG from 1965 to 1968.]]

File:June Lockhart (handprints in cement).jpg at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park.]]

Lockhart is also famous for her roles as TV mothers, first as Ruth Martin, the wife of Paul Martin (portrayed by Hugh Reilly) and the mother of Timmy Martin (played by Jon Provost) in the 1950s CBS series Lassie (a role that she played from 1958 to 1964). She replaced actress Cloris Leachman, who in turn had replaced Jan Clayton – who had played a similar character earlier in the series. Following her five-year run on Lassie, Lockhart made a guest appearance on Perry Mason as defendant Mona Stanton Harvey in "The Case of the Scandalous Sculptor". Lockhart then starred as Dr. Maureen Robinson in Lost in Space, which ran from 1965 to 1968 on CBS, opposite veteran actors Guy Williams and Jonathan Harris.

In 1965, Lockhart played librarian Ina Coolbrith, first poet laureate of California, in the episode "Magic Locket" of the syndicated Western series Death Valley Days. She then appeared as Dr. Janet Craig on the final two seasons of the CBS sitcom Petticoat Junction (1968–1970); her character was brought in to fill the void created after Bea Benaderet died during the run of the show. Lockhart was a regular in the ABC soap opera General Hospital during the 1980s and 1990s, and was also a voice actress, providing the voice of Martha Day, the lead character in the Hanna-Barbera animated series These Are the Days on ABC during the 1970s.

Lockhart appeared as a hostess on the Miss USA Pageant on CBS for six years, the Miss Universe Pageant on CBS for six years, the Tournament of Roses Parade on CBS for eight years, and the Thanksgiving Parade on CBS for five years.

In 1986, Lockhart appeared in the fantasy film Troll. The younger version of her character in that film was played by her daughter, Anne Lockhart. They had previously played the same woman at two different ages in the "Lest We Forget" episode of the television series Magnum, P.I. (1981). In 1991, Lockhart appeared as Miss Wiltrout, Michelle Tanner's kindergarten teacher on the TV sitcom Full House. She also had a cameo in the 1998 film Lost in Space, based on the television series in which she had starred 30 years earlier. In 2002, she appeared in two episodes of The Drew Carey Show as Lewis' mother, Misty Kiniski, alongside fellow TV mom Marion Ross, who played Drew's mother.

In 2004, Lockhart voiced the role of Grandma Emma Fowler in Focus on the Family's The Last Chance Detectives audio cases. Lockhart starred as James Caan's mother in an episode of Las Vegas and has since guest-starred in episodes of Cold Case and Grey's Anatomy, in the 2007 ABC Family television film Holiday in Handcuffs, and in the 2007 feature film Wesley as Susanna Wesley, mother of the founder of Methodism, John Wesley.

In May 2014, Lockhart began filming for Tesla Effect, a video game that combines live-action footage with three-dimensional graphics.

Recognition

File:June Lockhart, 2009.jpg

In 1948, Lockhart received a Special Tony Award for Outstanding Performance by a Newcomer (a category that no longer exists) for her role on Broadway in For Love or Money.{{cite web| title=Search Results: June Lockhart| url=http://www.tonyawards.com/p/tonys_search| website=Tony Awards| access-date=September 27, 2015| archive-date=July 25, 2017| archive-url=https://archive.today/20170725020008/http://www.tonyawards.com/p/tonys_search| url-status=dead}} Lockhart donated her Tony Award to the Smithsonian Institution in 2008 for display in the museum's permanent entertainment archives.{{Citation needed |date=March 2024}}

Lockhart was nominated for 2 Emmy awards. In 1953, she was nominated for Best Actress. In 1959, she was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series for her role in Lassie.

Lockhart has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for motion pictures (6323 Hollywood Boulevard) and one for television (6362 Hollywood Boulevard). Both were dedicated on February 8, 1960.{{cite web| title=June Lockhart| url=http://www.walkoffame.com/june-lockhart| website=Hollywood Walk of Fame| access-date=September 27, 2015}} In 2013, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration awarded her the Exceptional Public Achievement Medal for inspiring the public about space exploration.{{Citation needed |date=March 2024}}

Personal life

In 1951, Lockhart married John F. Maloney. They had two daughters, Anne Kathleen and June Elizabeth. The couple divorced in 1959.{{cite journal| last=Gingrich| first=Arnold | year=1959|title=Lockhart and Her Lassie| journal=Coronet| volume=45| page=14}} She married architect John Lindsay that same year, but they divorced in October 1970 and she has not remarried. A Roman Catholic, Lockhart, along with her daughter Anne and actress Kay Lenz, met Pope John Paul II in 1985.{{cite web |last=Stagnaro |first=Angelo |date=February 26, 2017 |title=Where the Stars Go to Pray: The Churches of Hollywood |url=http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/where-the-stars-go-to-pray-the-churches-of-hollywood |newspaper=National Catholic Register}}{{cite web|url=https://www.mpacorn.com/articles/locals-reflect-on-the-life-of-pope-john-paul-ii/|title=Locals reflect on the life of Pope John Paul II|last=Belmond|first=Sylvie|date=April 7, 2005|website=Moorpark Acorn|access-date=September 12, 2021}}7{{cite web|url=https://guideposts.org/prayer/how-to-pray/guideposts-classics-june-lockhart-where-to-pray/|title=Guideposts Classics: June Lockhart on Where She Prays|date=October 30, 2014 }}

Lockhart has had a lifelong fascination with American presidential candidates and the media's coverage of them. Her reporter friend Merriman Smith arranged for her to travel with both major-party candidates in the 1956 presidential election, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson. She again traveled with both campaigns in the 1960 election. In 1957, she obtained a lifetime White House press pass and attended many presidential briefings until 2004.{{Cite web |last=Sanderson |first=Bill |date=August 7, 2016 |title=June Lockhart was America's greatest presidential groupie |url=https://nypost.com/2016/08/07/june-lockhart-was-americas-greatest-presidential-groupie/ |access-date=August 23, 2023 |language=en-US}}

Although a child of the Greatest Generation, Lockhart embraced rock music and spontaneously listened to music produced by emerging rock bands. In numerous interviews, her Lost in Space co-star Bill Mumy stated that she took him and Angela Cartwright to concerts at the Whisky a Go Go in Hollywood. She is a noted David Bowie fan, and frequently kept a picture of him in her wallet.{{cite web | url=https://www.metv.com/stories/june-lockhart-kept-one-picture-in-her-wallet-and-youll-never-guess-whose-it-was | title=June Lockhart kept one picture in her wallet and you'll never guess who it was }} Appearing together on The Virginia Graham Show in 1970, Lockhart along with actor Art Metrano and LGBT cleric Troy Perry confronted Graham about her moralizing tone toward homosexuals.{{cite web|title=Clips: 1970, June Lockhart gently challenges homophobia on THE VIRGINIA GRAHAM SHOW w/Rev Troy Perry| website=YouTube | date=June 25, 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm2q-F6FdoY}}

Filmography

=Films=

class="wikitable"
Year

! Film

! Role

! Notes

1938

| A Christmas Carol

| Belinda Cratchit

|

1940

| All This, and Heaven Too

| Isabelle

|

rowspan=2|1941

| Adam Had Four Sons

| Vance

|

Sergeant York

| Rosie York

|

1942

| Miss Annie Rooney

| Stella Bainbridge

|

1943

| Forever and a Day

| Girl in Air Raid Shelter

| Alternate title: The Changing World

rowspan=2|1944

| Meet Me in St. Louis

| Lucille Ballard

|

The White Cliffs of Dover

| Betsy Kenney at Age 18

| uncredited

rowspan=2|1945

| Keep Your Powder Dry

| Sarah Swanson

|

Son of Lassie

| Priscilla

|

1946

| She-Wolf of London

| Phyllis Allenby

|

rowspan=3|1947

| Bury Me Dead

| Barbara Carlin

|

It's a Joke, Son!

| Marylou Claghorn

|

T-Men

| Mary Genaro

|

1957

|Time Limit

|Mrs. Cargill

|

1981

| Peter-No-Tail

| Mother

| Voice, English version

rowspan=3| 1982

| Butterfly

| Mrs. Helen Gillespie

|

Deadly Games

| Marge Lawrence

|

Aladdin and the Magic Lamp

| Aladdin's Mother

| Voice, English version

1983

| Strange Invaders

| Mrs. Bigelow

|

1986

| Troll

| Eunice St. Clair

|

1988

| Rented Lips

| Archie's Mother

|

rowspan=2|1989

| C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D.

| Gracie

|

The Big Picture

|Janet Kingsley

|

1991

|Dead Women in Lingerie

| Ma

|

rowspan=2|1994

| Sleep with Me

| Caroline

|

Tis the Season

| Mrs. Livingston

|

1998

| Lost in Space

| Principal Cartwright

|

1999

| Deterrence

| Secretary of State Clift

|

2000

| The Thundering 8th

| Margaret Howard

|

2001

| One Night at McCool's

| Bingo Player

| Uncredited

rowspan=2|2009

| Wesley

| Susanna Wesley

|

Super Capers

| Mother

|

2012

|Zombie Hamlet

|Hester Beauchamps

|

2016

| The Remake

|Irene O'Connor

|

2019

| Bongee Bear and the Kingdom of Rhythm

|Mindy the Owl

|

=Television=

class="wikitable"
Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

1949

| The Ford Theatre Hour

| Amy March

| 1 episode

1952

| Hallmark Hall of Fame

| Dolly Madison{{cite web |title=CTVA US Anthology - "Hallmark Hall of Fame" Season 1 (1951-52) |url=https://ctva.biz/US/Anthology/Hallmark/HallOfFame_01_(1951-52).htm |website=ctva.biz |access-date=March 7, 2023}}

| Episode: Mistress of the White House

1956

| Science Fiction Theatre

| Eve Patrick

| 1 episode

rowspan=3|1957

| The Joseph Cotten Show

| Julie Baggs

| 1 episode

The Kaiser Aluminum Hour

| Verna

| 1 episode

Have Gun – Will Travel

| Dr. Phyllis Thackeray

| 2 episodes

rowspan="5" |1958

| Shirley Temple's Storybook

| Beauty's Sister

| 1 episode

Wagon Train

| Sarah Drummond

| 1 episode

Matinee Theater

| Connie

| 1 episode

Gunsmoke

| Beulah

| 1 episode

Playhouse 90

| Narrator

| 1 episode

1958–1964

| Lassie

| Ruth Martin

| 200 episodes

rowspan=2|1959

| Rawhide

| Rainy Dawson

| 1 episode

General Electric Theater

| Vera

| 1 episode

1960

| Wagon Train

| Laura Bell

| 1 episode

rowspan=4|1964

| Perry Mason

| Mona Stanton Harvey

| 1 episode

Bewitched

| Mrs. Burns

| 1 episode

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

| Dr. Ellen Bryce

| 1 episode

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

| Sarah Taub

| 1 episode

rowspan=4|1965

| Branded

| Mrs. Sue Pritchett

| 1 episode

The Magic Locket

| Miss Ina Coolbrith

| Episode 44

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

| Martha Hunter

| Episode: "The Second Wife"

Mr. Novak

| Mrs. Nelby

| Episode: "Once a Clown"

1965–1968

| Lost in Space

| Maureen Robinson

| 84 episodes

1968–1970

| Petticoat Junction

| Dr. Janet Craig

| 45 episodes

1968

| Family Affair

| Miss Evans

| 3 episodes

1971

| The Man and the City

| Ellen Lewis

| 1 episode

rowspan=2|1974

| Marcus Welby, M.D.

| Lila

| 1 episode

Adam-12

| Mrs. Whitney

| Episodes: "Camp" Part 1 & 2

rowspan=2|1975

| Ellery Queen

| Claudia Wentworth

| 1 episode

New Zoo Revue

| Penelope Potter

| 1 episode

rowspan=2| 1976

| Happy Days

| Judge McKay

| 1 episode

Quincy, M.E.

| Clara Rhoades

| 1 episode

1978

| The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries

| Mrs. Migley

| 1 episode

rowspan=3|1981

| Vega$

| Dr. Michaels

| 1 episode

Magnum, P.I.

| Diane Westmore Pauley

| 1 episode

Darkroom

| Margo Haskell

| 1 episode

rowspan=2| 1982

|Falcon Crest

| Mara Wingate

| 1 episode

Knots Landing

| Hilda Grant

| 1 episode

1981

| The Greatest American Hero

| Alice Davidson

| 2 episodes

rowspan=2|1984

| Whiz Kids

| Mrs. Butterfield

| 1 episode

The Night They Saved Christmas

| Mrs. Claus

| 1 episode

1985

| Murder, She Wrote

| Beryl Hayward

| 1 episode

1985; 1992; 1993

| General Hospital

| Mariah Ramirez

| 14 episodes

rowspan=3|1986

| The Colbys

| Dr. Sylvia Heywood

| 2 episodes

Hotel

| Betty Archer

| 1 episode

Amazing Stories

| Mildred

| 1 episode

1987

| Pound Puppies

| Aunt Millie

| 1 episode

1989

| The New Lassie

| Mrs. Chadwick

| 1 episode

1991

| Full House

| Miss Wiltrout

| 2 episodes

1992

| Danger Island

| Kate

| TV movie

1993

| The John Larroquette Show

| John's mother

| 1 episode

rowspan=4|1994

| The Mommies

| Bev – Barb's Mom

| 1 episode

Babylon 5

| Dr. Laura Rosen

| 1 episode

'Tis The Season: A Hawaiian Christmas Story

| Mrs. Livingston

|Television film

The Ren & Stimpy Show

| Dr. Brainchild's Mother

| 1 episode

rowspan=5|1995

| The Critic

| Herself

| 1 episode

The Colony

| Mrs. Billingsley

| Television film

Duckman

| Oppressed Wife

| 1 episode

Roseanne

| Leon's mother

| 1 episode

Out There

| Donna

| Television film

1996

| Step by Step

| Helen Lambert

| 3 episodes

rowspan=2|1997

| 7th Heaven

| Veterinarian

| 1 episode

Beverly Hills, 90210

| Celia Martin

| 4 episodes

2001

| Au Pair II

| Grandma Nell Grayson

| Television film

2002

| The Drew Carey Show

| Misty Kiniski

| 2 episodes

2003

| Andy Richter Controls the Universe

| Grandma Evelyn

| 1 episode

2004

| Complete Savages

| Grammy Na-Na

| 2 episodes

2004

| Las Vegas

| Grandma Deline

| 1 episode

2006

| Grey's Anatomy

| Agnes

| 1 episode

2006

| Cold Case

| Muriel Bartleby

| 1 episode

2007

| Holiday in Handcuffs

| Grandma

| Television film

2021

| Lost in Space

| June, aka the Voice of Alpha Control

| 1 episode; Netflix series

References

{{reflist|2}}

Further reading

  • {{cite book |title=Raised by the Stars: Interviews with 29 Children of Hollywood Actors |last=Thomas |first=Nick |year=2011 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-6403-6}} (Includes an interview with June Lockhart)