June Lockhart

 

 

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).^[3] Her grandfather was John Coates Lockhart, "a concert-singer".^[4]

Lockhart attended the Westlake School for Girls in Beverly Hills, California.^[5]

Lockhart made her film debut opposite her parents in a film version of A Christmas Carol in 1938.^[6] 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).

Lockhart debuted on stage at the age of 8, playing Mimsey in Peter Ibbetson, presented by the Metropolitan Opera.^[7] 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."^[5]

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

In 1955, Lockhart appeared in an episode of CBS's 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, and 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.

 

 

Lockhart is best known 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 actor, 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's 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.

In February 2013, Lockhart began filming for Tesla Effect, a video game that combines live-action footage with three-dimensional graphics, which was released in May 2014.

 

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.^[8] Lockhart donated her Tony Award to the Smithsonian Institution in 2008 for display in the museum's permanent entertainment archives.^{[citation needed]}

Lockhart was nominated for 2 Emmy awards. In 1953, she was nominated for Best Actress.^[1] In 1959, she was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series for her role in Lassie. ^[2]

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.^[9] In 2013, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration awarded her the Exceptional Public Achievement Medal for inspiring the public about space exploration.^{[citation needed]}

In 1951, Lockhart married John F. Maloney. They had two daughters, Anne Kathleen and June Elizabeth. The couple divorced in 1959.^[10] She married architect John Lindsay that same year, but they divorced in October 1970 and she has not remarried. A Roman Catholic, Lockhart, her daughter Anne and actress Kay Lenz met Pope John Paul II in 1985.^[11][12][13]

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.^[14]

Despite the fact that she is a child of the Greatest Generation, Lockhart embraced rock music and she spontaneously listened to music which was 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 was a noted David Bowie fan, and frequently kept a picture of him in her wallet.^[15] In 1970, on The Virginia Graham Show, Lockhart, along with actor Art Metrano and LGBT cleric Troy Perry, called out Graham's moralizing tone towards homosexuals.^[16]

• Thomas, Nick (2011). Raised by the Stars: Interviews with 29 Children of Hollywood Actors. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-6403-6. (Includes an interview with June Lockhart)

 

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• June Lockhart at the American Film Institute Catalog
• June Lockhart at the Internet Broadway Database  
• June Lockhart at IMDb
• June Lockhart at the TCM Movie Database