June Lockhart

Acting is what I do; it's not what I am. And I have always had a varied acting career and a very full life beyond my acting endeavors.

June Kathleen Lockhart (June 25, 1925 – October 23, 2025) was an American actresss. Beginning a film and stage career in the 1930s and 1940s she is remembered primarily for her roles in the 1950s and 1960s television series Lassie and Lost in Space. She was a two-time Emmy Award nominee and a Tony Award winner. With a career spanning nearly 90 years, Lockhart was one of the last surviving actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Quotes

I honestly thought if I did steady, sensible work that maybe when I was 30 or 35 I would get approval as a good actress.

I think it's lovely to have one part for which you're known.

I have been told that my contribution inspired many astronauts to pursue a career in space science and exploration … it is lovely to know that I touched so many people by doing things that interested me!

• I never never thought it would be like this. … Chemically I'm not put together for anything like this. I'm not sexy. I honestly thought if I did steady, sensible work that maybe when I was 30 or 35 I would get approval as a good actress.
  • On her early career success as a broadway star, in a 1946 interview with the Associated Press, as quoted in "June Lockhart, warmhearted star of Lassie and Lost in Space, dies at 100" by Adam Bernstein, The Washington Post (25 October 2025)

• I think it's lovely to have one part for which you're known. Some actors work all their lives and never achieve this.
  But acting is what I do; it's not what I am. And I have always had a varied acting career and a very full life beyond my acting endeavors.
  • On her role in Lassie, as quoted in "Dog Days Are Over For June Lockhart" by Gwen Gibson, Maturity News Service (1989)

• The dogs were always totally concentrated on their trainers. … They were not fed before filming, and the trainers would stand on either side of the set and hold up a piece of meat to make Lassie look to the right or left.
  • As quoted in "Dog Days Are Over For June Lockhart" by Gwen Gibson, Maturity News Service (1989)

• I did Lassie for six years and I never had anybody come up to me and say, "It made me want to be a farmer."
  • On having astronauts and scientists tell her watching Lost in Space inspired their careers at NASA, in "June Lockhart Recalls Lassie, Lost in Space", NPR (27 April 2004)

• When people come up to me and say, "Well, sure wish we had wonderful American shows like that the way we used to in the '50s," I say: "Let me tell you who wrote those scripts." … Yes, they were good Americans, and they were in jail.
  • On Hollywood writers in the McCarthy-era, as quoted in "At Lunch With June Lockhart, Jon Provost and Lassie" by James Barron, The New York Times (16 September 2004)

• I must quote Dan Rather … "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 concerts. I have driven army tanks and flown in hot air balloons and I go plane gliding-the ones with no motors. I do lots of things that don't go hand-in-hand with my image.
  • As quoted in "Lassie's Tale, The Chicago Tribune (9 August 2021)

• I was over the moon – pun intended. … I have been told that my contribution inspired many astronauts to pursue a career in space science and exploration … it is lovely to know that I touched so many people by doing things that interested me!
  • As quoted in "Lost in Space mom June Lockhart admits to rebellious side beneath her squeaky-clean image", Fox News (22 September 2024)

• I loved my craft and my cast members. … I never forgot that it is all make-believe.
  • As quoted in "Lost in Space mom June Lockhart admits to rebellious side beneath her squeaky-clean image", Fox News (22 September 2024)

• I have been a music fan forever … The Beatles, Stones, Chicago, David Bowie, Huey Lewis and the News, Tina Turner. … We threw a Halloween party at my home in the late '60s, and I hired a band called Hour Glass … They were fantastic. Truly talented guitars, keyboards and vocals … then they changed their name to the Allman Brothers Band.
  • As quoted in "Lost in Space mom June Lockhart admits to rebellious side beneath her squeaky-clean image", Fox News (22 September 2024); also quoted in "Beloved TV Mom June Lockhart Had a Surprising Wild Side" by Victoria Miller, Parade (26 October 2025)

Quotes about Lockhart

• June Lockhart has burst on Broadway with the suddenness of an unpredicted comet.
  • Jean Meegan, in "Winsome June Lockhart Draws Broadway 'Raves'", Corpus Christi Caller-Times (23 November 1947), p. 3B

• 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. 👍🏼✌️❤️🙏🏻
  • Bill Mumy, as quoted in "Inside June Lockhart’s surprising wild side — including her love for rock and roll" by Eric Todisco, New York Post (26 October 2025)

External links

• June Lockhart on IMDb