June Lockhart was born in New York on June 25, 1925, and made her stage debut at 8 years old in the 1933 production of Peter Ibbetson at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. She began acting in films at 13 years old in MGM's 1938 version of "A Christmas Carol" with her parents Gene and Kathleen Lockhart as the stars of the movie. Her next film was "All This and Heaven Too" playing alongside Bette Davis and Charles Boyer. In 1941 June was cast in "Sergeant York," as Rosie, Gary Cooper's sister, in the Oscar nominated film directed by Howard Hawks. At 19 years of age as a contract player at MGM she was the intelligent, pivotal character Lucille Ballard in "Meet Me in St. Louis," under the direction of Vincent Minnelli.
June made her Broadway debut in "For Love or Money" in 1947 and her performance won her a TONY award (then known as the Antoinette Perry Award) for the category of "Best Newcomer." This garnered her the historic distinction of being the first recipient of the award. At the time, The American Theatre Wing presented men with lighters and women with a gold charm sized medallion. Having won the first TONY ever presented, June's award was donated to the Smithsonian Institution in 2008, for display in their museum's permanent entertainment archives.
Lockhart was best known to TV audiences of the 1950s, 60s and 70s as the gentle, soft-voiced loving Mother in Lassie, with scripts written by many blacklisted writers. Later, in a new world as space mom, Maureen Robinson, in Lost in Space, and as Dr. Janet Craig in the series Petticoat Junction. June appeared in numerous episodic series and contributed her voice to her favorite animated series Ren & Stimpy for Nickelodeon.
With two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a total of five for the Lockhart family, June Lockhart was a stellar inspiration to generations of astronauts. She became a treasured NASA spokesperson attending many NASA launches and landings throughout the decades, including side-by-side with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin at NASA's milestone 2009 anniversary celebration in Washington, D.C. for the 40th Anniversary of the Moon landing.
Often as they orbited the Earth with the Sun appearing before them, Astronauts of the early 2000s would call June from the International Space Station while playing the song her father wrote in 1921; "The World is Waiting for the Sunrise," which Thomas Edison recorded on his first recording invention.
In 2013 at a ceremony at JPL in Pasadena, NASA honored June Lockhart's' impact on space exploration by awarding her the "Exceptional Public Achievement Medal." The award is given to non-government individuals who have made significant public contributions to NASA throughout their career. More than any other honor, this was the most meaningful for her.
Throughout June's life she was a tireless defender of animal rights, and among other groups, she supported the Santa Monica Mounted Police Horses and was the National Spokesperson for International Hearing Dog Inc. Her heart belonged to her grand-Pug Massimo, who was always nearby, and a great source of entertainment.
Gene Lockhart, June's father, a prolific, Oscar-nominated character actor with more than 300 film credits, was a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild in the 1930s. Watching his activism to improve the work and safety conditions on set as a young actor, June was made aware of the importance of unions in the industry she loved. Lockhart got involved with AFRA, (which would later become AFTRA) in 1938 and The Screen Actors Guild in 1940. As a nearly lifelong member of the Guild, June was awarded The Founders Award in 2018, a recognition made by her peers that she treasured.
