What June Lockhart Was Really Like When The Cameras Weren't Watching

On Oct. 23, 2025, actress June Lockhart passed away at the age of 100. Lockhart was perhaps best known for being the second actress to play Ruth Martin on the TV series "Lassie," starring as the character for a stretch of about 200 episodes from 1958 to 1964. She also gained recognition for the role of Dr. Maureen Robinson on "Lost in Space," playing the character for the show's entire original run from 1965 to 1968. Lockhart portrayed prominent maternal figures in both "Lassie" and "Lost in Space." This gave the actress herself a motherly reputation that would follow her for much of her life and career. However, there was another side to Lockhart that the cameras rarely captured.

"I must quote Dan Rather," Lockhart told reporters in 1994 (via CNN), adding, "I can control my reputation, but not my image, because my image is how you see me." The image many had of Lockhart was from her most famous TV roles, which presented her as a traditional American housewife. In reality, there was a lot more to her — and not all of it would have been considered "traditional." 

For instance, a 47-year-old Lockhart joined the club of celebrities with age-gap relationships when she began dating 21-year-old actor Bob Corff. At the time, Lockhart had recently divorced her second husband, John Lindsay. "I have always been liberated," the actress said in an interview about these big life changes (via the International Business Times). "I have always been encouraged to explore, take risks and to dare," she continued, declaring, "When you dare, you are alive!"

Another side of June Lockhart the cameras rarely caught was her love of rock music, as well as her affinity for thrill-seeking. "I love rock 'n' roll and going to the concerts," Lockhart said in the aforementioned 1994 interview. "I have driven Army tanks and flown in hot air balloons. And I go plane-gliding — the ones with no motors. I do a lot of things that don't go with my image," she continued. 

Regarding the musical side of things, Lockhart listed the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Chicago, David Bowie, Huey Lewis and the News, and Tina Turner as among her favorite artists during a 2024 interview with Fox News Digital. She also recalled hiring a band called Hour Glass to play a Halloween party at her home in the 1960s. If you've never heard of Hour Glass, they were actually an early version of the Allman Brothers band, featuring Duane Allman and Cher's one-time beau Gregg Allman.

Elsewhere in the interview, Lockhart touched upon her affinity for astronomy, which was spurred on by her role as Dr. Robinson in "Lost in Space" and earned her the NASA Exceptional Public Achievement Medal in 2014. Not only that, but she's the only actress to have received the honor so far. "I have been told that my contribution inspired many astronauts to pursue a career in space science and exploration," Lockhart told Fox, adding, "It is lovely to know that I touched so many people by doing things that interested me!"