 
June made her professional debut at age eight in a Metropolitan Opera production
of Peter Ibbetson, playing Mimsey in the dream sequence. In the mid-1930s, the
Lockharts relocated to California, where father Gene enjoyed a long career as
one of the screen's great character actors. June made her screen debut in MGM's
version of A Christmas Carol, playing--appropriately enough the daughter of
stars Gene Lockhart and Kathleen Lockhart. June appeared in a dozen or more
movies before 1947, when she made her Broadway bow as the ingénue in the comedy
For Love or Money with John Loder, winning the Tony (known then as The
Antoinette Perry Award) in the category of Best Newcomer. The overnight toast
of Broadway, she went on to become one of TV's most recognizable moms,
co-starring in popular series like "Lassie," "Lost in Space" and “Petticoat
Junction.” In 2009, June was selected as one of nine Legendary Ladies of Stage
and Screen to have items from her career inducted into the Smithsonian
Institution's first permanent Entertainment Exhibit and in 2014, June appeared
at the Daytime EMMY Awards as a presenter, receiving
a standing ovation by colleagues who fondly remembered her role as a
grandmother, Maria Ramirez, in the Daytime drama, General Hospital. Recently,
June received
what she now considers her greatest honor, when the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration presented her with their Exceptional Public Achievement
Medal for outstanding talent for inspiring the public about space exploration
and her many interactions with and on behalf of NASA. "It's Sweet!," declares
Ms. Lockhart. In 2014, Ms. Lockhart will celebrate her 81st year in the
entertaiment industry. She recalls first professional paycheck was for $2.50.
"It's still larger than some of the residuals I receive from 'Lost In Space',"
says Lockhart.
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