Whatever Happened To The Original Cast Of Lost In Space?

01/09/23: A previous version of this story stated that Jonathan Harris was a voice actor in "My Favorite Martian." He was a voice actor in the cartoon "My Favorite Martians," not the TV series "My Favorite Martian."

The science fiction boom that landed on the small screen during the 1960s produced many a television series, captivating the imagination of fans young and old alike who dreamed of a life beyond the stars. The shows ranged from the horrifying and eerie, with "The Twilight Zone" and "The Outer Limits" showing that what lies beyond our planet might be best left undiscovered, to the outrageously campy, as was the case with "Star Trek: The Original Series."

Landing more in the vein of the latter was the series "Lost in Space." The Robinson family, having left an overcrowded Earth under government orders to begin a new colony on a remote planet, find themselves knocked off course after a foreign agent sneaks aboard their ship and sabotages their trajectory. Far from their destination and even farther from their home planet, the Robinsons are stranded on an alien world. The series follows their adventures on, and eventually off, the planet, where they meet (and sometimes battle) various alien lifeforms along the way.

The show's popularity spawned a 1998 film adaptation and was recently rebooted in 2018 as a series on Netflix. 

More than 50 years have passed since the original "Lost in Space" ended its three-season run in 1968. Many of the starring and supporting cast members went on to film and/or TV careers after the finale, while others became successful in fine arts.

June Lockhart has the lengthiest screen history of her fellow "Lost in Space" cast members, with nearly 200 film and TV credits to date. Many of these roles were in the years after "Lost in Space" ended in 1968. Lockhart was a regular cast member in "The Beverly Hillbillies" spinoff "Petticoat Junction," and made dozens of TV appearances on shows that included "Happy Days," "Adam-12," and "Magnum, P.I." She became a familiar face in the 1990s, playing grandmotherly types in "Roseanne" and "The Drew Carey Show," among others. She also had a recurring part in "General Hospital," and was in several episodes of "Beverly Hills, 90210" (per IMDb).

According to the New York Post, Lockhart made a name for herself as a so-called "presidential groupie." The news outlet reports that Lockhart met her first president in 1948 when she was introduced to Harry Truman in the Oval Office. After that, the actor began attending press briefings in her spare time and even followed several presidential campaigns. Her advancing age might have slowed this down a bit, her last attendance at a presidential news briefing occurring during George W. Bush's first term in 2004.

The 97-year-old actor continues to work, with her last role, as of this writing, as the voice of Alpha Control on the "Lost in Space" series reboot in 2021.

Marta Kristen played the beautiful Judy Robinson in the series, who seemed to always be under the watchful eye of Major Don West. Her post-"Lost in Space" years saw several handfuls of TV and film appearances, but getting married young may have slowed her career a bit.

Kristen has been very open publicly about her being given up for adoption by her birth mother during WWII, who feared that her infant daughter would be placed into the Lebsenborn Program, one that the Nazis were using to raise "racially pure" children. Working for a German officer at the time, her mother slipped away to give birth after hiding her pregnancy. Kristen was given to an underground orphanage in Norway, where she was later adopted by an American couple. Years after "Lost in Space” ended, Kristen ventured to Europe to finally visit her birth mother. She was also able to meet some of the nine brothers and sisters she didn't know existed (via The Spectrum).

Like her "Lost in Space" costar Angela Cartwright, Kristen made a cameo in the 1998 film adaptation of the series, where the two women played reporters. She has been playing roles sporadically in films and on television since then, including a recurring part in the series "The Vamps Next Door." In 2022, she was cast in "Escape from Earth," once again assuming the role of Judy Robinson (per IMDb).

Pop Entertainment tells us that today she also works as a coach for young actors.

Angela Cartwright was already familiar to TV viewers before she was cast in the role of Penny Robinson in "Lost in Space." The young actor appeared in over 200 episodes of "The Danny Thomas Show" over its 11-year-run, landing the role of Linda Williams when she was only 5 years old. Fast forward a decade later, the teenage Cartwright found herself teleported from the comfortable setting of the series that gave her a big start to the alien terrain on "Lost in Space." Cartwright continued to act after the series ended, her largest role being on a spinoff of "The Danny Thomas Show" called "Make Room for Granddaddy." She held sporadic roles throughout the next few decades, mostly appearing in smaller roles on TV shows and made-for-TV movies (via IMDb). 

In 1998, Cartwright made a cameo in the film adaptation of the hit sci-fi show. In "Lost in Space," Cartwright played the part of a reporter. In 2019, she appeared in an episode of the reboot of the series as well.

Acting hasn't been her biggest passion for the last 30 years; Cartwright has made a career as a professional photographer and artist. Her talents take her around the world where she gets inspiration for her unique artwork and jewelry (via the artist's website).

Fans of "Lost in Space" might be surprised to know that there was a real person tucked away inside the Robot, maneuvering it on the set. This role was filled by actor Bob May. May had a short career in the business, garnering only a handful of screen credits after the series ended in 1968. His last role was playing a clown in the 1980 film "Hardly Working," starring Jerry Lewis (per IMDb). The Los Angeles Times reports that May died in 2009.

May operated the Robot, but the voice of this iconic character was played by another actor. For this role, producers chose veteran voice actor Dick Tufeld. Tufeld had a familiar voice before being cast in this classic series, already known for voice-acting in "Surfside 6," "The Time Tunnel," and "The Gallant Men" (via IMDb). 

Tufeld's voice took him far after the conclusion of "Lost in Space." He was the announcer for every episode of "The Julie Andrews Show" and "Peyton Place," before breaking into the world of cartoons. In the superhero universe, Tufeld's voice can be heard announcing and/or narrating various animated shows in the 1970s and 1980s, most notably "Fantastic Four" and "Spider Man and His Amazing Friends." 

Tufeld's last gig was to lend his voice to "The Simpsons," where he reprised his role as the Robot in a 1998 episode, and again in 2004 as the voice of another robot. He died in 2012 (per the Chicago Tribune)."

Bart LaRue had memorable appearances on "Lost in Space," playing various aliens that the Robinson family and their crew encountered on their adventures. The series wasn't LaRue's first or last foray into the world of science fiction fandom, however.

LaRue secured minor roles on the television shows "The Time Tunnel" and "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea," according to IMDb. He also played multiple parts in "Star Trek: The Original Series," as well as providing his voice-acting skills for the show. His baritone sound got him later work in "Land of the Giants" and "Medical Center," playing announcers and TV anchors, while his proclivity for playing small-screen heavies landed him parts in multiple episodes of "Mission: Impossible" and "Mannix."

After "Lost in Space," LaRue earned some behind-the-scenes credits as well, as he wrote, produced, and directed the 1979 film "Satan War." He also earned the same credits with his own 1975 documentary "The Ark of Noah," which he also narrated.

He died at age 57 in 1990 and is buried in Sweetwater, Texas (via Find a Grave).