The Only Major Actors Still Alive From The Lost In Space TV Series
The 1960s were a golden age for great sci-fi TV shows. Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone" entered the decade following a landmark first season, just as television was experiencing a cultural peak in the U.S. A few years later, groundbreaking series like "Star Trek" and "Doctor Who" set the standard for what an epic sci-fi series could look like, establishing longstanding models for alien makeup, set and costume design, and storytelling. Because so many of these '60s franchises have retained a major pop culture footprint, some other classics of the era often get forgotten. That includes the CBS hit "Lost in Space," which ran for three seasons from 1965 to 1968.
A sci-fi adaptation of "The Swiss Family Robinson," "Lost in Space" follows a family of explorers and scientists who lead an experimental expedition to Alpha Centauri and get — well, you know the title. "Lost in Space" did well in its first season, though declining ratings and escalating costs eventually led to its cancellation after three years. In the decades since, several remakes and reboots have materialized, most notably the 1998 movie starring William Hurt and Mimi Rogers and the 2018 Netflix "Lost in Space" series.
There is a unique, campy, retro charm to the original show, however, which no subsequent adaptations have quite recreated. Sadly, many of the actors who helped bring "Lost in Space" to life have passed away, but a few are still with us. These are the only leading actors still alive from the cast of "Lost in Space."
Bill Mumy
As the youngest member of the original "Lost in Space" cast, it shouldn't be surprising that Bill Mumy is still alive, well, and quite active today. Though Mumy had a number of prominent TV guest roles in the early '60s before being cast in "Lost in Space" — appearing in the likes of "The Twilight Zone," "Perry Mason," and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" — his role as the young savant Will Robinson is what really put him on the map.
These days, Will Robinson's misadventures with the iconic robot of "Lost in Space" are perhaps the show's most enduring legacy, marked by the famous and oft-repeated line, "Danger, Will Robinson!" It's fitting, then, that Mumy has stayed with the science fiction genre throughout his adult life, both as an actor and writer. Mumy's most notable role outside of "Lost in Space" is probably that of Lennier in the beloved 1990s sci-fi series "Babylon 5." He played the character in over 100 episodes between 1994 and 1998, even reprising the role in the 2023 animated film "Babylon 5: The Road Home." He also had a cameo in the 2018 Netflix "Lost in Space" remake as Dr. Zachary Smith.
Having turned 70 in 2024, Mumy is still a major player on television. He's become a prominent voice actor, lending his talents to animated series like "Bravest Warriors," "Transformers: Rescue Bots," and "The Loud House." He's also written two books about his time on "Lost in Space," co-authored by his former co-star and on-screen sister Angela Cartwright, and he's been a professional musician for many years.
Angela Cartwright
Like Bill Mumy, Angela Cartwright was quite young when she was cast in "Lost in Space," but she was already a known quantity in Hollywood. Her prior TV credits included "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," and "Shirley Temple's Storybook." However, her biggest role by far was that of Brigitta von Trapp in the 1965 film classic "The Sound of Music."
In "Lost in Space," Cartwright played middle sibling Penny Robinson, an adventurous girl prone to alien encounters. She had successive cameos in the 1998 "Lost in Space" movie and the 2018 Netflix series. After the end of the original series, Cartwright continued to appear in both movies and TV shows, with credits including "Beyond the Poseidon Adventure," "High School U.S.A.," "Logan's Run," "Adam-12," and "Airwolf." With the exception of a few cameos, she stopped acting in the mid-1980s, but she's continued to work as an artist in the decades since via another creative field: photography.
At 71 years old, Cartwright is a veteran photographer whose work has graced studios, books, and journals. She's also a writer, having penned books with Bill Mumy about "Lost in Space." The duo has even written a novel together — 2018's "On Purpose," published by Other Realms Press.
Marta Kristen
Marta Kristen's Judy Robinson is the eldest of the three Robinson children on "Lost in Space," but her role in the show is markedly different from her younger brother and sister. Where Will and Penny are prepubescent kids who run around and fall into various misadventures, Judy is a young adult and has more in common with her parents than with her siblings. Playing that kind of middle role in a family show can be tricky, but Kristen pulled it off well.
The 1960s were a busy decade for Kristen, who popped up in everything from "Leave It To Beaver" and "My Three Sons" to "Mr. Novak" and "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." "Lost in Space" gave Kristen her first long-term starring role. After the show's cancellation, she continued to be a prominent actor through the '70s and '80s. Her film credits include "Terminal Island" and "Battle Beyond the Stars," and she appeared in various shows such as "Remington Steele," "Murphy Brown," and the "M*A*S*H*" spin-off "Trapper John, M.D."
These days, Kristen isn't nearly as active, but she still works in the industry from time to time. Voice acting has become a bigger part of her career in the 21st century, but her roles in that field tend to be smaller projects — shorts, non-theatrical films, and other lesser-known roles. Like many of her former co-stars, Kristen had a brief cameo in the 1998 "Lost in Space" movie.
June Lockhart
It shouldn't be shocking that the actors who played the three Robinson children on "Lost in Space" are all still active today, given their ages when the show was airing. However, the only older member of the main cast who's still alive is June Lockhart, a true Hollywood legend. Lockhart's role as Dr. Maureen Robinson is far from insignificant, but it's only a small piece of a massive career spanning film, television, and the live stage.
A two-time Emmy nominee and Tony Award winner, June Lockhart was already a bankable star by the time she was cast for "Lost in Space." She was coming off a similarly major TV role as Ruth Martin on "Lassie" — a character she played for a staggering 200 episodes in the late '50s and early '60s. She was also an experienced film actor, with credits including 1938's "A Christmas Carol" and 1944's "Meet Me in St. Louis." In the decades after "Lost in Space," Lockhart appeared in dozens of films and TV series, including "Strange Invaders," "Troll," and a stint on "General Hospital" in the 1990s.
At 98 years old, June Lockhart is still going strong. She had a small cameo role in the Netflix "Lost in Space" remake, and she's added film credits as recently as 2019. If her long list of roles and other accolades weren't enough, she has two different stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — one for television, and the other for film. It seems that one just wouldn't have been enough for her legacy.