SHORT TAKES : Lockhart of ‘Lassie’ Still Romps

LANSING, Mich. — June Lockhart says life’s a “hoot and a giggle,” and she’s too busy to settle down like Timmy’s mother, the character she played on the 1950s television series “Lassie.”

The twice-divorced grandmother of two, speaking to a Town Hall audience earlier this week, recounted adventures such as flying gliders to paddling down the Amazon.

“I’m not married, and this question sort of goes with how come I look so good,” said Lockhart, 65. “There is nothing like a rich, full romantic life to keep you looking great.”

While she has played mothers on television’s “Lost in Space” series and “Lassie,” she said she’s anything but a homebody.

“I know so many wonderful men that I date, and they are bright, intelligent and young,” she said. “And they are sort of all over the country because I travel a lot, so I just phone and say, ‘Hey, I’m coming in. Do you want to play?’

“I hit the ground in the morning running. For me, life is a hoot and a giggle,” Lockhart said. “You can’t take the stuff seriously.”