BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

Actress Melinda Dillon, of ‘A Christmas Story,’ dies at 83

LOS ANGELES - MAY 28: THE APRIL FOOLS, theatrical movie originally released May 28, 1969. Film directed by Stuart Rosenberg. Pictured left to right, Kenneth Mars (as Les Hopkins), and Melinda Dillon (as Leslie Hopkins). Frame grab. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES – MAY 28: THE APRIL FOOLS, theatrical movie originally released May 28, 1969. Film directed by Stuart Rosenberg. Pictured left to right, Kenneth Mars (as Les Hopkins), and Melinda Dillon (as Leslie Hopkins). Frame grab. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

LOS ANGELES (NEXSTAR) — Actress Melinda Dillon, known for roles in films like “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “A Christmas Story,” died Jan. 9 at the age of 83, her family confirmed in an obituary.

Dillon made her film debut in 1969’s Catherine Deneuve-Jack Lemmon romcom “The April Fools” after several television appearances, including the hit western “Bonanza.”

Her role in Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” earned her her first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination. She’d be nominated a second time in 1981 for the Sydney Pollack drama “Absence of Malice.”

Dillon’s face has become quite familiar to households given her role as Ralphie Parker’s mom in “A Christmas Story.” The 1983 holiday classic is a TV rerun staple, sometimes airing for 24 hours at a time on TBS and TNT.

Among her other noted film work are roles in 1987’s family comedy “Harry and the Hendersons” and Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1999 drama “Magnolia,” for which she was nominated as part of the cast for a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Dillon also found stage success, after originating the role of “Honey” in Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” on Broadway in 1962. She was nominated for a Tony Award of Best Featured Actress in a Play the following year.

According to IMDB, Dillon’s final film role was in the 2007 Adam Sandler-Don Cheadle drama “Reign Over Me.” Her final television appearances occurred the same year, in three episodes of TNT’s “Heartland.”

No further details were given by Dillon’s family.

Dillon was born Oct. 13, 1939 in Hope, Arkansas. She was previously married to actor Richard Libertini, with whom she shared a son.

U.S.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Sunny

la

66°F Sunny Feels like 66°
Wind
7 mph SW
Humidity
47%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Partly cloudy. Low near 50F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
50°F Partly cloudy. Low near 50F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Wind
6 mph NNW
Precip
10%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waxing Gibbous