Everyone must die one day, it’s a bitter truth. Let’s tell you that Melinda Dillon, who ruled millions of hearts and got an Oscar nomination for her performance, is no longer with us. Scroll down for details.
Melinda Dillon, who received Oscar nominations for her dramatic performances in Paul Newman’s journalism drama Absence of Malice and Steven Spielberg’s 1977 science fiction classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but was perhaps best known for playing Ralphie’s mother in the original A Christmas Story, died at the age of 83.
She died on January 9, according to a public obituary, but no other information was provided.
During her 50-year career in Hollywood, Dillon also had roles in films Harry and the Hendersons, Slap Shot, The Prince of Tides and To Wong Foo, thanks for everything! How to Make an American Quilt, Magnolia and Julie Newmar. On TV, she appeared in Tracy Takes On…, Judging Amy, The Twilight Zone, The Jeffersons and Bonanza.
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Despite spending her early years in Alabama, Germany, and, as an October 1962 New York Daily News report put it, “wherever the military moved her stepfather,” the movie-to-be mom was born in Hope, Arkansas. She later worked with renowned improv company Second City in the early years before trying her luck in a more dramatic endeavor on stage.
She portrayed Honey in the Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? original Broadway production in 1962, for which she was nominated for a Ton Best Performance Award by a featured actress in a play. She was only 23.
Fourteen years later, she had two different characters in the Woody Guthrie biopic Bound for Glory, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe in the category Best Female Debut. Afterward, Spielberg approached her for Close Encounters, where she received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Jillian Guiler, a single mother whose son has been abducted by aliens.
Four years later, in 1981, she received a second nomination for supporting actress in the movie Malice, which also starred Sally Field.
A Christmas Story, a classic movie, was released in 1983. When her child cursed, Dillon made him put a bar of soap in his mouth. When he beat up the bully, Dillon also helped him make amends with his terrifying father. Christmas Eve marks the start of a 24-hour TV marathon of the perennial holiday favorite.
Since Dillon retired from acting in 2007, When she last appeared in the Canadian family drama Heartland, she did not return to the character in the previous year’s sequel to A Christmas Story Christmas.
Julie Hagerty played the role of her. In December, Billingsley told Entertainment Weekly that “Melinda, as you say, has retired from acting, and she wishes us luck in our endeavors. I’ve discussed this with her.”
Before divorcing in the late 1970s, Dillon was married to Richard Libertini out of sight for 15 years. shared a son together.
Many of her followers shared their condolences for Melinda Dillon, let’s take a look at some of their tweets
So sad to hear that Melinda Dillon passed away #Rest in peace #slapshot pic.twitter.com/sYXkFUhMTh
— The Hanson Brother #17 (@Hanson_Brothers) February 4, 2023
Goodbye Melinda Dillon
I worked with her and she was naturally humble and friendly. A pro pro. REST IN PEACE— Treat Williams (@Rtreatwilliams) February 4, 2023
Melinda Dillon’s work had such a profound effect on me. Every moment of her performance in Close Encounters was perfection.
I am so grateful that she decided to give her artistry to the world. https://t.co/QccHdzcgBd
— Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) February 4, 2023
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