Melinda Dillon, the woman who played the mother in A Christmas Story and told Ralphie that he would shoot his eye out, passed away on January 9 at 83. She was also well-known for her Oscar-nominated supporting roles in Sydney Pollack’s 1981 film Absence of Malice and Steven Spielberg’s 1977 feature Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
In an obituary announcing her passing, no reason was given. Dillon’s family informed Giant Freakin Robot that she had asked to be cremated and for her ashes to be dispersed in the Pacific.
Recent news articles about the causes of celebrity deaths:
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Dillon, born in Hope, Arkansas, in 1939, spent her adolescence in Chicago. She reportedly served as the first coat-check girl in the history of the Second City’s improv comedy club. When Barbara Harris, the entertainer, became unwell one night, Dillon was given a chance to step in and perform.
Actress Melinda Dillon, of ‘A Christmas Story,’ dies at 83 https://t.co/jeeHgHQNzQ
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) February 4, 2023
Dillon relocated to New York after completing his acting coursework in college and leaving the Midwest. She made her Broadway debut in the original 1963 production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf at 23, and her portrayal of Honey earned her a Tony nomination.
The April Fools, her debut movie, starring Dillon in 1969. Her performance in the 1976 Woody Guthrie movie Bound for Glory earned her a Golden Globe nomination.
News stories from the recent past about the cause of death:
Magnolia, The Muppet Movie, Harry and the Hendersons, Slap Shot, Sioux City, and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything are just a few of her other noteworthy film and television roles.
Jillian Newmar, She stopped acting in 2007, but A Christmas Story holiday replays have kept her on our screens. Following their divorce in 1978, Dillon married actor Richard Libertini, whom she had met at the Second City. Their son, Richard Libertini Jr., is her only heir.
