Melinda Dillon, ‘Close Encounters,’ ‘A Christmas Story’ actor, dies at 83
Actress Melinda Dillon attends the world premiere of "F.I.S.T." on April 13, 1978 at Filmex in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Oscar-nominated actor Melinda Dillon has died.
Dillon, known for her roles as Ralphie’s mom in "A Christmas Story" and Jillian Guiler in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," was 83 years old, according to an obituary posted on the Neptune Society website. Her cause of death hasn’t been released.
Tributes poured in for Dillon, who was twice nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, one for her role in "Close Encounters" and a second for playing Teresa Perrone in "Absence of Malice."
"Melinda Dillon was such a great actress, with a wonderful delicacy about her. She was a delight to direct in Prince of Tides. May she rest in peace," Barbara Streisand wrote on Twitter.
"So very, very sad to hear of the passing of Melinda Dillon," actor and director Lou Diamond Phillips said. "She played my adopted mother in Sioux City, my second directorial effort. What a Light and a Blessing. So effortless in her work that it was easy to overlook how brilliant she was. I feel so lucky to have known her. RIP."
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Dillon also acted on Broadway in the ‘60s and scored a Tony Award nomination for her role in "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"