The lovable “Mother Parker” from Bob Clark’s A Christmas Story, we’ve learned the sad news today that two-time Oscar nominee Melinda Dillon has passed away at the age of 83.
The actress passed away on Monday, January 9, the family announced today.
Melinda Dillon was nominated for Academy Awards in 1978 and in 1982, first for Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, playing the role of Jillian Guiler, a mother whose child is abducted by aliens. Jillian ends up joining Roy (Richard Dreyfuss) on his adventure.
Later in 1982, Dillon was nominated in the same category – Best Actress in a Supporting Role – for her performance as Teresa in Sydney Pollack’s film Absence of Malice.
Melinda Dillon is also known for her decades-spanning roles in Bound for Glory, Slap Shot, Harry and the Hendersons, Captain America (1990), Magnolia, and Reign Over Me.
Dillon’s film credits also include The April Fools, F.I.S.T., Transplant, Marriage Is Alive and Well, Fallen Angel, Right of Way, Songwriter, Shattered Spirits, Nightbreaker, Spontaneous Combustion, Staying Together, The Prince of Tides, State of Emergency, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, The Effects of Magic, Cowboy Up, and Debating Robert Lee.
She also appeared in the ’80s episode of “The Twilight Zone” titled “A Little Peace and Quiet.”
But it’s of course Melinda Dillon’s iconic performance as Mrs. Parker in A Christmas Story that she’ll forever be best remembered for, considered to be one of the all-time great movie moms.
We send our deepest condolences to Melinda’s family and friends at this time.
‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’
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