A beloved actress who was nominated for an Oscar and was best recognised for her role in A Christmas Story has died.
Melinda Dillon, who received Academy Award nominations for her performances in Absence of Malice and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, passed away on January 9. She was 83 years old.
The Dillon family published an obituary in which her passing was acknowledged.
The Los Angeles native’s obituary asked for support by lighting a digital candle but did not include any information on the service.
Dillon began her career as a skilled stage performer, receiving a Tony nomination for her role in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf in 1963.
She appeared in various plays during the ensuing years before making her big screen debut in 1969’s landmark short film The Cry of Jazz.
Years later, she began to score roles in the biopic Bound for Glory in 1976 and Slap Shot in 1977.
She played one of her most significant roles in Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which was released in 1977 as well.
She received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of a devastated mother whose child was kidnapped by aliens.
Dillon was cast as a devout Catholic woman who commits suicide after a reporter discloses her abortion in a story in Sydney Pollack’s Absence of Malice in 1981.