Melinda Dillon Biography

Melinda Rose Dillon (born October 13, 1939) is an American actress. She received a 1963 Tony Award nomination for her Broadway debut in the original production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles as Jillian Guiler in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and Teresa in Absence of Malice (1981). Her other film appearances include Bound for Glory (1976), F.I.S.T. (1978), A Christmas Story (1983), Harry and the Hendersons (1987), The Prince of Tides (1991) and Magnolia (1999).

Early life and career

Dillon was born in Hope, Arkansas, the daughter of E. Norine (ne Barnett) and W. S. Dillon, an Army officer. Dillon attended Hyde Park High School in Chicago.

Dillon was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play, her first major role. Dillon got her start as an improvisational comedian and stage actress as Honey in the original 1962 Broadway production of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. She then appeared in You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running and Paul Sill's Story Theatre.

Dillon's first film was The April Fools in 1969. She also worked in television, notably in a guest-starring role in 1969 on an episode of the hit TV series Bonanza titled "A Lawman's Lot Is Not a Happy One" (Season 11). She co-starred with David Carradine in the 1976 Woody Guthrie biopic Bound for Glory and was nominated in the Best Female Acting Debut category of the Golden Globe for her role as "Memphis Sue." The next year she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the role of a mother whose child is abducted by aliens in Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The same year, she did an uncredited cameo in The Muppet Movie and had a role in the comedy Slap Shot with Paul Newman. Four years later, Dillon was again nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance as a suicidal teacher in Absence of Malice in 1981, working again with Paul Newman.

As a comedian, Dillon is perhaps best known for her role as the compassionate mother of Ralphie and Randy in Bob Clark's 1983 movie A Christmas Story. The film was based on a series of short stories and novels written by Jean Shepherd about young Ralphie Parker (played by Peter Billingsley) and his quest for a Red Ryder BB gun from Santa Claus.

Four years later, Dillon co-starred with John Lithgow in the Bigfoot comedy Harry and the Hendersons. She continued to be active in stage and film throughout the 1990s, taking roles in the Barbra Streisand drama The Prince of Tides, the low-budget Lou Diamond Phillips thriller Sioux City, and the drama How to Make an American Quilt.

In 1999 she appeared in Magnolia, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, as Rose Gator, the wife of TV game-show host Jimmy Gator, played by Philip Baker Hall.

In 2005, she guest-starred in the episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit entitled "Blood."

Personal life

Dillon married character actor Richard Libertini on September 30, 1963, and had one child with him, Richard. They divorced in 1978.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1969	The April Fools	Leslie Hopkins
1976	Bound for Glory	Mary	Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actress
1977	Slap Shot	Suzanne Hanrahan
1977	Close Encounters of the Third Kind	Jillian Guiler	Nominated"?Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated"?Saturn Award for Best Actress
1978	F.I.S.T.	Anna Zarinkas
1979	The Muppet Movie	Woman with Balloon	Uncredited
1981	Absence of Malice	Teresa	Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated"?Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated"?Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
1983	A Christmas Story	Mother Parker
1984	Songwriter	Honey Carder
1987	Harry and the Hendersons	Nancy Henderson	Nominated"?Saturn Award for Best Actress
1989	Staying Together	Eileen McDermott
1990	Spontaneous Combustion	Nina
1990	Captain America	Mrs. Rogers
1991	The Prince of Tides	Savannah Wingo
1994	Sioux City	Leah Goldman
1995	To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar	Merna
1995	How to Make an American Quilt	Mrs. Darling
1996	Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story	Sister Aloysius
1999	Magnolia	Rose Gator	Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cast Nominated"?Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2001	Cowboy Up	Rose Braxton
2004	Debating Robert Lee	Mrs. Lee
2005	Adam & Steve	Dottie
2007	Reign Over Me	Ginger Templeman

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1963	The Defenders	Jeannie Birch	Episode: "The Empty Heart"
1964	East Side/West Side	Stacey Barbella	Episode: "The Beatnik and the Policeman"
1969	Bonanza	Cissy Summers	Episode: "A Lawman's Lot Is Not a Happy One"
1975	The Jeffersons	Daphne	Episode: "Harry and Daphne"
1976	Sara	Lily Henchard	Episode: "Lady"
1977	Enigma	Dora Herren	Television movie
1979	CHiPs	Unknown	Episode: "Death Watch"
1980	The Shadow Box	Agnes	Television movie
1981	Fallen Angel	Sherry Phillips	Television movie
1981	Insight	Janet	Episode: "A Decision to Love"
1981	Insight	Mysterious Woman	Episode: "Rendezvous"
1982	Insight	Susie	Episode: "The Fiddler"
1982	The Juggler of Notre Dame	Dulcy	Television movie
1983	The Mississippi	Unknown	Episode: "Cradle to Grave"
1983	Right of Way	Ruda Dwyer	Television movie
1984	Insight	Woman	Episode: "The Game Room"
1985	The Twilight Zone	Penny	Episode: "A Little Peace and Quiet"
1985	Space	Television movie
1986	Shattered Spirits	Joyce Mollencamp	Television movie
1989	Nightbreaker	Paul Brown	Television movie
1993	Judgment Day: The John List Story	Elanor List	Television movie
1994	State of Emergency	Betty Anderson	Television movie Nominated"?CableACE Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
1995	The Client	Verna Caldwell	Episode: "The Peach Orchard"
1996	Picket Fences	Mrs. Klausner	Episode: "Liver Let Die"
2001	Judging Amy	Violet Loomis	Episode: "Surprised by Gravity"
2003	The Lyon's Den	Charlotte Barrington	Episode: "Pilot"
2003	A Painted House	Gran Chandler	Television movie
2005	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Jenny Rogers	Episode: "Blood"
2007	Heartland	Janet Jacobs	3 episodes