fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Melinda Dillon (born Melinda Ruth Clardy, October 13, 1939) is a retired 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)

Melinda Dillon
Melinda Dillon, c. 1976
Born	Melinda Ruth Clardy[1][2][3][4][5] (1939-10-13) October 13, 1939 (age 83) Hope, Arkansas, U.S.
Education	Art Institute of Chicago
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1959–2007[6]
Spouse	Richard Libertini ​ ​ (m. 1963; div. 1978)​
Children	1

Early life

Born in Hope, Arkansas but raised in Cullman, Alabama,[lower-alpha 1] Dillon was the daughter of Essie Norine (née Barnett) and Floyd Clardy, an oil company representative. They were divorced 5 years later, and in 1947 Barnett married Wilbur S. Dillon, an Army officer.[7] After spending four years in Germany, Dillon attended Hyde Park High School and the Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago (now at DePaul University) in Chicago.[1]

Career

Though best known for her supporting performances in films, Dillon began as an improvisational comedian and stage actress. Her first major role was as Honey in the original 1962 Broadway production of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play,[8] and she also appeared in You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running and Paul Sill's Story Theatre.

In 1959, she acted in The Cry of Jazz, an influential short film dealing with jazz music and Black culture.[9] Dillon's first feature 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.[10]

The following 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. That same year, she made 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 Newman.

Dillon is perhaps best known for her role as the 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.[11]

In 1999, she appeared in Magnolia, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, as Rose Gator, the estranged wife of terminally ill television game-show host Jimmy Gator (Philip Baker Hall). In 2005, she guest-starred in the episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit titled "Blood".

Personal life

Dillon married actor Richard Libertini on September 30, 1963,^{[citation needed]} and had one child with him, Richard.[12] They divorced in 1978.[13]

She is a Methodist.[14]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959	The Cry of Jazz	Faye	short film
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
1988	Shattered Innocence	Sharon Anderson
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 Timpleman

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"
1970	Storefront Lawyers aka Men at Law	Connie Swann	Episode: "He Lies Better Than I Tell the Truth"[15]
1975	The Jeffersons	Daphne	Episode: "Harry and Daphne"
1976	Sara	Lily Henchard	Episode: "Lady"
1976	Freeman	Madam Arkadina	Television pilot[16][17]
1977	Enigma	Dora Herren	Television movie
1978	The Critical List	Kris Lassiter	Miniseries[18]
1979	Transplant	Anne Hurley	Television movie[19]
1979	CHiPs	Unknown	Episode: "Death Watch"
1980	Marriage Is Alive and Well	Jeannie	Television movie[20][21]
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	Rachel Mott	Television movie
1986	Shattered Spirits	Joyce Mollencamp	Television movie
1988	Shattered Innocence	Sharon Anderson	Television movie
1989	Nightbreaker	Paula 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" 1995- Naomi and Wynonna: Love Can Build a Bridge
1996	Picket Fences	Mrs. Klausner	Episode: "Liver Let Die"
1997	Tracey Takes On...	Desiree	Episode: "Mothers"
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

Notes

References

Further reading

• "Hyde Park Seniors to Give Show". Chicago Tribune. June 9, 1957. p. 8
• "Jack and the Beanstalk". Chicago Tribune. November 8, 1959. p. 
• "Billy Eden Wolf and Linda Dillon in 'Rumpelstiltskin'". Chicago Tribune. March 20, 1960. Part 7, Sec. 2, p. 4
• Lyons, Herb (September 19, 1961). "Tower Ticker". Chicago Tribune. p. 22
• "Education and Training for the Stage: The Goodman Memorial Theatre School of Drama". Volume 55 Number 4, 1961. The Art Institute of Chicago Quarterly. pp. 74, 76

External links

• Melinda Dillon at IMDb
• Melinda Dillon at the Internet Broadway Database
• Melinda Dillon at the TCM Movie Database

На других языках

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[de] Melinda Dillon

Melinda Ruth Dillon[1] (* 13. Oktober 1939 in Hope, Arkansas) ist eine US-amerikanische Schauspielerin.

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- [en] Melinda Dillon

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[es] Melinda Dillon

Melinda Rose Dillon (13 de octubre de 1939) es una actriz estadounidense, más conocida por sus papeles en Close Encounters of the Third Kind y A Christmas Story.

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[ru] Диллон, Мелинда

Мелинда Роуз Диллон (англ. Melinda Rose Dillon, род. 13 октября 1939) — американская актриса.

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