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Melinda Dillon, who appeared in ‘A Christmas Story,’ ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind,’ dies at 83

Dillon is celebrated for her role as Jillian Guiler in Steven Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977), for which she earned an Oscar nomination for supporting actress.

Actors Richard Dreyfuss and Melinda Dillon crouch outdoors in a still from the film, 'Close Encounters of The Third Kind,' directed by Steven Spielberg, 1977. (Photo by Columbia Tristar/Courtesy of Getty Images) (Columbia TriStar, Getty Images)

Oscar and Tony-nominated actor Melinda Dillon, who played Mother Parker in “A Christmas Story,” and appeared in “Magnolia” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” died Jan. 9. She was 83.

Her death was reported by the Neptune Society.

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Dillon is celebrated for her role as Jillian Guiler in Steven Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977), for which she earned an Oscar nomination for supporting actress. She received a second supporting actress nomination in 1982 for her role as Teresa in Sydney Pollack’s “Absence of Malice” (1981). In 1977, she received a Golden Globe nomination for acting debut in a motion picture for Hal Ashby’s “Bound for Glory” (1976).

Read more on NBC News here.


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