Everything you need to know about the late film star Melinda Dillon

According to her family, movie star Melinda Dillon died on January 9, 2023.

She was best known for her roles in the Christmas classic A Christmas Story and the sci-fi drama Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

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Who Was Melinda Dillon?

Melinda Dillon was born on October 13, 1939 in Hope, Arkansas.

She grew up on Army bases in Arkansas, Germany, and Chicago before graduating from high school.

After graduating, she got a job as a wardrobe maid at Second City, a notorious comedy club in Chicago.

She got a taste for acting when she stepped in to play a part in a skit while working for the club.

What roles was Melinda Dillon best known for?

She had moved to New York City in 1963 with dreams of growing up in the theater.

That’s exactly what she did after her breakout Broadway role as Honey in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? was nominated for a Tony Award.

After finding success on stage, Melinda brought her talent to Los Angeles, where she starred as Ralphie Parker’s mother in A Christmas Story.

She delivered the now infamous line, “You’re going to blow your eye out!” to Ralphie as he begs for a BB gun.

She also starred in Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, in which she plays a mother obsessed with making contact with aliens after aliens abduct her son.

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What was Melinda Dillon’s net worth?

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Melinda Dillon had a net worth of around $3 million when she died.

The online publication GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT spoke to members of Melinda’s family who said they are following her wish to be cremated and then spread across the Pacific.

No funeral is planned at this time and no cause of death has been confirmed.

Melinda Dillon is survived by her son, Richard Libertini Jr., through her marriage to fellow actor Richard Libertini.

While the two divorced in 1978, they remained cordial, with Melinda confirming to the press that her ex-husband had died of cancer in 2016.