Melinda Dillon

Actor Oct 13 (died age 83) Hope, Arkansas, USA 1951–2019 (68 year career)

6.2 avg rating

Biography

Melinda Rose Dillon (October 13, 1939 - January 9, 2023) was a twice Oscar nominated American actress. She was best known for her roles in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Absence of Malice and the holiday classic A Christmas Story.

Known For

Film

Magnolia

Rose Gator

Film

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Jillian Guiler

Film

A Christmas Story

Mother

Film

Reign Over Me

Ginger Timpleman

Film

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar

Merna

Film

The Muppet Movie

Woman with Balloon

Film

Slap Shot

Suzanne Hanrahan

Film

Harry and the Hendersons

Nancy Henderson

Filmography

Acting (55)

Movies (42)

Hal

2019

as Self (archive footage)

Reign Over Me

as Ginger Timpleman

Adam & Steve

as Dottie

Debating Robert Lee

as Mrs. Lee

A Painted House

as Gran Chandler

Cowboy Up

as Rose Braxton

The Making of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'

as Self

Magnolia

as Rose Gator

The Effects of Magic

as Mom

Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas

1997

as Mrs. Parker (archive footage)

5.4

Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story

1996

as Sister Aloysius

4.8

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar

1995

as Merna

7.4

How to Make an American Quilt

1995

as Mrs. Darling

6.4

Naomi & Wynonna: Love Can Build a Bridge

1995

as Polly Judd

6.7

Confessions: Two Faces of Evil

as Carol Mothershed

Sioux City

as Leah Goldman

State of Emergency

as Betty Anderson

Judgment Day: The John List Story

as Eleanor

The Prince of Tides

as Savannah Wingo

Spontaneous Combustion

as Nina

Captain America

as Mrs. Rogers

Nightbreaker

as Paula Brown

Staying Together

as Eileen McDermott

Shattered Innocence

as Sharon Anderson

Harry and the Hendersons

as Nancy Henderson

Shattered Spirits

as Joyce Mollencamp

Songwriter

as Honey Carder

A Christmas Story

as Mother

Right of Way

as Ruda Dwyer

Hellinger's Law

as Anne Gronouski

Absence of Malice

as Teresa Perrone

Fallen Angel

as Sherry Phillips

The Shadow Box

as Agnes

Marriage Is Alive and Well

1980

as Jeannie

2.0

The Muppet Movie

1979

as Woman with Balloon

7.2

F.I.S.T.

1978

as Anna Zarinkas

6.5

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

as Jillian Guiler

Slap Shot

as Suzanne Hanrahan

Enigma

as Dora Herren

Bound for Glory

1976

as Mary / Memphis Sue

The April Fools

as Leslie Hopkins

The Cry of Jazz

as Faye

Television (13)

Heartland

as Janet Jacobs

The Lyon's Den

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

as Jenny Rogers

Judging Amy

as Violet Loomis

Picket Fences

as Mrs. Klausner

The Twilight Zone

as (segment "A Little Peace and Quiet")

Space

as Rachel Mott

The Critical List

as Dr. Kris Lassiter

CHiPs

The Jeffersons

The Defenders

as Jeannie Birch

Bonanza

as Cissy Summers

Hallmark Hall of Fame

1951

as Gran Chandler

8.6