American actress Melinda Dillon of 'A Christmas Story' dies at 83

According to a cremation service held in Long Beach, California, actress Melinda Dillon, a two-time Oscar nominee best known for the films "A Christmas Story" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," has passed away. She was 83.

According to Neptune Society, which handled the cremation, Dillon passed away on January 9. The cause of death was not disclosed. The news of her passing spread quickly on Friday.

In "A Christmas Story," a look back at a boy yearning for a toy rifle, she portrayed the mother. After its 1983 premiere, it gained a yearly holiday following on video and television.

She received two Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actress prior to that. She goes looking for her young son in Steven Spielberg's "Close Encounters" after aliens kidnap him. She also portrays Paul Newman's buddy in the film "Absence of Malice," who is troubled by a reporter's portrayal of her abortion.

Along with those films, she also starred in episodes of the TV shows "Judging Amy" and "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit," as well as "Slap Shot," "Harry and the Hendersons," and "Bound for Glory."

Lou Diamond Phillips wrote: "So very, very sad to hear of the passing of Melinda Dillon. She played my adopted mother in Sioux City, my second directorial effort. What a Light and a Blessing. So effortless in her work that it was easy to overlook how brilliant she was. I feel so lucky to have known her. RIP."

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