Home Alone star John Heard dies, aged 72

Reports are coming in that actor John Heard, best known as Peter McAllister in the ‘Home Alone’ movies, had died at the age of 72.

According to TMZ, Heard was found dead in a hotel room in Palo Alto, California. No cause of death has been revealed, although the actor had reportedly been recuperating after ‘minor back surgery.’

Born 7 March 1945 in Washington DC, Heard worked extensively in film, television and theatre from the mid-1970s. After playing Jack Kerouac in 1980 drama ‘Heart Beat’ alongside Nick Nolte and Sissy Spacek, a wide range of varied roles followed in the years ahead.

These included the title role in 1981’s ‘Cutter’s Way,’ Paul Schrader’s 1982 remake of ‘Cat People,’ Martin Scorcese’s black comedy ‘After Hours,’ an antagonist role opposite Tom Hanks in ‘Big,’ and ‘Beaches’ with Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey.

However, after playing the father of Macaulay Culkin’s precocious youngster in 1990’s ‘Home Alone’ and the 1992 sequel ‘Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,’ this was the role Heard was always to be associated with.

Heard’s later credits included ‘In the Line of Fire,’ ‘The Pelican Brief,’ and recurring roles on TV’s ‘The Sopranos,’ ‘CSI: Miami’ and ‘Prison Break.’ Perhaps unfortunately, one of his last relatively high profile roles was in 2013’s ‘Sharknado.’

Heard was married three times, first to actress Margot Kidder, and fathered three children, to whom we express our deepest sympathies.

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