SANTA MONICA—On Friday, July 8, Roberts Scott Blossom, renowned actor and Hollywood mainstay, died in his Santa Monica apartment at the age of 87. Blossom reportedly died of natural causes in his sleep. Although he was best known for his role as Old Man Marley, the misunderstood yet helpful neighbor in Chris Columbus’s blockbuster “Home Alone,” Blossom began his acting career performing in stage productions in the 1950s.

 

Roberts Blossom in "Home Alone." Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Born in New Haven, Conn., Blossom attended Harvard University and served in the Army during World War II. Afterwards, Blossom began acting in Cleveland, Ohio. He later moved to New York where in the ‘60s he established “Filmstage,” an avant-garde theatrical production. On Broadway he appeared in an adaption of Carson McCullers’s “Ballad of the Sad Café” in 1963 and in Sam Shepard’s “Operation Sidewinder” in 1970.

When he made the move to Hollywood, Blossom gained a reputation for being a quirky, yet professional and dedicated actor. He held roles in the films “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Escape from Alcatraz,” “Slaughterhouse-Five,” “The Great Gatsby,” “Always,” “The Last Temptation of Christ” and “The Quick and the Dead.” By the mid-1980s Blossom had become a familiar face on the Hollywood landscape.

However, Blossom was no stranger to the small screen. He made his debut in 1958 on the television show “Naked City.” In 1978, he won a Soapy Award for Favorite Villain on the soap opera “Another World.” In 1985, he reteamed with Steven Spielberg, director of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Always,” for the “Amazing Stories” pilot episode “Ghost Train.” Additionally, Blossom held regular guest roles on the following series: “In the Heat of the Night,” “Moonlighting,” and “Northern Exposure.” His final appearance on television was in the ABC miniseries “Balloon Farm” in 1999.

In the course of his career, Blossom won three Obie Awards. In 1956, he won for “A Village Wooing,” in 1965 he won again for “Do Not Pass Go” and again in 1976 for “The Ice Age.”

Blossom retired from acting in the late ‘90s to pursue his lifelong interest in writing poetry. He is a published poet, and is reported to have written poetry every day for 60 years.

Blossom is survived by his children, Debbie and Michael.

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