By Ruth Ferguson, NDG Editor
Although John Heard enjoyed a career as a character actor since the 1970s for many of us, he was primarily known as Kevin’s dad in the popular holiday Home Alone movies. Today comes the news that he was found unresponsive by a maid at a hotel in California where he was reportedly recovering from back surgery.
Now any parent that manages to forget his kid three times should likely get a visit from child protective services, Heard’s Peter McCallister was likable enough he was quickly forgiven. The reoccurring role would go on to define his career. But his other projects included playing opposite Tom Hanks in Big, and a college professor in Clint Eastwood’s In the Line of Fire. Heard was the not so likable son of Geraldine Page in the Oscar winning movie filmed in Dallas, A Trip to Bountiful. John Grisham fans may recall his role which set the conspiracy in motion in Pelican Brief which starred Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts.
Heard was still a working actor with three projects set for release this year: a vampire flick Living Among Us, a flick based on prison break out called Last Rampage and a movie co-starring Common with no release date set, The Tale.
Throughout his career Heard was frequently seen on the small screen appearing in TV shows such as APB on Fox this year (a show apparently only I liked because it was cancelled), MacGyver, Elementary, Modern Family, CSI and CSI Miami, Southland, Battlestar Galactica, the Law & Order trio (not Chicago), Sopranos and several more.
Heard is survived by three children.
