Roberts Blossom

Roberts Scott Blossom (March 25, 1924 – July 8, 2011) was an American theatre, film and television character actor, and poet. He was best known for his roles as Old Man Marley in Home Alone (1990) and as Ezra Cobb in the horror film Deranged (1974).[1] He is also remembered for his supporting roles in films such as The Great Gatsby (1974), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Escape from Alcatraz (1979), Christine (1983), and The Last Temptation of Christ(1988).
== Early life ==
Roberts Scott Blossom was born on March 25, 1924, in New Haven, Connecticut,[2] to John Blossom, an athletic director at Yale University. He was raised in Cleveland but later moved to Shaker Heights, Ohio. He attended Hawken School and graduated from Asheville School in 1941 and attended Harvard University for a year until he joined the United States Army and served in World War II in Europe. He trained as a therapist and later decided to be an actor. He began directing and acting in productions at Karamu House and the Candlelight Theater in Cleveland and later moved to New York City, where he supported himself by bundling feathers for hats and he practiced a disputed therapy called Dianetics. He also waited tables until he became a full-time actor.[3][4]
== Career ==
Blossom began acting on stage during the 1950s. He won three Obie Awards for his performances in the off-Broadway plays Village Wooing (1955), which was his debut, Do Not Pass Go (1965) and The Ice Age (1976).[2] During the 1960s, he formed Filmstage, a multimedia avant garde theatrical troupe. His Broadway credits include Ballad of the Sad Cafe and Operation Sidewinder and in 1988 he appeared in Peter Brook's production of The Cherry Orchard.[4]
Blossom began appearing on screen in 1958. His first appearance in a feature film was in 1971's The Hospital starring George C. Scott. During the 1970s he had roles in films including The Great Gatsby (1974) starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow, Slaughterhouse-Five (1972), Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), and Escape from Alcatraz (1979) starring Clint Eastwood. Escape from Alcatraz is perhaps Blossom's best known supporting role for the scene where he chopped off his fingers with an axe.[5]
Blossom is remembered for his role as Ezra Cobb in the 1974 horror film Deranged based on American murderer Ed Gein. According to the 2014 book Mad as Hell: The Making of Network and the Fateful Vision of the Angriest Man in Movies by David Itzkoff, the cast of the Oscar-winning film Network originally included Blossom as media mogul Arthur Jensen, but he was replaced in pre-production by Ned Beatty.
Blossom is also known for starring in the 1983 horror film Christine, a film directed by John Carpenter which is an adaptation of the book by Stephen King. He is best known for his role in the 1990 film Home Alone, in which he played Old Man Marley alongside Macaulay Culkin. He appeared in his final film role in 1995 alongside Sharon Stone and Leonardo DiCaprio in The Quick and The Dead(1995). Blossom's other film credits include Doc Hollywood (1991) starring Michael J. Fox; Reuben, Reuben (1983); Resurrection (1980) starring Ellen Burstyn; Flashpoint (1984); Vision Quest (1985) starring Matthew Modine and Linda Fiorentino; and Always (1989).
Blossom made his first television appearance in 1958 in the television series Naked City. From 1976 to 1978, he starred on the television soap opera Another World, in which his role on the show won him a Soapy Award for Best Villain. His other television credits include Moonlighting, with Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis, Tales from the Darkside, The Equalizer, the revived '80s version of The Twilight Zone and Chicago Hope. His television films include John Brown's Raid, Family Reunion, with Bette Davis, the 1985 version of Noon Wine, Murder in the Heartland and Disney's Balloon Farm, which was his final role as an actor.
In 2000, Blossom appeared in the biography documentary Full Blossom: The Life of Poet/Actor Roberts Blossom,[6] in which he talked about his life as an actor and poet. The documentary also featured his children Debbie and Michael, his first wife Beverly, and Ed Asner, Peter Brook and Robert Frank.
== Personal life ==
Blossom was formerly married to Beverly Schmidt Blossom, with whom he had a son, Michael, who died on 1 November 2014 of cancer.[7] He was later married to Marylin Orshan Blossom until her death in 1982, with whom he had a daughter, Deborah Blossom.[8]
After Blossom retired from acting in the late 1990s, he moved to Berkeley, California and spent his time writing poetry.[9] He later moved to Santa Monica, California where he died in 2011.
== Death ==
Blossom died on July 8, 2011 at the age of 87 from a stroke. He was residing in a nursing home in Santa Monica, California at the time of his death.[3][10]
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
Title 	Year	Role 	Director 	Notes
The Hospital 	1971	Guernsey 	Arthur Hiller 	
Slaughterhouse-five 	1972	Wild Bob Cody 	George Roy Hill 	
Please Stand by 	1972	Judge Nott 	Jack Milton; Joanna Milton 	
Deranged 	1974	Ezra Cobb 	Alan Ormsby; Jeff Gillen 	
The Great Gatsby 	1974	Mr. Gatz 	Jack Clayton 	
Handle with Care 	1977	Papa Thermodyne 	Jonathan Demme 	
Close Encounters of the Third Kind	1977	Farmer 	Steven Spielberg 	
Escape from Alcatraz 	1979	Chester 'Doc' Dalton	Don Siegel 	
Resurrection 	1980	John Harper 	Daniel Petrie 	
Christine 	1983	George LeBay 	John Carpenter 	
Reuben, Reuben 	1983	Frank Spofford 	Robert Ellis Miller 	
Flashpoint 	1984	Amarillo 	William Tannen 	
Vision Quest 	1985	Grandpa 	Harold Becker 	
Candy Mountain 	1987	Archie 	Robert Frank; Rudy Wurlitzer	
The Last Temptation of Christ 	1988	Aged Master 	Martin Scorsese 	
Always 	1989	Dave 	Steven Spielberg 	
Home Alone 	1990	Old Man Marley 	Chris Columbus 	
Doc Hollywood 	1991	Judge Evans 	Michael Caton-Jones 	
Death Falls 	1991	Hals Johnson 	June Samson 	
The Quick and the Dead 	1995	Doc Wallace 	Sam Raimi 	
=== Television ===
Title 	Year 	Role 	Notes
Naked City 	1958 	Quint Butcher 	Episode: "And a Merry Christmas to the Force on Patrol"
The Art Carney Show 	1959 	Simon Stimson 	
Camera Three 	1959 	Himself 	Episode: "The Eagle, the Tiger and the Fly"
John Brown's Raid 	1960 	Stevens 	Television film
The DuPont Show of the Month	1959–61	Gustav 	Episodes: "Billy Budd", "The Prisoner of Zenda"
Brenner 	1964 	Reader 	Episode: "Charlie Paradise: The Tragic Flute"
The Defenders 	1964 	Thomas Riggs 	Episode: "Go Between"
Great Performances 	1972 	Judge/Preacher 	Episode: "The Rimers of Eldritch"
Beacon Hill 	1975 	D.W Griffith 	Episode: "The Test"
Another World 	1976–78	Bert Ordway/Sven Petersen	Soapy Award for Best Villain(1978)
Mourning Becomes Electra 	1978 	Seth 	Mini-series
ABC Weekend Special 	1980 	Mr. LeGrand 	Episodes: "The Gold Bug: Parts 1 & 2"
Family Reunion 	1981 	Phil King 	Television film
The Wall 	1982 	Kuchaski 	Television film
Johnny Belinda 	1982 	John McAdam 	Television film
Noon Wine 	1985 	Mr. McClellan 	Television film
Amazing Stories 	1985 	Opa Globe 	Episode: "Ghost Train"
Moonlighting 	1986 	Lawrence Everette 	Episode: "Witness for the Execution"
Tales from the Darkside 	1986 	Inquisitor 	Episode: "Heretic"
The Equalizer 	1986 	Oscar Peabody 	Episode: "Tip on a Sure Thing"
At Mother's Request 	1987 	Doug Steele 	Television film
Stingray 	1987 	Uncle Pat 'The Cat' Morel	Episode: "Bring Me the Hand That Hit Me"
The Twilight Zone 	1985–87	The Man/Mordecai Hawkline	Episodes: "The Burning Man", "Song of the Younger World"
In the Heat of the Night 	1989 	Dr. Harris Pendleton 	Episode: "Tear Down the Walls"
Northern Exposure 	1992 	Ned 	Episode: "Cicely"
The Habitation of Dragons 	1992 	Mr. Charlie 	Television film
Crossroads 	1992 	Oscar Poland 	Episode: "Pilot"
Murder in the Heartland 	1993 	Gus Meyer 	Mini-series
The American Clock 	1993 	Old Wayne Taylor 	Television film
Chicago Hope 	1997 	William Kronk 	Episode: "Hope Against Hope"
Balloon Farm 	1999 	Weasel Mayfield 	Television film, (final film role)