Veteran character actor Roberts Blossom, who was noted for his roles as quirky and cantankerous old men, died in Santa Monica, California, on July 8, 2011. He was 87. Blossom was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on March 25, 1924. He served in the Army in Europe during World War II, and began performing in local productions in Cleveland after the war. He soon relocated to New York and made his Off-Broadway debut in the 1955 play “Village Wooing”. He earned an Obie Award for his role in that production and also for “Do Not Pass Go” in 1965 and “The Ice Age” in 1976. Blossom was also seen on Broadway in Edward Albee’s adaptation of Carson McCullers’ “Ballad of the Sad Cafe”, Sam Shepard’s “Operation Sidewinder”, and Peter Brook’s 1988 production of “The Cherry Orchid”. He appeared frequently on television from the late 1950s, with roles in episodes of “Naked City”, “The Defenders”, and the 1980 “ABC Weekend Special” adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's “The Gold Bug”. He starred in the 1985 "Ghost Train" episode of Steven Spielberg's anthology series "Amazing Stories", and was the Inquisitor in the "Heretic" episode of "Tales from the Darkside" in 1986. Blossom also starred in the episodes "The Burning Man" and "Song of the Younger World" on the new "Twilight Zone" in the mid-1980. His grizzled visage made him a memorable character in such films as the black comedy “The Hospital” (1971) as Guensey, the old man whose death by medical malfeasance leads to surreal, yet appropriate consequences; the 1972 adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's “Slaughterhouse - Five” (1972) as Wild Bill
Cody; the gruesome horror film “Deranged” (1974) as the
cannibal/necrophile serial killer Ezra Cobb; Stephen Spielberg’s science fiction classic “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977); the Clint Eastwood thriller “Escape From Alcatraz” (1979) as Doc, the long-time inmate and artist who cuts his hands off after his unflattering portrait of the warden causes the loss of his painting privileges; “Resurrection” (1980) with Ellen Burstyn; the Stephen King thriller “Christine” (1983) as George LeBay, the old man who sells Arnie the title car, a '58 Plymouth Fury; “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1988); the fantasy “Always” (1989); “Home Alone” (1990) as Old Man Marley; “Death Falls” (1991); “Doc Hollywood” (1991); and Sam Raimi's quirky western “The Quick and the Dead” (1995) as Doc Wallace.
Veteran character actor Roberts Blossom, who was noted for his roles as quirky and cantankerous old men, died in Santa Monica, California, on July 8, 2011. He was 87. Blossom was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on March 25, 1924. He served in the Army in Europe during World War II, and began performing in local productions in Cleveland after the war. He soon relocated to New York and made his Off-Broadway debut in the 1955 play “Village Wooing”. He earned an Obie Award for his role in that production and also for “Do Not Pass Go” in 1965 and “The Ice Age” in 1976. Blossom was also seen on Broadway in Edward Albee’s adaptation of Carson McCullers’ “Ballad of the Sad Cafe”, Sam Shepard’s “Operation Sidewinder”, and Peter Brook’s 1988 production of “The Cherry Orchid”. He appeared frequently on television from the late 1950s, with roles in episodes of “Naked City”, “The Defenders”, and the 1980 “ABC Weekend Special” adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's “The Gold Bug”. He starred in the 1985 "Ghost Train" episode of Steven Spielberg's anthology series "Amazing Stories", and was the Inquisitor in the "Heretic" episode of "Tales from the Darkside" in 1986. Blossom also starred in the episodes "The Burning Man" and "Song of the Younger World" on the new "Twilight Zone" in the mid-1980. His grizzled visage made him a memorable character in such films as the black comedy “The Hospital” (1971) as Guensey, the old man whose death by medical malfeasance leads to surreal, yet appropriate consequences; the 1972 adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's “Slaughterhouse - Five” (1972) as Wild Bill
Cody; the gruesome horror film “Deranged” (1974) as the cannibal/necrophile serial killer Ezra Cobb; Stephen Spielberg’s science fiction classic “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977); the Clint Eastwood thriller “Escape From Alcatraz” (1979) as Doc, the long-time inmate and artist who cuts his hands off after his unflattering portrait of the warden causes the loss of his painting privileges; “Resurrection” (1980) with Ellen Burstyn; the Stephen King thriller “Christine” (1983) as George LeBay, the old man who sells Arnie the title car, a '58 Plymouth Fury; “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1988); the fantasy “Always” (1989); “Home Alone” (1990) as Old Man Marley; “Death Falls” (1991); “Doc Hollywood” (1991); and Sam Raimi's quirky western “The Quick and the Dead” (1995) as Doc Wallace.
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