Blossom and  Culkin

By Rima Bek

Santa Monica, CA (Hollywood Today) 07/14/11—Roberts Blossom was a veteran character actor who is most known for the old, white-bearded neighbor “old man Marley” who befriended Macaulay Culkin’s character in the family comedy “Home Alone.” The L.A. Times reported Blossom died of natural causes in a Santa Monica nursing home on Friday, according to his daughter. He was 87 years old.

Blossom starred in a number of Broadway and off-Broadway performances in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s and is the winner of three Obie Awards. In film, he starred in the 1974 horror film, “Deranged.” Additional film credits include “Slaughterhouse-Five,” “The Great Gatsby,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” and “Escape from Alcatraz.” He was also a playwright and a poet, whose works have been published in number of books.

Blossom was born in 1924 in New Haven, Connecticut in 1941. He graduated from the prestigious Asheville school and later attended Harvard. He initially wanted to be a therapist but later changed his mind and became an actor. Blossom is survived by his son, Michael, and his daughter, Deborah.

While he has played many quirky, creepy and cantankerous characters, his character in “Home Alone” teaches us not to judge a book by its cover. Culkin’s character in that film has certainly judged the old man based on rumors he has heard. In the end, however, the old man shows his compassion and strength as he saves the life of Culkin’s character from bandits. That lesson will always be remembered every time “Home Alone” appears on television. Blossom will be missed.