John Heard was a talented actor who established himself as a respected thespian in the late 1970s and early 1980s, although he is perhaps better known for his iconic role as Peter McCallister, Kevin McCallister's father in the Home Alone movies.
Born in Washington, D.C., John was the son of Helen Sperling, a community theatre actress, and John Heard, a U.S. government employee. He began his acting career with roles in the films Between the Lines (1977),Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979),and Heart Beat (1981),in which he played Jack Kerouac alongside Nick Nolte and Sissy Spacek.
He gained critical acclaim for his tour-de-force performance as a wounded Vietnam veteran in Cutter's Way (1981) opposite Jeff Bridges, and shone as Reverend Dimmesdale in the 1979 PBS adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.
Both Chilly Scenes of Winter and Cutter's Way were re-released under new titles after initially failing to find an audience, and their re-release helped redefine the practice of marketing smaller, art-house films.
By the early 1980s, Heard seemed poised to become a major American actor, and was often confused with John Hurt and William Hurt due to the similarity of their last names. He continued to work on A-List projects, including The Trip to Bountiful (1985) and Big (1988),but failed to establish himself as a leading man and was relegated to supporting roles.
In addition to his film work, Heard appeared on television, earning an Emmy nomination for his role as a corrupt police detective on The Sopranos (1999). He passed away on July 21, 2017, in Palo Alto, California.
