---
name: "Roberts Blossom"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/roberts-blossom"
fi1m_id: "roberts-blossom"
imdb_id: "nm0089348"
tmdb_id: 66288
wikidata_id: "Q443592"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "25 March 1924"
died: "8 July 2011"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 77
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-10-13T04:03:16.755692+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Roberts Blossom

## Identity

Roberts Blossom

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/roberts-blossom
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** roberts-blossom
- **IMDb ID:** nm0089348
- **TMDB ID:** 66288
- **Wikidata ID:** Q443592
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberts_Blossom, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q443592, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0089348/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/66288

Actor. Born 25 March 1924 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Died 8 July 2011.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 25 March 1924, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- **Died:** 8 July 2011
- **Active:** 1977–1995
- **Frequently works with:** [Steven Spielberg](https://film.one/person/steven-spielberg.md), [Richard Dreyfuss](https://film.one/person/richard-dreyfuss.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 77, as actor, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 84 (2), 1980s 62 (1), 1990s 80 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 76 to 70 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 4 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 3, Comedy 1, Family 1, Fantasy 1, Romance 1, Science Fiction 1
- **Screen time:** 8 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $901m across 4 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberts_Blossom, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q443592, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0089348/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/66288

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Close Encounters of the Third Kind*](https://film.one/film/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind.md) (85)
- **Hulu:** [*Escape from Alcatraz*](https://film.one/film/escape-from-alcatraz.md) (82)
- **Disney+:** [*Home Alone*](https://film.one/film/home-alone.md) (80)
- **Netflix:** [*Always*](https://film.one/film/always.md) (62)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Roberts Blossom

> Roberts Blossom could make an elderly neighbour seem worth worrying about before we knew much about him. We value the unease and dry comedy he brought to small parts, even when the casting kept asking for another difficult old man.

In *Home Alone* (1990), Marley is the neighbour whose apparent menace gives us a reason to look twice. We were unsettled by him, because Blossom makes an ordinary neighbour seem like someone it would be sensible to avoid. That is useful work in Chris Columbus’s family comedy, where the carefully timed slapstick could otherwise leave little space for a different kind of reaction. Blossom makes us curious about a person who could have been no more than a convenient fright. We recommend the film despite the extra encouragement Columbus gives its sentiment, and Blossom supplies some welcome unease among the laughs.

Blossom had done experimental stage work before his feature debut in *The Hospital* (1971), but the screen career settled largely into supporting parts. There was an exception in *Deranged* (1974), which cast him as the killer Ezra Cobb in one of his few leads. The prison artist Doc in *Escape from Alcatraz* (1979) and George LeBay in John Carpenter’s *Christine* (1983) belong to the longer run of character roles. Repeated casting as cantankerous or peculiar older men gave him a recognisable place in films, though it could narrow expectations of what he would do. Remembering him only as Marley narrows them further.

*Close Encounters of the Third Kind* (1977) offers a useful corrective, with Blossom playing a farmer in a small comic turn. At the press conference, his contribution brings UFOs and Bigfoot into the same discussion, giving Steven Spielberg’s talk of alien contact a less solemn tone. We rate the film highly for making that contact feel worth the disruption, and the farmer’s eccentricity is a welcome part of its humour. Columbus makes use of Blossom’s capacity to suggest a threat; Spielberg needs him to be funny without taking up much time. Give the farmer your attention when the press conference begins.

## Biography

Roberts Blossom was an American character actor and poet. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, he served in the US Army during the Second World War before beginning his acting career in Cleveland and later moving to New York, where he performed in off-Broadway and Broadway productions.

He appeared in numerous films from the 1970s onwards, including *Close Encounters of the Third Kind* (1977), *Escape from Alcatraz* (1979), *Christine* (1983), *The Last Temptation of Christ* (1988) and *The Quick and the Dead* (1995). He is best known for playing Old Man Marley in *Home Alone* (1990). Blossom also received three Obie Awards for his stage work and later devoted himself to writing poetry after retiring from acting.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *Home Alone* (1990), Fi1m 80, as Marley — [page](https://film.one/film/home-alone.md)
- *Always* (1989), Fi1m 62, as Dave — [page](https://film.one/film/always.md)
- *Escape from Alcatraz* (1979), Fi1m 82, as Doc — [page](https://film.one/film/escape-from-alcatraz.md)
- *Close Encounters of the Third Kind* (1977), Fi1m 85, as Farmer — [page](https://film.one/film/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind.md)

## Complete filmography (55)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Home Alone - Making of & Behind the Scenes* (1999), as Marley
- *Balloon Farm* (1999), as Weasel Mayfield
- *The Quick and the Dead* (1995), as Doc Wallace
- *Chicago Hope* (1994), series, as William Kronk
- *Murder in the Heartland* (1993), series, as Gus
- *The American Clock* (1993), as Old Wayne Taylor
- *The Habitation of Dragons* (1992), as Mr. Charlie
- *Doc Hollywood* (1991), as Judge Evans
- *Death Falls* (1991), as Hals Johnson
- *Amazing Stories: The Movie II* (1990), as Opa Globe
- *Home Alone* (1990), as Marley — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/home-alone.md)
- *Northern Exposure* (1990), series, as Ned — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/northern-exposure.md)
- *Always* (1989), as Dave — Fi1m 62, [page](https://film.one/film/always.md)
- *An Empire of Reason* (1988), as Melancton Smith
- *The Last Temptation of Christ* (1988), as Aged Master
- *In the Heat of the Night* (1988), series, as Dr. Harris Pendleton
- *Candy Mountain* (1988), as Archie
- *Amazing Stories* (1985), series, as Ohpa Globe
- *The Twilight Zone* (1985), series, as Man (segment "The Burning Man"), Mordecai Hawkline (segment "Song of the Younger World")
- *The Equalizer* (1985), series, as Oscar Peabody
- *Moonlighting* (1985), series, as Lawrence Everette — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/moonlighting.md)
- *Vision Quest* (1985), as Grandpa
- *Noon Wine* (1985), as Mr. McClellan
- *Tales from the Darkside* (1984), series, as Inquisitor
- *Flashpoint* (1984), as Amarillo
- *Airwolf* (1984), series, as Old man with Dog (uncredited)
- *Reuben, Reuben* (1983), as Frank Spofford
- *Christine* (1983), as George LeBay
- *Johnny Belinda* (1982), as John McAdam
- *The Wall* (1982), as Kuchaski
- *American Playhouse* (1982), series, as Mr. McClellan
- *Family Reunion* (1981), as Phil King
- *Family Reunion* (1981), series, as Phil King
- *Resurrection* (1980), as John Harper
- *The Gold Bug* (1980), as Mr. LeGrand
- *Escape from Alcatraz* (1979), as Doc — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/escape-from-alcatraz.md)
- *Mourning Becomes Electra* (1978), series, as Seth
- *Close Encounters of the Third Kind* (1977), as Farmer — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind.md)
- *Citizens Band* (1977), as Papa Thermodyne
- *The Adams Chronicles* (1976), series, as Carver
- *Beacon Hill* (1975), series, as D.W. Griffith
- *The Great Masquerade* (1974), as Sherwood Gates
- *The Great Gatsby* (1974), as Mr. Gatz
- *Deranged* (1974), as Ezra Cobb
- *The Rimers of Eldritch* (1972), as Judge/Preacher
- *Please Stand By* (1972), as Judge Nott
- *Slaughterhouse-Five* (1972), as Wild Bob Cody
- *The Witches of Salem: The Horror and the Hope* (1972), as Governor Phips
- *The Hospital* (1971), as Guernsey
- *Great Performances* (1971), series, as Judge / Preacher
- *Taylor Mead Dances* (1962), Actor
- *The Sin of Jesus* (1961), Actor
- *John Brown's Raid* (1960), as Stevens
- *Naked City* (1958), series, as Brissen (uncredited), Quint
- *Studio One* (1948), series, as First Refugee

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/roberts-blossom