NEW YORK - Actor John Heard, whose many roles included the father in the series and a corrupt detective in , has died. He was 71.
His death was confirmed Saturday by the Santa Clara Medical Examiner's office in California. TMZ reported that Heard, who lived in southern California, was found at a Palo Alto, California, hotel where he was recovering from back surgery.
Heard played Peter McCallister, the father of Kevin, played by Macaulay Culkin, in and . He said in later interviews that he sought a movie with kids in it so his son, age 5 at the time, could come to the set and have someone to play with.
After it became a big hit, he was reluctant to revisit the role but his agent convinced him the money was too good to pass up.
"I didn't want to be the dad for the rest of my life,'' he told Yahoo News in 2013.
He was born March 7, 1946, in Washington, D.C., and grew up performing in local theater. One of his memorable early roles was as a disabled Vietnam War veteran in the 1981 film .
He was active in film for the next decade, playing Tom Hanks' rival in , actress Geraldine Page's son in and in the movies , , , and .
He earned an Emmy nomination for playing Vin Makazian in . Television also kept him busy. He acted in , , , and . One of his favorite jobs came in the original television movie in 2013.
"I knew it was going to be a cult classic," he told the Baltimore Media Blog last year. "It's just ridiculous. I thought it would replace people calling me the `Home Alone' dad."
Fellow actor Michael McKean paid tribute on Twitter Saturday: "RIP John Heard. Never not good."
Heard was married and divorced three times, including briefly to actress Margot Kidder. He had three children.