"Home Alone" dad John Heard's long career in front of the camera took him from movie leads in the 1970s and '80s (the cult favorite "Cutter's Way" was among his best roles) to character turns in "Big," "Awakenings," "In the Line of Fire," and "Pollack," among many other features. Heard also worked extensively on television, netting an Emmy nomination for "The Sopranos" and enjoying recurring roles on "Prison Break" and "CSI: Miami," as well as four appearances on the "L&O" franchise.
Heard, who could play shifty and sympathetic with equal aplomb, parlayed both in his "L&O" appearances. He was a demanding coach who may have deliberately injured his tennis champ daughter on the Season 4 "L&O" episode "Doubles," and then returned to play an architect accused of trying to kill his wife in Season 10's "DNR." In 2001, he appeared as the brother-in-law of a murdered journalist in "The Pardoner's Tale," an episode from the debut season of "CI." His final appearance on an "L&O" title came with "Disappearing Acts," a Season 4 episode of "SVU" which cast him as a mobster in witness protection whose son was committing horrific crimes.
Heard, who starred in both "Home Alone" and "Home Alone 2" as Kevin McAllister's dad, Peter, was remarkably busy on television and features after his "L&O" appearances, including recurring appearances on "Entourage," "Southland," "The Chicago Code, and "NCIS: Los Angeles." His final small screen turn came in a 2017 episode of "Outsiders"; Heard died from heart disease on July 21, 2017 at the age of 71.
