(CBS) – John Heard, the actor best known for his roles in “Home Alone” and the 1992 boxing film “Gladiator,” has died, the Santa Clara Medical Examiner-Coroner confirmed to CBS News. He was 72.
Early reports from TMZ said Heard was found dead in his hotel room in Palo Alto, California.
Earlier this week, representatives for Heard told TMZ the actor underwent minor back surgery at Stanford Medical Center on Wednesday. They said he planned to stay at the hotel during his recovery.
Heard is widely known for his portrayal of Peter McCallister, the father in the 1990 film “Home Alone” and its 1992 sequel “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.”
Heard also appeared in “Big,” “After Hours” and “Beaches.” He received an Emmy nomination in 1999 for his guest role in “The Sopranos” as Vin Makazian, a corrupt police detective from Newark, Jersey.
“At the time, we didn’t know the movie was funny,” Heard told the Baltimore Media Blog in 2016. “We were playing the parents who lost their kid, so we didn’t how funny-stupid we could be.”
The coroner has launched an investigation into the cause of Heard’s death, which is unclear at this time.
