John Heard, best known as Peter McAllister in the Home Alone movies who appeared in a wide range of TV and film roles, has died aged 72 in Palo Alto, California.

He was found dead in a hotel where he was reportedly recovering after undergoing back surgery. The Santa Clara Medical Examiner's office confirmed his death on Saturday.

McAllister also appeared in Cat People, After Hours, Big, Beaches, Gladiator, and on TV in Miami Vice and The Sopranos, for which he won an Emmy nomination.
Born in Washington, D.C., Heard started out acting off-Broadway. His first major role came in the romantic comedy Chilly Scenes of Winter in 1979.

His memorable roles in the 1980s included starring in Cutter's Way, playing Nastassja Kinski's lover in the 1983 remake of Cat People, and starring alongside Home Alone actor Daniel Stern in 1984's C.H.U.D.

In Martin Scorsese's After Hours, he played the bartender Tom Schorr. His other films during that period included The Trip to Bountiful, Heaven Help Us and The Milagro Beanfield War.

In 1988, he starred as Elizabeth Perkins' jilted boyfriend in Big and co-starred with Bette Midler in Beaches.

His other roles included Gladiator, Awakenings, Radio Flyer, and The Pelican Brief, in which he played an FBI agent.

Heard was married to actress Margot Kidder and had a son from a relationship with actress Melissa Leo. He is also survived by a son and a daughter from a later marriage.