Old Man Marley

The man who played "The South Bend Shovel Slayer" in the classic 1990 film Home Alone has passed away.

Actor Robert Blossom died of natural causes in a Santa Monica nursing home on Friday, according to his daughter. He was 87 years old.

Blossom is perhaps best-known for saving Maculay Culkin from being bitten and probably raped by The Wet Bandits at the end of the film (spoiler alert).  Mr. Blossom is also famous for causing young Macaulay to shoplift a toothbrush by simply looking at the boy with his patented "scary-old-man-stare" and the always-effective "bandaged/bloody hand" routine.  He also apparently acted in a bunch of other movies that weren't Home Alone.

Tonight, I pour out some liquor and raise a snow shovel to the man who made it cool again to trust creepy, grizzled, and potentially-homicidal old guys. 

Tonight, I salt the streets in memory of Old man Marley.

"Mummies..."