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PALO ALTO — He was best known as the on-screen father who left his son to fend for himself just a few days before Christmas in the iconic childhood favorite “Home Alone.”

But in real life, veteran TV and film actor John Heard, who was found dead in a Palo Alto hotel Friday, was remembered as a true artist — a man with immeasurable talent.

“Every actor wanted to be as intense as him,” wrote actor Daniel Stern, who co-starred alongside Heard as the goofy robber Marv Merchants in the “Home Alone” franchise. “He was defiant, he was poetic, he was ridiculously generous and he was charismatic as hell.”

The 71-year-old actor was staying in Palo Alto to recover from minor back surgery he had at Stanford Medical Center on Wednesday, his representative told TMZ. Family sources told the online celebrity website he was found by the housekeeping service, and police responded to the hotel after receiving a report of a medical emergency.

A spokesperson with the Palo Alto Police Department told People Magazine on Saturday that Heard’s death was not “considered suspicious at this time.”

A dispatcher with Palo Alto police referred questions from this newspaper to the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office, which is investigating the cause of death. A representative for the office confirmed that Heard, who lived in Studio City, was found dead on Friday afternoon. He said the office was not releasing any further information, including the name of the hotel.

The medical examiner completed an autopsy Saturday morning, Santa Clara County officials said in a prepared statement.

“The cause of death has not been determined, pending the medical examiner conducting further testing, including toxicology, which can take anywhere from three to four weeks,” the statement said.

Lisa Kim, spokeswoman for Stanford Health Care, declined to comment on Saturday, citing patient privacy.

Heard was looking forward to having the back surgery Wednesday so he could get back to work again, according to actress Illeana Douglas, who interviewed Heard on Tuesday on his career in film for her podcast “I Blame Dennis Hopper.”

Heard himself posted on Facebook Tuesday, in a joking way, saying, “Having surgery tomorro (sic) and i want all the sympathy i can get !!!!! HA!”

On Wednesday, just before the surgery, he thanked people for their good wishes: “wow WOW !!! thanks folks going in now just wanted to say thank you for such love just amazing you band of big hearted folks !!!! so grateful!!”

Heard played Peter McCallister, the father of Macaulay Culkin’s character, Kevin, in the “Home Alone” movies. 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 ‘Home Alone’ dad for the rest of my life,” he told Yahoo News in 2013.

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Born in Washington, D.C., he got his start in theater before moving into film and TV in the early 1980s. One of his memorable early roles was as a disabled Vietnam War veteran in the 1981 film “Cutter’s Way.” He also had roles as Tom Hanks’ competitor in “Big” in 1988, co-starred with Bette Midler in “Beaches” and played a doctor alongside Robin Williams in “Awakenings” in 1990. He also had roles in TV shows such as “The Sopranos,” for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1999 for playing a corrupt detective, as well as “Battlestar Galactica” and “CSI: Miami.” He was also in the first “Sharknado” TV movie in 2013.

Heard was briefly married to actress Margot Kidder in 1979, had a relationship and a son with actress Melissa Leo, and was married two more times. He is survived by three children.

Tributes from fans and colleagues poured in on social media, many hailing him as a versatile actor who created memorable roles in some of the most beloved movies.

“Sad to see such a good spirit and actor taken,” said actor and comedian Marlon Wayans, who co-starred with Heard in the movie “White Chicks.”

“Thank you for all your contributions to our beloved industry,” Wayans said. “May you live forever through your vast body of work.”

Actor and writer Jon Fletcher called it “a sad day.”

“You will always be the dad I wish I had so I could accidentally be left at home and also end up in New York,” Fletcher said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.