Hollywood actor James Handy, known for roles in Top Gun: Maverick, Jumanji, Logan and dozens of hit TV shows, has died after being stabbed in Los Angeles. He was 81.
Police said Handy was found Wednesday morning on the front lawn of a home in Tarzana with a stab wound to the chest.
He was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Los Angeles Police Department said officers were called to the home after a 911 caller reportedly said, “I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin.”
Handy’s girlfriend’s son, 44-year-old Michael Gledhill, was arrested at the scene and booked on suspicion of murder. According to jail records, his bail was set at $2 million.
Police said Gledhill lived at the home with his mother. When officers arrived, he allegedly told them he was the person they were looking for.
Investigators said they believe the stabbing was an isolated incident and that there was no ongoing danger to the public. A motive has not been released.
Neighbors told Fox 11 that Handy and Gledhill had allegedly been heard arguing overnight. One resident also claimed Gledhill had been suffering from “delusions” before the fatal incident.
The outlet also aired doorbell camera footage that it said showed the suspect calmly walking along the sidewalk while waiting for police to arrive Wednesday morning.
Handy’s agent, Pam Ellis-Evenas, confirmed his death to The Independent and remembered him as both a gifted actor and a dear friend.
“With great sadness I can confirm that the gentleman who was attacked and killed on Wednesday in Tarzana was the actor James Handy,” she said.
“I could not have asked for a more talented, humble or gracious client and friend than James Handy.”
Handy’s death has stunned those who worked with him during his nearly 50-year career in Hollywood.
Scott Alan Smith, a professor of performing arts at Savannah College of Art and Design who directed Handy in a 2018 play, paid tribute to him on Facebook.
“Jim was not only a truly great actor, he was also a prince of a man – kind and generous and giving to his cast and audience,” Smith wrote.
Actress Nancy Lipner also remembered working with Handy when he played her father in a New York City play.
“He was only two or three years older than I, but somehow he brought it off,” she wrote, praising him as a “terrific character actor.”
Handy was born in New York City and made his screen debut in 1977 on the ABC daytime drama Ryan’s Hope.
Over the decades, he built a long career as one of Hollywood’s most recognizable character actors, with more than 150 screen credits.
His television work included appearances on NYPD Blue, The X-Files, Alias, Law & Order, Criminal Minds, ER, Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place and 9-1-1.
His film credits included The Verdict, Arachnophobia, The Rocketeer, Point of No Return, Unbreakable and Logan.
In the 1995 Robin Williams classic Jumanji, Handy played an exterminator. In 2017, he appeared opposite Hugh Jackman in Logan.
One of his final and most widely seen roles came in Top Gun: Maverick, where he played Jimmy the bartender alongside Jennifer Connelly.
His killing comes after another shocking Hollywood family tragedy late last year, when director Rob Reiner and his wife, producer Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead in their Brentwood home. Their son Nick was later arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
For fans and former colleagues, Handy’s death marks a tragic end to a long and respected career.
He spent nearly five decades bringing memorable characters to screens big and small. Now, those who knew him are remembering not just the actor, but the kind and humble man behind the roles.