James Handy, who has died aged 81, spent almost five decades establishing himself as a reliable character actor in Hollywood – taking on small roles in everything from buddy cop comedy K-9 to blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick.
Born in New York City in March 1945, Handy discovered a love for acting after being cast in a series of plays at university, after which he began studying both English and Drama.
Having been urged to pursue acting as a career by his professors, Handy landed his first on-screen role in 1981 – playing Sheriff in 1981 thriller Taps opposite George C Scott, Timothy Hutton and rising stars Tom Cruise and Sean Penn.
However, the start of his career was delayed by a year when Handy was drafted to serve in the US Army during the Vietnam War. Aged just 21, Handy fought alongside the 196 Lightning Brigade in Tây Ninh between August 1966 and July 1967.
“We wound up getting into heavy combat for 27 days we were in the field,” Handy later said in a 2013 interview. “It was pretty horrific.
“At first, when you’re over there, you’re in a combat zone and it doesn’t really register because it doesn’t seem real. You’re 10,000 miles away from home, you’re in this jungle and woods. Parts of the country were beautiful, but at night it got so dark, you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.”
He added that his fellow soldiers were “dropping all over the place, screaming for their mothers” in the darkness.
After returning from the war, Handy became a pacifist after realising that the US Army “weren’t doing any good over there and that the people over there were suffering”.
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His experience unsurprisingly affected how he watched war films – particularly those depicting the Vietnam War – with the actor revealing that he “hated” Forrest Gump. The 1994 comedy-drama, starring Tom Hanks, followed the titular character’s involvement with major 20th-century US events – including serving in the 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam.
“I hated Forrest Gump,” Handy said. “I just hated that movie. I just thought it was so full of crap. His character, Tom Hank’s, would never have survived Vietnam. I tried to explain this to people. They never would have made it through Vietnam with that guy.”
After his first role in Taps, Handy continued to be cast in small roles in dramatic Hollywood films. He appeared in Sidney Lumet’s legal drama The Verdict, opposite Paul Newman, in 1982 before taking on roles in 1986’s Brighton Beach Memoirs, Whoopi Goldberg heist comedy Burglar and Clint Eastwood’s biographical drama Bird about jazz saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker.
Handy continued to book blockbuster movies – from Arachnophobia with Jeff Daniels and superhero flick The Rocketeer to Robin Williams classic Jumanji. However, one of his biggest roles was Lieutenant Roger Byers in 1989’s K-9. He starred alongside Jim Belushi, Mel Harris and Ed O’Neill in the film and later reprised his role in its straight-to-video sequel, K-911, 10 years later.
In the Nineties, Handy began to pick up regular stints on soaps and police procedurals, appearing in Melrose Place, The X-Files, NYPD Blue and The West Wing for several episodes at a time.
He played the role of CIA Director Arthur Devlin in JJ Abrams’s spy thriller Alias, which starred Jennifer Garner as a double agent working for the intelligence agency.
Later his career, Handy took on guest roles in Criminal Minds, Castle, Rizzoli & Isles and NCIS: Los Angeles and had a memorable role in 2017 Wolverine film Logan, starring Hugh Jackman.
He played Father MacGuffin in the comedy Senior Entourage in 2021, with director Brian Connors describing Handy as one of the “finest character actors” after his death.
His final acting job was in 2022, with the veteran thespian reuniting with Jennifer Connelly to play barman Jimmy in Top Gun: Maverick. The actor ended his illustrious career on a high; the sequel to Tom Cruise’s popular original grossed over $1.5bn (£1.12bn) at the box office.
Handy was living in the Los Angeles suburb of Tarzana in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and her son, Michael Gledhill, before his horrific death. Handy was stabbed to death, with Gledhill being arrested on suspicion of the actor’s murder. Paying tribute to the steadily working actor, Handy’s agent, Pam Ellis-Evenas, told The Independent: “I could not have asked for a more talented, humble or gracious client and friend than James Handy.”
