James Handy, the actor known for roles in films such as Top Gun: Maverick and Jumanji, was stabbed to death at a Los Angeles home on Wednesday, police said. He was 81.
Police identified the suspect as Michael Gledhill, 44, the son of Handy’s girlfriend. Investigators said he lived at the property with his mother.
Police said Gledhill approached officers responding to the scene and “told them he was the one they were looking for”. Gledhill was arrested and booked at the Van Nuys jail on suspicion of murder. His bail was set at $2m, according to jail records.
The Los Angeles Police said officers from its West Valley division responded to a 911 call indicating “unknown trouble” at a property in Tarzana, in San Fernando Valley, at around 9.30am local time on Wednesday and found Handy unconscious in the front yard with a stab wound to his chest. He was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Officers responded to a home Wednesday morning after a 911 caller said, “I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin,” according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney. Jail records did not show an attorney for him and messages left with the county public defender’s office were not immediately returned.
Investigators said they believed the stabbing was “an isolated incident” and that there was “no danger to the public at this time”.
No motive for the stabbing was disclosed and police requested anyone with additional information about the incident to get in touch.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Handy’s agent, Pam Ellis-Evenas, confirmed his death to The Independent. “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 worked across film and television for nearly 50 years, accumulating more than 150 screen credits.
Born in New York City, he made his screen debut in 1977 in the ABC daytime drama Ryan’s Hope.
He later appeared in TV series such as NYPD Blue, Alias, Law & Order, Criminal Minds, ER, The X-Files, 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 Top Gun: Maverick, released in 2022, Handy played the bartender Jimmy alongside Jennifer Connelly.
In the 1995 fantasy film Jumanji, starring Robin Williams, he appeared as an exterminator.
