Maverick,’ ‘Jumanji’ actor James Handy dead at 81, killed by girlfriend’s son
James Handy, a character actor best known for roles in “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Jumanji,” was killed Wednesday in a stabbing in Los Angeles. He was 81.
As reported by The California Post, the Los Angeles Police Department said he was killed by his girlfriend’s son.
Authorities responded to the 19200 block of Erwin Street in the Los Angeles area city of Tarzana Wednesday morning after a caller stated, “I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin.”
When they arrived, cops discovered Handy unconscious in the front yard of a home, suffering from multiple stab wounds to the chest, police said.
He was rushed to a local hospital and pronounced dead there.
The suspect Michael Gledhill, 44, allegedly waved down officers a short time later and told them he was the one they were looking for, according to a news release from the LAPD.
Cops say Gledhill was living with his mother — Handy’s girlfriend — at the time of Hardy’s stabbing.
It’s currently unclear what led to the attack.
Gledhill was arrested for murder and his bail is currently set at $2 million.
Handy made his acting debut in 1997 and has nearly 150 acting credits to his name, according to his IMDb page.
Handy made numerous one-off appearances on television shows over the years and had short runs on programs like “Quantum Leap,” “L.A. Law,” “NYPD Blue,” “Beverly Hills, 90210,” “Melrose Place,” “Walker, Texas Ranger,” “Profiler,” “The West Wing,” “The Practice,” “Breaking News,” “Alias” and “The Young and the Restless.”
On the big screen, he appeared in “Taps,” “Arachnophobia” and “Logan.”
Movie fans may best remember him for playing an exterminator in 1995’s “Jumanji” and he most recently played a bartender named Jimmy in 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick.”
