Handy is a character actor known for films such as “Jumanji,” “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Arachnophobia.”
LOS ANGELES — Veteran character actor James Handy, known for his roles in “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Jumanji,” was stabbed to death Wednesday at a home in Tarzana, Calif., according to multiple sources. Report. He is 81 years old.
Los Angeles Police Department officers responded Wednesday morning and found Handy unconscious in the front yard of the residence with a stab wound to the chest. He was transported by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The suspect, Michael Gledhill, 44, made the disturbing 911 call before police arrived, allegedly telling dispatchers, “I am a son of man and I just killed a sinner,” the Los Angeles Times reported. Police said Gledhill’s mother was in a relationship with Handy.
When police arrived at the scene, Gledhill waved to them and told them he was the man they were looking for. Authorities said Gledhill lived at home with his mother, Handy’s girlfriend.
The stabbing is under investigation and detectives believe it is “an isolated incident and there does not appear to be a danger to the public at this time,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement.
According to Variety , Gledhill was arrested and booked on murder charges.
Handy built a lengthy career spanning four decades in film and television as a character actor. On the big screen, he appeared in Arachnophobia (1990) and The Rocketeer (1991), played the Destroyer in the 1995 adventure film Jumanji, and most recently played a bartender in the 2022 blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick.
His television credits include two seasons of “NYPD Blue,” “Beverly Hills, 90210,” “Law & Order,” “Profiler” and episodes of “The Young and the Restless,” as well as a 2021 appearance on “9-1-1.”
