The actor is known for his roles in Jumanji and Top Gun: Maverick, and played coroner Milt Briggs in the 1990 comedy-horror hit Arachnophobia.
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Actor James Handy, known for his roles in films such as Arachnophobia, Jumanji, and Top Gun: Maverick, has died after being allegedly stabbed by his girlfriend’s son. He was 81 years old.
Los Angeles Police Department confirmed they are investigating the incident after receiving a 911 call on Wednesday morning, June 3rd. According to a statement from the police station, the caller confessed and said, “I am a son of man, and I just killed a man who committed a crime.”
When authorities arrived, they found Handy “unconscious and suffering from a stab wound to the chest” in the front yard of his girlfriend’s home, where his adult son lives. He was pronounced dead a short time later at a Los Angeles hospital.
Michael Gledhill, 44, the son of Handy’s girlfriend, was arrested and charged with one count of murder, Los Angeles police said. Gledhill reportedly alerted the officer that he was the person he was looking for. His bail is set at $2 million.
USA TODAY has reached out to a representative for Handy.
Handy played bartender Jimmy in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick. He also appeared as an exterminator in the original 1995 Jumanji, a doctor in 2017’s Logan, and a priest in the 2000 M. Night Shyamalan-directed Bruce Willis film Unbreakable.
The New York City-born actor is perhaps best known on film for his roles as County Coroner Milt Briggs in the 1990 hit dark comedy horror film Arachnophobia, FBI Agent “Woolly” Wolinsky in the 1991 Disney war-era superhero film The Rocketeer, and Lt. Roger Byers in the buddy cop comedy K-9 (1989) and its sequel. “K-911” (1999).
On television, he played CIA Director Arthur Devlin in three seasons of J. J. Abrams’ thriller Alias from 2002 to 2006, and Lou Handleman on ABC’s crime drama The Profiler from 1997 to 1998.
“Top Gun” was his last acting credit after a 45-year acting career, with him producing and starring in the 2022 drama “Street to Table.”
