{"id":519878,"date":"2026-06-05T09:35:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T09:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/519878\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T09:35:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T09:35:15","slug":"who-is-james-handy-the-character-actors-long-list-of-appearances-before-his-murder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/519878\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is James Handy? The character actor&#8217;s long list of appearances before his murder"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>James Handy, a veteran character actor whose five-decade career included more than 150 film and television credits spanning everything from \u201cJumanji\u201d to \u201cTop Gun: Maverick,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/06\/04\/us-news\/top-gun-maverick-actor-james-handy-murdered-by-girlfriends-son-chilling-911-call\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">died Wednesday after he was fatally stabbed<\/a> in Tarzana.<\/p>\n<p>He was 81.<\/p>\n<p>Though never a household name, Handy was one of Hollywood\u2019s most familiar working actors, the kind of steady screen presence audiences recognized instantly across generations of movies and TV.<\/p>\n<p>James Handy in the film \u201cK-911.\u201d Universal\/Everett Collection<\/p>\n<p>Born in New York City, Handy began acting in the late 1970s and quietly built one of the most durable resumes in the industry, working steadily for decades in major studio films and hit television series.<\/p>\n<p>Moviegoers may best remember him from his role as bartender Jimmy in the 2022 blockbuster \u201cTop Gun: Maverick,\u201d where he appeared opposite Jennifer Connelly in the franchise revival that became a global hit.<\/p>\n<p>James Handy in an episode of \u201cCastle.\u201d  ABC<\/p>\n<p>But earlier generations knew him from a long list of standout supporting roles, including the exterminator Carl Bentley in \u201cJumanji,\u201d Milton Briggs in \u201cArachnophobia,\u201d and a doctor in the Hugh Jackman-led superhero film \u201cLogan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His film credits stretched across more than 40 years and included:<\/p>\n<p>Film Credits<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cTaps\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cThe Verdict\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cBird\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cK-9\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cThe Rocketeer\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cGuarding Tess\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cUnbreakable\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201c15 Minutes\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cSuburbicon\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cThe OJ Simpson Story\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cSenior Entourage\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Character actor James Handy in a 1995 episode of \u201cNYPD Blue.\u201d Disney via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>Across genres, from thrillers and comedies to action blockbusters, Handy became a go-to character actor for authority figures, professionals, and grounded supporting roles that helped anchor ensemble casts.<\/p>\n<p>Television audiences saw him everywhere:<\/p>\n<p>Television Credits<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cQuantum Leap\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cMurder, She Wrote\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cMelrose Place\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cNYPD Blue\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cThe X-Files\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cProfiler\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cLaw &amp; Order\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cThe West Wing\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cAlias\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cER\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cThird Watch\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cWalker, Texas Ranger\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cCold Case\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cCSI: NY\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cCriminal Minds\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cCastle\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cRizzoli &amp; Isles\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cNCIS: Los Angeles\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201c9-1-1\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Recurring Roles<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Arthur Devlin (CIA Director) on \u201cAlias\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Lou Handleman on \u201cProfiler\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Captain Jim Haverill on \u201cNYPD Blue\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>James Handy and Hugh Jackman in \u201cLogan.\u201d 20th Century Fox<\/p>\n<p>Even in his later years, Handy continued working steadily.<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, he appeared in the comedy \u201cSenior Entourage,\u201d playing Father MacGuffin.<\/p>\n<p>Handy even produced the movie \u201cStreet to Table\u201d in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Director Brian Connors previously called him one of the finest character actors he had ever worked with.<\/p>\n<p>While many actors chase stardom, Handy built something quieter but far more enduring, a career defined by consistency, longevity, and a screen presence that spanned multiple generations of Hollywood storytelling.<\/p>\n<p>James Handy, Jeff Daniels, Brian McNamara and Julian Sands in \u201cArachnophobia.\u201d Disney<\/p>\n<p>His death, however, came in violent circumstances.<\/p>\n<p>Police said officers were called to a Tarzana home around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday after a 911 call in which a man allegedly said, \u201cI am the son of man. I just killed the man of sin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When officers arrived, they found Handy unconscious in the front yard suffering from a stab wound to the chest.<\/p>\n<p>He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities identified the suspect as 44-year-old Michael Gledhill, who allegedly lived at the residence with his mother, who was in a relationship with Handy.<\/p>\n<p>Police said Gledhill approached officers at the scene and identified himself as the attacker.<\/p>\n<p>James Handy played a bartender in \u201cTop Gun: Maverick\u201d with Tom Cruise. Paramount<\/p>\n<p>He was arrested on suspicion of murder and booked into Van Nuys Jail. Bail was set at $2 million.<\/p>\n<p>Detectives said the killing appears to be an isolated incident and there is no ongoing threat to the public.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"James Handy, a veteran character actor whose five-decade career included more than 150 film and television credits spanning&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519879,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[268],"tags":[1241,1374,434,2109,18,117,19,17,14410,1370,710,39021,4222],"class_list":["post-519878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-actors","tag-california","tag-celebrities","tag-celebrity-deaths","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-lapd","tag-los-angeles","tag-metro","tag-murders","tag-us-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116696824170927259","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519878\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}