LOS ANGELES — An actor known for roles in films such as “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Jumanji” was killed on June 3. James Handy was 81.
Los Angeles Police said they responded to the scene after receiving a call from a person who said, “I am the son of man. I just killed the man of sin,” The Associated Press reported.
When they arrived, they said they found Handy with a chest wound and unconscious in the front yard of a home. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Handy’s girlfriend’s son, Michael Gledhill, told police he was the person they were looking for, the AP reported. Gledhill and his mother lived at the home where Handy was stabbed, according to KNBC.
He was booked on suspicion of a count of murder with bail set at $2 million, police said in a news release. No motive has been provided.
Handy appeared in 147 movies and television shows over his five-decade-long career, according to IMDB. He’s best known as an exterminator in 1995’s “Jumanji.” He was also in “The Rocketeer,” “Quantum Leap” and “Top Gun: Maverick.”
Actor Dan Lauria, the father on “The Wonder Years,” said he was a friend of Handy’s.
He told KNBC, “I got an award for a veteran of the year, and in the speech, I talked about Jimmy, that I wasn’t alone as long as I had friends like him."
Lauria said Handy was a veteran as well.
“Jimmy had a rough time in Vietnam,” Lauria shared. “And he always said if it wasn’t for acting, God knows what would have happened to him.”
He said that once he returns to Los Angeles, he and other veterans will honor their friend and compatriot.
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