Man stabbed to death in Tarzana was veteran actor in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ – Daily News

By HALLIE GOLDEN

The 81-year-old man who was stabbed to death on Wednesday, June 3 in Tarzana was veteran actor James Handy.

Police arrested the son of his girlfriend after Handy was found stabbed in the chest in Los Angeles, law enforcement said.

Officers responded to a home Wednesday morning after a 911 caller said, “I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin,” according to Los Angeles police.

They found the 81-year-old who appeared in films such as “Jumanji” and “Top Gun: Maverick” in the front yard stabbed in the chest and unconscious, police said. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.

Michael Gledhill, 44, who is Handy’s girlfriend’s son and lives at the home with his mother, told officers that he was the person they were looking for, according to police.

Gledhill was booked on suspicion of one count of murder. His bail was set at $2 million, according to jail records.

Born in New York, Handy appeared in films and TV for decades and was known for his role as an exterminator in the 1995 film “Jumanji” and more recently as the bartender Jimmy in the 2022 film “Top Gun: Maverick,” according to IMDB. He’s also appeared in some of the top TV crime dramas, including “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “The Closer” and “Cold Case.”

“I could not have asked for a more talented, humble or gracious client and friend than James Handy,” Pam Ellis-Evenas, from the Ellis Talent Group, said in an email to The Associated Press.