Hollywood Actor James Handy Murdered Outside His Los Angeles Home

Los Angeles police arrested the son of actor James Handy’s partner after the veteran Hollywood actor was found stabbed in the chest outside his home in the Tarzana neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley.

The incident began Wednesday morning with a disturbing 911 call. According to police, the caller told the emergency dispatcher: “I am the son of man. I just killed the man of sin.”

Officers were sent to the property at around 9:30 a.m. and found Handy, 81, unconscious in the front yard with a stab wound to his chest. He was rushed to a local hospital, where doctors later pronounced him dead.

The suspect, 44-year-old Michael Gladhill, lived in the home with his mother and Handy. When police arrived on the street, he did not try to run. According to reports, he approached the officers and told them he was the person they were looking for.

Neighbors told Fox 11 that Handy and Gladhill had been heard arguing during the night before the killing. One local resident claimed Gladhill had suffered from delusions and hallucinations in the period leading up to the incident. A nearby doorbell camera reportedly captured him walking calmly outside the house while waiting for police to arrive.

Gladhill was taken into custody in Van Nuys and booked on one count of murder. His bail was set at $2 million.

Handy’s death adds to a grim recent pattern in Hollywood, after director Rob Reiner was also murdered in a family-related case, shocking the entertainment industry.

Handy, born in New York, had a long screen career with more than 150 film and television credits. He was known to many viewers for his role as the exterminator in Jumanji in 1995, and more recently appeared as Jimmy the bartender in Top Gun: Maverick in 2022.

Over the years, he also appeared in films including Logan, Arachnophobia and Bird, along with guest roles in major television series such as The West Wing, The X-Files and NCIS.

His agent, Pam Ellis-Evenas, paid tribute to him after his death.

“I could not have asked for a more talented, humble or kind client and friend than James Handy,” she said.