James Handy, the 81-year-old character actor whose career spanned over 150 television and film credits, was fatally stabbed Wednesday morning at a residence in the Tarzana neighborhood of Los Angeles. Officers responding to the Erwin Street home located Handy unresponsive outside the property. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The Los Angeles Police Department arrested 44-year-old Michael Gledhill at the scene. Gledhill, who lived at the residence and is the son of Handy’s girlfriend, was taken into custody without incident.
Prior to police arrival, the suspect made a 911 emergency call where he allegedly told dispatchers, “I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin.” When LAPD officers arrived at the location, Gledhill flagged them down and confessed to being the person they were looking for.
Handy was found with multiple stab wounds in the front yard of the home. Detectives from the LAPD’s Valley Section of the Robbery-Homicide Division took over the investigation. They publicly confirmed the stabbing was an isolated incident and that there is no broader threat to the community.
Gledhill was officially booked with $2 million bail at the Van Nuys Jail on suspicion of murder.
Handy worked steadily in Hollywood for five decades. He appeared in popular 1990s blockbusters, playing the exterminator in Jumanji (1995) and Milton Briggs in Arachnophobia (1990). His recent film credits included playing a doctor in Logan (2017) and a bartender in the box office hit Top Gun: Maverick (2022). He was also a familiar face on television, securing recurring roles and guest spots on NYPD Blue, Law & Order, Beverly Hills, 90210, and The X-Files.