“Top Gun: Maverick” Actor James Handy Made His Final Public Appearance Nearly a Decade Before He Was Killed at 81
“Top Gun: Maverick” Actor James Handy Made His Final Public Appearance Nearly a Decade Before He Was Killed at 81
Tommy McArdleFri, June 5, 2026 at 4:14 PM UTC
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James Handy on Sept. 24, 2017Credit: Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty -
James Handy, the actor who died at 81 on Wednesday, June 3 after a fatal stabbing attack in California, made his final public appearance during a 2017 screening of a mockumentary film titled Senior Entourage
The movie also starred Ed Asner, who died at 91 in 2021, and Helen Reddy, who died at 78 in 2020
Handy's girlfriend's son Michael Gledhill has been identified as the suspect in his death and was charged with one count of murder
James Handy, the actor who died at 81 after a fatal stabbing attack in Tarzana, Calif., on Wednesday, June 3, made his final public appearance more than eight years ago at a 2017 screening of a mockumentary film he costarred in.
The actor was photographed alongside fellow actors David Lockhart, Ed Asner, Mark Rydell, Brian Connors and Helen Reddy at a September 2017 screening of the movie Senior Entourage, which did not release until 2021.
Senior Entourage followed an ensemble of actors — among them Asner, who died at 91 in 2021, and Reddy, who died at 78 in 2020 — in what an official synopsis described as "a wild, wacky mockumentary about the actual cast and crew making the movie" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm for the elderly or Seinfeld for seniors." Jamie Lee Curtis also appeared in the movie as herself.
David Lockhart, Ed Asner, Mark Rydell, Brian Connors, James Handy and Helen Reddy on Sept. 24, 2017Credit: Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
Senior Entourage was one of Handy's final performances in Hollywood. After that movie's release, he appeared in a 2021 episode of 9-1-1 and the 2022 movie Street to Table, as well as his notable final performance as a bartender named Jimmy in Tom Cruise's 2022 blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick.
On Thursday, June 4, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said in a news release obtained by PEOPLE that Handy was killed the previous day. Handy's girlfriend's son, Michael Gledhill, was identified as the suspect.
Police responded to the scene at Handy's home after a person called 911, reporting "unknown trouble," according to the dispatch audio obtained by PEOPLE. The person told the dispatchers, "I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin."
After authorities arrived on the scene, they discovered Handy unconscious in his front yard and suffering from a stab wound to his chest. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics transported Handy to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
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Per dispatch audio, the streets near Handy's home were blocked off by law enforcement and authorities were also advised to start doing door-to-door inquiries in the area and "advise who opens and who doesn't."
Gledhill, 44, was subsequently arrested and transported to Van Nuys Jail. He was charged with one count of murder, and his bail was set at $2 million, according to the jail records obtained by PEOPLE.
Neighbors have alleged to local news station Fox 11 that they overheard Gledhill and Handy arguing overnight before the fatal stabbing. One neighbor told the local TV station that Gledhill appeared to suffer from delusions.
Handy was born in New York City and had supporting roles in dozens of major blockbusters and TV shows in a career that began with two appearances in 1977 episodes of the series Ryan's Hope. He appeared in some 147 onscreen roles in his nearly 50-year-long career, including in the original 1995 Jumanji movie and 1990's Arachnophobia.
Over the decades, he also appeared in movies like Brighton Beach Memoirs, Bird, Point of No Return, Murder in Mind, Logan and Suburbicon, among others.
James Handy's final movie appearance in Top Gun: MaverickCredit: Paramount
He made appearances in notable television series like Murder, She Wrote, Walker, Texas Ranger, The X-Files, Beverly Hills 90210, The West Wing and comedian John Mulaney's short-lived sitcom Mulaney, among dozens of other acting parts.
Anyone with information is asked to contact LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division detectives at 818-374-9550. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
