Here’s Lauren Moody on the life of a dependable character player who had many small but memorable roles in TV and film across a four-decades career in entertainment.

Scott Alan Smith, professor of Performing Arts at Savannah College of Art and Design, who directed James Handy in a play in 2018, has paid tribute to the actor in a post on Facebook.

“Jim was not only a truly great actor, he was also a prince of a man – kind and generous and giving to his cast and audience,” Smith wrote.

Actress Nancy Lipner recalled working with Handy when he was cast as her father in a play in New York City.

“He was only two or three years older than I, but somehow he brought it off, in large part because he was a terrific character actor and even though, as he told me, not particularly at home in anything resembling classic theatre,” she wrote.

Fans have also been taking to forums like Reddit’s r/movies to remember Handy from his many screen appearances, with one calling him “one of those ‘that guy’ actors I always appreciated.”

Another noted that his “voice was so recognizable that you could pick him out even if you didn’t know his name.”

On the Disney fan site, Days Gone Disney, Handy was remembered as “one of those familiar faces you may not always know by name – but you instantly recognized on screen… He brought authenticity and depth to every performance.

“James Handy helped bring so many stories to life, often in quiet but memorable ways that stayed with audiences long after the credits rolled.”

Comments under the post included one fan saying: “Great actor! Watch his performance in The Verdict, he holds his own in scenes with Paul Newman. Rest in Peace.”

Another wrote: “Such a wonderful man and an iconic actor! Heaven definitely gained an angel.”

Doorbell camera video being shared online appears to show the suspect in James Handy’s murder, Michael Gledhill, casually pacing outside the house in which the actor was stabbed as he waited for police to arrive at the scene.

Gledhill, wearing jeans and a light shirt, is seen walking along the sidewalk on Erwin Street in Tarzana before returning with cops, leading them to Handy.

Neighbors reportedly told Fox 11 that the two men had been overheard arguing overnight and one resident claimed Gledhill had been suffering from delusions prior to Wednesday’s incident.

Handy worked across film and television for nearly 50 years, accumulating more than 150 screen credits.

Born in New York City in March 1945, Handy worked across film and television for nearly 50 years, accumulating more than 150 screen credits.

He made his debut in 1977 in the ABC daytime drama Ryan’s Hope.

Handy first appeared on the big screen in 1981 and appeared in such well-known movies as Sindy Lumet’s The Verdict (1982), Clint Eastwood’s Charlie Parker biopic Bird (1988), the Jim Belushi cop caper K-9 (1989), the comedy horror Arachnophobia (1990), the period sci-fi fantasy The Rocketeer (1991), Point of No Return (1993), the blockbusters Jumanji (1995) and Unbreakable (2000) and, more recently, Logan and Suburbicon (both 2017).

His final role was in Tom Cruise’s smash hit Top Gun: Maverick in 2022, in which he played Jimmy the bartender opposite Jennifer Connelly.

Back on TV, he made a string of appearances in popular TV shows over the years including Quantum Leap, Murder She Wrote, Melrose Place, NYPD Blue, The X Files, The West Wing, Law and Order and Alias.

Pam Ellis-Evenas, the actor’s agent, has confirmed his death to The Independent.

“With great sadness I can confirm that the gentleman who was attacked and killed on Wednesday in Tarzana was the actor James Handy.

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

Police have identified the suspect in Handy’s killing as Michael Gledhill, 44.

Investigators said Gledhill lived at the property with his mother, whom they described as the actor’s girlfriend.

Police said he approached officers responding to the scene and “told them he was the one they were looking for.”

Gledhill was arrested and booked at the Van Nuys jail on suspicion of murder, with his bail set at $2m, according to law enforcement records.

It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney. Jail records did not list legal representation for him and messages left with the county public defender’s office were not immediately returned.

Investigators said they believed the stabbing was “an isolated incident” and that there was “no danger to the public at this time”.

No motive for the stabbing was disclosed and police requested anyone with additional information about the incident to get in touch.

In a chilling detail released by the LAPD, the person who first called 911, possibly Gledhill himself, told the dispatcher: “I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin.”

James Handy, the actor known for roles in films such as Jumanji and Top Gun: Maverick, was stabbed to death at a Los Angeles home on Wednesday, police said. He was 81.

The Los Angeles police said officers from its West Valley division responded to a 911 call indicating “unknown trouble” at a property in Tarzana, in San Fernando Valley, at around 9.30am local time on Wednesday.

They found Handy unconscious in the front yard with a stab wound to his chest. He was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Shahana Yasmin has this report.