James Handy’s girlfriend has spoken out after her son was arrested in connection to the murder of the beloved Hollywood actor.
Officers found Handy unconscious and suffering from a stab wound to his chest in the front yard of a Los Angeles home Wednesday morning. The 81-year-old, known for his decades-long career as an iconic character actor, was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Investigators arrested the son of Handy’s girlfriend, 44-year-old Michael Gledhill, on suspicion of murder, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a release. Officials said he lived at the residence, located in the Tarzana neighborhood, with his mother, who has been identified by media reports as Wendy Gledhill.
Wendy Gledhill told TMZ her son suffers from mental health issues, including schizophrenia, and stopped taking his medication last week.
“They know I loved him so much,” she said of Handy’s family. “I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry this happened. I'm still in shock. I still can't comprehend it.”
Handy has appeared in more than 100 movies and TV shows, including the 2022 blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick starring Tom Cruise.
The LAPD said officers responded to the residence after a 911 caller told dispatchers, “I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin.”
At the scene, Michael Gledhill flagged the officers down and told them “he was the one they were looking for,” police said. Security footage taken nearby also appears to show him walking around the area shortly after the stabbing.
Michael Gledhill’s bail was set at $2 million. It remains unclear whether he’s obtained an attorney.
The LAPD told The Independent there are no updates on the case as of Friday afternoon. The Independent has reached out to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office for more information.
Wendy Gledhill told The California Post she’s still in shock and “trying to make it through one day at a time.”
“I loved James and my son. I still can’t believe it….I can’t believe my son did it,” she said.
Investigators said they believe the stabbing was “an isolated incident” and that there’s “no danger to the public at this time.” No motive has been released.
Handy’s agent, Pam Ellis-Evenas, confirmed his death to The Independent, saying: “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,” Ellis-Evenas added.
Former colleagues are now mourning Handy, who worked across film and television for nearly 50 years.
Scott Alan Smith, a professor of Performing Arts at Savannah College of Art and Design who directed Handy in a play in 2018, 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.
Born in New York City, Handy made his screen debut in 1977 in the ABC daytime drama Ryan’s Hope.
He later appeared in TV series such as NYPD Blue, Alias, Law & Order, Criminal Minds, ER, The X-Files, Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place and 9-1-1.
His film credits included The Verdict, Arachnophobia, The Rocketeer, Point of No Return, Unbreakable and Logan. In the 1995 fantasy film Jumanji, starring Robin Williams, he appeared as an exterminator. In the 2022 action film Top Gun: Maverick, Handy played a bartender named Jimmy. It proved to be his final role.
His death follows the double murder of director Rob Reiner and his wife, producer Michele Singer Reiner. The couple was dead at their mansion in Brentwood late last year, and their son Nick was charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
