Actor James Handy allegedly killed by girlfriend’s son at LA home

Actor James Handy has been identified as the 81-year-old man stabbed to death at a home in the Tarzana neighborhood of Los Angeles on Wednesday. 

The Los Angeles Police Department said the actor was killed by his girlfriend’s son. Michael Gledhill, 44, turned himself in and flagged down officers at the scene and told them that he was the one they were looking for, according to investigators.

Gledhill was arrested on suspicion of murder and transported to Van Nuys Jail. His bail was set at $2 million.

In a news release, the LAPD said officers responded to the home on Erwin Street in Tarzana around 9:30 a.m. after a 911 caller said they had killed a man. Gledhill lived at the home with his mother, according to investigators.

“I am the son of a man, I just killed the man of sin,” the caller said, according to the LAPD.

Upon arrival, officers found an 81-year-old man suffering from stab wounds in the front yard of a home. The man, identified as Handy, was transported to a local hospital, where he later died.

Police said the incident was isolated, and there appears to be no danger to the public.

Handy, a journeyman actor in television and film, started his career in the 1970s with a role on the former ABC-TV soap “Ryan’s Hope.” He would go on to appearances in 1981’s “Taps” with George C. Scott, director Sidney Lumet’s “The Verdict” with Paul Newman in 1982, and scores of parts on popular TV series including “The West Wing,” “ER” and “Beverly Hills, 90210.” Handy is best known for his roles in 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” 1990’s “Arachnophobia” and “Jumanji” from 1995.