Actor James Handy, who last appeared as old bartender Jimmy at Penny’s Bar in the 2022 action-drama Top Gun: Maverick, was stabbed to death by his live-in girlfriend’s son at his home on Erwin Street in Tarzana, California, on June 3. He was 81.The suspect, Michael Gledhill, confessed to his crime in a 911 call to the LAPD on Wednesday morning around 9:30 AM. Gledhill, 44, told the authorities in the phone call:“I am the son of man. I just killed the man of sin.”When the authorities arrived, they found James Handy lying unresponsive in his front yard and bleeding from a stab wound to the chest. He was immediately rushed to a local hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.James Handy served in the Vietnam War on behalf of the United States military, according to his May 2015 interview with his distant relative Kathleen DeMarse.Now, in the aftermath of his tragic killing, Michael Gledhill has been taken into custody on suspicion of first-degree murder charges and is being held on a $2 million bond.All you need to know about James Handy’s military careerJames Handy was born in New York City in March 1945. At 20, he was drafted by the U.S. Army and sent to Vietnam, where he was stationed for nearly a year between August 1966 and July 1967 as part of the 196th First Light Infantry Brigade SEP.In his interview with his relative, Handy recalled how they got involved in serious and heavy seven-day combat in Tay Ninh as part of Mission Attleborough.James said initially it didn’t “register” as the war didn’t seem “real.” However, being in the combat zone opened his eyes. While he was terrified to be hundreds of thousands of miles “away from home,” in the middle of jungles and woods.“Also, the country was beautiful. Parts of it were beautiful. But it used to be so dark, you couldn’t even see your own hands,” the ‘Jumanji’ actor recalled.James Handy mentioned how he and his fellow soldiers held on to each other’s backpacks to prevent falling into the enemy territory or getting lost from the group, especially during the nights, when they were “attacked” by the North Vietnamese and “bodies” kept “dropping.”The veteran remembered telling his war buddy how it might be their “last night on earth.” Seeing soldiers get wounded or dying often made James Handy feel that he wouldn’t “make it back in the world,” away from the “crazy” and “unreal.” However, he did, but the PTSD dragged on for years.Handy recalled having nightmares and waking up to news from the war zone, as well as protests ongoing in the United States.“There was a lot of anti-war stuff going on. I actually was also against the war when I got back. I realized we weren’t doing any good over there and the people over there were suffering, the Vietnamese were suffering, on both sides…”James Handy mentioned being caught between “two feelings,” being concerned for the soldiers who stayed back, while being unable to join the protestors at home.Over the years, Handy appeared in roles that reminded him of his time in Vietnam. One of these was the 1991 Disney superhero film, The Rocketeer, where he used guns in the role of an FBI agent, Wolinski.In the interview, he mentioned aceing auditions for three one-act plays while in college, which encouraged him to take acting and theater courses. By 1977, he was already working in theaters, TV shows, and films. One of his earliest roles was in the 1982 movie The Verdict starring Paul Newman.James Handy also made a name as Byers in the 1989 movie K-9 and its sequel K-911. His other feature film credits include Arachnophobia, Unbreakable, Logan, 15 Minutes, Guarding Tess, and Brighton Beach Memoirs.Made-for-TV movies, including A Family Torn Apart, The Preppie Murder, and Obsessed, also saw Handy play key roles.His most notable television roles were as Arthur Devlin in Alias, Captain Haverhill in NYPD Blue, and Lou Handleman in Profiler. Other police procedural shows he appeared in were Criminal Minds, The Young and the Restless, Cold Case, ER, Law & Order, and Castle.While James Handy enjoyed doing comedies, drama was what he was most attracted to and he was honored to be part of Arthur Miller’s “A Drama in Three Parts.”However, he recalled in the interview how war movies like Platoon (1986) “really upset” him and he only appreciated the ones that showed the “realities” of war. James also noted how he found Tom Hanks’ 1994 movie Forrest Gump as “ridiculous” and “crappy” despite its high ratings and awards, as he knew from his own experience that Hanks’ character couldn’t have possibly survived in Vietnam.He ended his interview by saying how he reconnected with 4-5 guys from his old military unit on Platoons’ Day every year, as they helped him remember the world before and after they served.As reports of Handy’s demise surfaced, his talent agent, Pam Ellis-Evenas, issued a statement.“With great sadness I can confirm that the gentleman who was attacked and killed on Wednesday in Tarzana was the actor James Handy,” she noted.Security footage from a neighboring house obtained by Fox 11 Los Angeles showed Michael Gledhill pacing down the sidewalk and blood-stained clothes lay nearby. He returned a while later to the crime scene only to surrender himself to the responding officers.Neighbors told authorities that Gledhill and Handy had a fight the night before and the former was having delusions on the morning of the attack.Tributes are now pouring in from friends, relatives, colleagues, and fans.