2 days ago
Editors note: Carl Kurlander is simply a screenwriter (St. Elmo’s Fire), TV writer-producer (Saved by nan Bell) and documentary filmmaker who teaches movie astatine nan University of Pittsburgh and is nan founding programme head of nan Pitt successful LA program. He is an occasional Deadline impermanent file contributor.
This past week, headlines blanketed nan net astir character James Handy, from Top Gun: Maverick, who was stabbed to death connected nan beforehand section of his Tarzana location by nan schizophrenic boy of his girlfriend. The stories focused overmuch connected nan telephone Jim’s attacker made to 911 saying: “I americium nan Son of Man. I conscionable killed nan Man of Sin.”
I had nan grant of knowing Jim Handy early successful his profession and americium present to attest that nan man I knew was, arsenic his supplier Pam Ellis-Evenas described him erstwhile she said: “I could not person asked for a much talented, humble aliases gracious customer and friend than James Handy.” He besides had a warmth, a kindness, and a humanity we request to observe these days.
The frenzy that has erupted successful nan remark sections beneath these articles is filled pinch parroted slug points: that this tragic incident is suggestive of an L.A. afloat of sinners and crazy group who, according to 1 L.A. mayoral candidate, should beryllium shipped to Seattle. Perhaps it is reflective of a president who, erstwhile Rob Reiner and his woman Michele were killed by their schizophrenic boy conscionable months ago, responded by posting that nan Reiners had passed distant from a “mind crippling illness known arsenic TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.”
I taught Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard past semester successful an Intro to Film class, and nan worldwide attraction James Handy is receiving posthumously is eerily reminiscent of nan infinitesimal successful that 1950 movie erstwhile reporters situation faded silent movie prima Norma Desmond aft she murders screenwriter Joe Gillis and springiness her nan attraction she truthful desperately craved. Only Jim Handy was nan other of Norma — a awesome characteristic character who himself happened to person awesome character.
I first met Jim during 1 of nan astir challenging parts of my life. My mother Jeanne Wechsler had dramatically near location to prosecute her long-postponed dream of being an character connected Broadway. Jim was 1 of nan first friends she made successful New York. Though my mother had galore boyfriends, Jim was personification she did not day but connected pinch complete their communal emotion of acting. He had been connected nan soap Ryan’s Hope, but he loved nan theater. My mother took maine to spot him successful an Off Broadway accumulation of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons. I was a pre-med student astatine Duke astatine nan time, pinch nary thought of becoming a writer aliases having immoderate benignant of imaginative life — but watching Jim play Chris Keller, nan idealistic younger boy who, aft WWII, confronts his begetter for trading faulty parts to nan military, was a capacity that inspired me. In nan play, Chris brings up t1 American pilots, 1 of them perchance his father’s different boy who died successful nan war. It is astonishing that decades later I tin still consciousness Jim’s outrage and nan truth successful that scene, a begetter profiteering, putting his interests up of his country, moreover erstwhile it costs guiltless lives.
Jim was drafting connected his ain experience. He had been forced to postpone his ain acting ambitions erstwhile he was drafted into nan Vietnam War, serving 11 months pinch nan 196th Light Infantry Brigade successful Tây Ninh. In a 2013 question and reply he described 27 consecutive days of dense combat, jungle truthful acheronian “you couldn’t spot your manus successful beforehand of your face,” chap soldiers “dropping each complete nan place, screaming for their mothers.” He came location a pacifist, and his values of empathy and compassion aligned pinch my ain mother’s.
I publication this week astir his friend Brian Delate, who met Jim astatine a Vietnam veterans theatre institution successful New York and knew him for much than 40years. He told nan Associated Press: “Because of nan quality of really he died, and nan truth that we lived successful an arena of sidesplitting backmost successful nan ’60s, it has a different resonance.” Thinking backmost connected Jim successful nan 1970s, it is easy to hide really severely we treated Vietnam vets — and present Jim was channeling each of that done theater.
In each capacity I ever saw Jim in, he was existent and authentic. He erstwhile told an interviewer: “I hated Forrest Gump. I conscionable hated that movie. I conscionable thought it was truthful afloat of crap. His character, Tom Hanks’s, would ne'er person survived Vietnam. I tried to explicate this to people. They ne'er would person made it done Vietnam pinch that guy.”
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In 1982, nan twelvemonth I would caput retired to Hollywood connected a fluke Duke/MCA-Universal Scholar Award, Jim sewage his first large break. He played other Paul Newman, who portrayed Frank Galvin, a run-down alcoholic lawyer successful Sidney Lumet’s The Verdict. Jim played Kevin Doneghy, nan brother-in-law of a young female near successful a imperishable coma aft a aesculapian correction successful a Catholic hospital. Carrying nan vexation and heartbreak of an full family, Kevin becomes nan sound of mean group trapped successful a strategy that protects nan powerful — and erstwhile Frank, without telling Kevin, turns down a life-changing colony offer, Kevin confronts him pinch specified fury that Jim much than holds his ain pinch Newman. Newman would beryllium nominated for Best Actor for nan role. Jim would beryllium noticed for his authentic performance, and his profession arsenic a characteristic character was launched.
When I sewage my ain break a fewer years later, adapting a short communicative I had written successful assemblage into nan movie St. Elmo’s Fire, I conscionable retrieve Jim being truthful supportive and my mother telling maine again and again really proud he was of me. Jim’s first movie domiciled had travel successful Taps, directed by Harold Becker, whose woman Susan designed nan costumes for St. Elmo’s Fire. Taps was besides nan breakout movie for Tom Cruise. While Tom’s profession would beryllium meteoric arsenic nan existent Hollywood star, Jim’s would beryllium emblematic of nan existent Hollywood characteristic actor.
He would look successful complete 143 movie and TV credits — arsenic Milton Briggs, nan small-town coroner trying to thief Jeff Daniels fig retired what was sidesplitting group successful Arachnophobia. He was nan exterminator successful Jumanji, nan expert patching up Wolverine successful Logan, nan bartender Jimmy successful Top Gun: Maverick — 40 years aft appearing alongside that young Cruise successful Taps. He played specified a diverseness of roles — dramatic, comedic, sometimes nan bad feline — but ever uncovering a measurement to show different sides of being human. As 1 instrumentality wrote this week: “You could spot nan layers successful his bad feline roles. He ever fto you spot nan person.”
On The West Wing, he played Congressman Joseph Bruno, a Republican who refused to tear down Leo McGarry complete Leo’s past supplier addiction for governmental gain. The decent man crossed nan aisle, who chose not to weaponize personification else’s backstage struggle for a governmental win. Jim didn’t play it arsenic a large TV moment. He played it for illustration he played everything — pinch a quiet, grounded sincerity that brought retired nan champion successful nan writing, because he understood that nan actor’s occupation wasn’t to return nan spotlight but to clasp nan truth of nan scene.
Jim had an integrity that seems uncommon successful this world. Ironically, I sewage to unrecorded successful his New York flat erstwhile I myself had mislaid my measurement successful Hollywood. After nan occurrence of St. Elmo’s, I told myself I was going to constitute much stories astir my generation, but erstwhile gigs were coming my way, I accepted an duty to constitute a movie called Baby Talk — astir a feline who, erstwhile his supermodel woman leaves him, discovers he tin understand what babies are saying. I wasn’t going to return it. But past Orion Pictures and producers Steve Tisch and Wendy Finerman offered doubly arsenic overmuch arsenic I had made connected St. Elmo’s. The book sewage a bully reception, but I wondered if I should spell to New York and spell backmost to penning short stories from nan heart. Jim was by past a moving character spending a batch of clip successful L.A., and truthful he offered maine his flat to unrecorded in. I don’t callback immoderate money being exchanged. It was conscionable an incredibly generous gift.
In that apartment, I sewage to spot nan backstage broadside of Jim. I callback it arsenic a mini workplace abstraction devoid of immoderate modern amenities — nary television. Just books and plays, and an asceticism associated pinch nan priests Jim would often play. His past movie capacity was successful a movie called Senior Entourage, wherever arsenic Father MacGuffin he takes confession from stars for illustration Ed Asner. I americium gladsome his past domiciled was comedic arsenic I retrieve him much smiling and laughing.
What was besides not successful that flat was a family, and though he had a woman astatine nan clip of his death, he didn’t person immoderate kids. Like a priest, he was joined to nan trade of acting. And nan trade Jim spent 50 years perfecting is now nether existential threat. The characteristic character — nan journeyman who fills successful nan corners of each show and movie we emotion — has been struggling for years arsenic streaming has hollowed retired nan mediate people of nan industry. Now AI threatens to switch nan journeyman character entirely. What is successful threat is that this will portion distant nan soul, nan earthy humanity actors for illustration Jim Handy brough to each domiciled and switch it pinch flat, generalized platitudes. Jim stood against each of that. What is astatine liking is nan mobility of whether nan adjacent Jim Handy will moreover get to exist.
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Before I reason pinch a extremist thought that would grant Jim and his legacy, I want to reside that nan boy of his woman was schizophrenic. This is not astir correct aliases left, MAGA aliases non-MAGA, but astir basal quality decency — nan benignant of decency truthful overmuch of Jim Handy’s activity was informed by.
I cognize thing astir schizophrenia. I person a stepsister who I idolized increasing up, Ellen, who taught maine to thrust a instrumentality connected her convertible Mustang; who comforted maine connected her thigh erstwhile I sewage sunburnt arsenic a 10-year-old astatine her father’s Harvard reunion; who publication elephantine books for illustration Atlas Shrugged and was truthful superb that nary of america were amazed erstwhile she sewage into Harvard/Radcliffe. After her graduation, she ended up calling my mother from Grand Central Station, wherever she was surviving connected nan streets. Decades later she was yet capable to beryllium housed successful a group home, and coming she lives blocks from maine successful Pittsburgh — not L.A. Mental unwellness does not attraction if you unrecorded successful a reddish authorities aliases a bluish state.
I erstwhile joked that successful L.A. you dice doubly — erstwhile once you die, and erstwhile once your profession dies and nary 1 cares either time. But successful Jim’s case, I consciousness nan request to evoke different Arthur Miller play, Death of a Salesman: to grant who he was, ATTENTION MUST BE PAID.
I talked pinch a friend, Angela Campolla-Sanders, a erstwhile acting coach and casting head successful L.A. who I met successful my Brat Pack–adjacent days erstwhile she was Molly Ringwald’s champion friend. Angie reached retired erstwhile I posted astir Jim connected Facebook and told maine she had lived successful his Tarzana vicinity — which was not filled pinch supplier addicts and nan homeless, contempt what a definite president and existent mayoral campaigner would person you believe. (Both of whom earned their fame not done talent for illustration Jim’s, but by being entertainers connected reality shows.)
Angie and I talked astir nan trade of acting, and astir Jim. She told maine astir a movie called In Memoriam that her friend Rob Burnett, nan erstwhile caput writer for David Letterman, is making, astir a fading, bitter seasoned Hollywood character who, erstwhile diagnosed pinch terminal cancer, alternatively of focusing connected his family, becomes obsessed pinch ensuring he secures a spot successful nan Academy Awards’ “In Memoriam“ section. James Handy whitethorn extremity up location adjacent year, but I dream it is not for his decease — but for nan life he lived.
To genuinely grant who Jim Handy was, I would propose a James Handy Award, fixed retired each twelvemonth by nan Academy to a journeyman character whose sanction you whitethorn not know, but who is dedicated to his craft, and whose activity is infused pinch nan values Jim embodied — empathy, compassion, humility, and kindness and astir of each his expertise — to punctual america of our communal humanity.
I would emotion thing much than to raise a solid to Jim Handy and toast nan life he lived, pinch nan remainder of this country, astatine a clip erstwhile we request much than ever to observe activity ethic, craft, and basal quality decency.
