Veteran Hollywood star James Handy died on Wednesday, June 3, after being stabbed at a property in Los Angeles. His girlfriend’s son, Michael Gledhill, has been arrested on suspicion of murder, according to the authorities.
The 81-year-old star was best known for starring in shows like “Alias” and “NYPD Blue,” as well as films like “Jumanji” and “Top Gun: Maverick.” But he also appeared in one of the most underrated episodes of “The X-Files” — one about a twisted serial killer with an obesity obsession.
Handy played Detective Alan Cross in Season 3, Episode 6, of the hit Fox series, titled “2Shy.” The grisly story follows Virgil Incanto (Timothy Carhart), a killer who finds overweight women in online chatrooms before meeting up with them and murdering them with an acidic substance that he vomits up. The overall mystery throughout the episode is why Incanto is specifically choosing these women. The answer? He’s eating their dissolved body fat to keep himself healthy.
James Handy’s detective helps Mulder and Scully hunt the killer
Throughout the episode, Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) butts heads with Detective Cross — particularly in one moment when he suggests that dealing with a killer of women has to be affecting her judgement because she’s a woman. She responds by doing her job to the best of her abilities. With the nature of the murders and Cross’ attitude toward Scully, the episode explores themes of misogyny and sexism, which is just another example of how “The X-Files” was ahead of its time in 1995.
Ultimately, Cross meets a grisly fate off-screen while tracking down Incanto, and the killer’s landlady, Monica (Glynis Davies), discovers his dissolving body in the bathtub. It’s an unceremonious exit for the detective, but Mulder and Scully at least manage to recover his body when Monica’s daughter calls the authorities.
Although “2Shy” doesn’t fit into the overall story of Season 3 regarding mysterious footage of an alien autopsy, it’s a shining example of how the singular episodes in “The X-Files” are like excellent, self-contained horror movies.
