is reporting that veteran character actor Miguel Ferrer has passed away today at the age of 61 after a long battle with cancer. The actor is probably best known to the public at large for his role as ‘Assistant Director Owen Granger’ since 2012 on “NCIS: Los Angeles“. He is survived by wife Lori Weintraub, sons Lukas and Rafi, and his extended family.
Miguel Ferrer was born of entertainment royalty. His parents were actor Jose Ferrer and singer Rosemary Clooney and he was a cousin of actor George Clooney. Entering the film business in the early ’80s, he carved out a great career that lasted until the day he died. His television career was extensive almost from the get-go, showing up in episodes of “Magnum, P.I.“, “CHiPs“, and “T.J. Hooker“, as well as scoring recurring work in “Miami Vice“, “Twin Peaks“, “Tales from the Crypt“, and “Crossing Jordan“. Ferrer also frequently did voicework for animated shows and films, specifically becoming a regular voice artist for various DC animated shows over the years (“Superman“, “The Batman“, “Young Justice“, etc.).
Genre fans probably recall him best from his supporting turn in Paul Verhoeven’s RoboCop as one of the creators of the titular character. Ferrer also turned in memorable featured performances in films like Tony Scott’s Revenge, The Night Flier, David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Deepstar Six, William Friedkin’s The Guardian, Hot Shots! Part Deux, Disney’s Mulan, Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic, the TV miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand, and most recently in Marvel’s Iron Man 3.
Miguel Ferrer was a talented actor and one deserving of a better overall career than the hand he got dealt. Even in the lesser works he appeared in, he always brought his A-game and was frequently one of (if not the) standout elements within them. He leaves behind a nice legacy in the form of a pretty varied body of work and he will certainly be missed. In addition to how many ever episodes of “NCIS: Los Angeles” he starred in that have yet to air, Ferrer will also be seen reprising his role as ‘Albert Rosenfeld’ in Showtime’s upcoming “Twin Peaks” revival series this summer.
