“Manhunter” Actor Tom Noonan Has Died

“Manhunter,” “The Monster Squad,” “Heat,” “Anomalisa,” and “Robocop 2” star Tom Noonan has reportedly passed away at the age of 74 reports Bloody Disgusting and The Daily Mail.

Both his former co-star Karen Sillas and his “The Monster Squad” director Fred Dekker did posts on social media in the past twelve hours discussing Noonan’s passing, Sillas saying it was “peacefully” before her Instagram post was no longer available. Dekker’s Facebook post remains.

The 6’5, Connecticut-born character actor didn’t get into acting until 27 years old. Initially in theater, he first appeared in films like “Gloria” and “Heaven’s Gate” in 1980 before his memorable turn as serial killer Francis Dollarhyde in Michael Mann’s 1986 film “Manhunter,” an adaptation of the Thomas Harris-penned first Hannibal Lecter novel “Red Dragon”.

He reunited with Mann on 1995’s “Heat” in a brief appearance. He followed that up the next year in a role as Frankenstein’s Monster in “The Monster Squad,” and then as a villain in films like “RoboCop 2” and “Last Action Hero”.

He worked steadily through to the late 2010s with key roles in films like “The House of the Devil,” “Anomalisa,” “F/X,” Synecdoche, New York,” “The Pledge,” “Knockaround Guys,” “The Opportunists,” and “The Astronaut’s Wife”.

His TV work was similarly prolific and included a very notable episode of “The X-Files,” recurring roles as a detective in “Damages,” a reverend in “Hell on Wheels,” and the ‘Pallid Man’ in “12 Monkeys”. Other notable guest appearances included shows like “CSI,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” “Quarry,” “Louie,” “The Cape,” “The Blacklist,” “Horace and Pete” and “The Leftovers”.

Noonan was also an acclaimed writer and director of theatre and film with his 1994 film “What Happened Was…” based on his own stage play and winning the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.