Miguel Ferrer, currently on screen as part of the regular team in ‘NCIS: Los Angeles‘ – but a veteran of the screen – has passed away at the age of 61…
Veteran actor Miguel Ferrer has passed away from throat cancer. The actor had most recently been playing Assnt. Director Granger on the hit show NCIS: Los Angeles but fans had grown increasingly worried about the actor’s appearance in recent months. Though no statements had been made he did seem to be in declining health, thinner and with slurred speech, to the extent that it was mentioned as an aside in the episodes as well.
But this was only the latest job in a career full of memorable roles. He was the son of Oscar-winning actor Jose Ferrer and Rosemary Clooney and cousin of George Clooney and got his breakthrough role in 1987’s RoboCop, playing the corporate-climber who initiates the robotics program but pays the price when it’s turned against him. Other films followed including The Man who Wasn’t There and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and as Vice President Rodriguez in Iron Man 3 but he had increasingly found work on television, guesting in shows as diverse as Magnum PI (where he made his screen debut), CHiPs, Twin Peaks and Cagney & Lacey. In 2001 he starred as Garret Macy alongside Jill Hennessy in Crossing Jordan, the medical/detective drama that ran until 2007. Subsequently he appeared as a regular on the revamp of Bionic Woman, Desperate Housewives and The Protector. A big comics fan, he also had frequent voice-over work for projects such as Young Justice, Thundercats, The Spectacular Spider-man, The Batman and Jackie Chan Adventures. He had just been announced as being part of the upcoming Teen Titans animated film. Peter David, when creating the Spider-man 2099 character for Marvel Comics, named the man behind the mask, Miguel O’Hara, after Ferrer who was a good friend.
He joined NCIS: Los Angeles in 2012, in its third season, quickly graduating from a recurring character to a regular. Granger’s gruff and acerbic exterior masking the loyalty he felt to his team. In the most recent episode, broadcast at the weekend, his character was stabbed in jail after he was framed for an assault during the team’s hunt for a mole within their ranks. It is not known if this was planned as an exit strategy for actor and character though it is believed he will feature in several further upcoming episodes.
In a statement from the show’s showrunner, R. Scott Gemmill said: “Today, NCIS: Los Angeles lost a beloved family member. Miguel was a man of tremendous talent who had a powerful dramatic presence on screen, a wicked sense of humor, and a huge heart. Our thoughts go out to his wife Lori, his sons [Lukas and Rafi], and his entire family. He will be greatly missed.”
George Clooney added his thoughts on his cousin: “Today history will mark giant changes in our world, and lost to most will be that on the same day Miguel Ferrer lost his battle to throat cancer. But not lost to his family. Miguel made the world brighter and funnier and his passing is felt so deeply in our family that events of the day, (monumental events), pale in comparison. We love you Miguel. We always will.”
Miguel was due to reprise his Twin Peaks role as forensics expert Albert Rosenfield in the reboot of the show due to hit screens in May. It’s not known if his passing will affect plans for that, though the show has been shooting for a while and it appears it may have been more of an extended cameo.
Ferrer, who was 61, is survived by his wife Lori, sons Lukas and Rafi and his brothers and sisters.
