Miguel Ferrer Dies: A Look Back at the TV Veteran’s Biggest Roles
January 20, 2017
Miguel Ferrer has
died at age 61. The veteran actor, best known for his most recent role as Owen Granger on
NCIS: Los Angeles, passed away at his home after a battle with throat cancer. Ferrer continued working on
NCIS up until his death, with the show's writers ultimately writing his illness into his character's storyline.
Ferrer came from an acting family — he was the son of Oscar-winning actor Jose Ferrer and singer Rosemary Clooney and cousin to George Clooney. After the actor's death, his famous cousin
remembered him with a poignant statement, saying, "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."
An accomplished drummer, Ferrer toured with his mother and Bing Crosby in the 1970s. But acting was Ferrer's forte, and his impressive TV career included roles on a long list of popular television shows over the past 30 years, including
Crossing Jordan,
Magnum, P.I., CHiPS, and
Cagney & Lacey, as well as a very memorable guest role on
Will & Grace. In 2017, Ferrer was ready to reprise his
Twin Peaks role as FBI agent Albert Rosenfeld on Showtime's revival of the series.
Click through this slideshow for a look back at Miguel Ferrer's television career.
1/15 ‘Magnum P.I.’
One of Miguel Ferrer's first credited TV roles came in 1981 when he played Ensign Bobby Wickes, USN on Tom Selleck's signature series. The guest role in the episode "Lest we Forget" jumpstarted the actor's long television résumé. (Credit: CBS/Courtesy Everett Collection)
2/15 ‘Cagney & Lacey’
Another guest role came in 1984 when Ferrer played Nunzio on Cagney & Lacey. The episode was titled "Choices." Pictured: Ferrer with series stars Tyne Daley and Sharon Gless. (Credit: CBS)
3/15 ‘Broken Badges’
In 1990, Ferrer landed a starring role as Beau Jack Bowman on Stephen J. Cannell's police drama Broken Badges. Ferrer starred with Eileen Davidson, Jay Johnson, Ernie Hudson, and Charlotte Lewis on the short-lived CBS series. (Credit: CBS/ Everett Collection)
4/15 ‘Twin Peaks’ (1990)
In 1990, Ferrer played FBI agent Albert Rosenfeld on Mark Frost and David Lunch's supernatural series, Twin Peaks. Ferrer also signed on to reprise the role for Showtime's revival of the cult hit, which debuts this May. (Credit: ABC/Getty Images)
5/15 ‘On the Air’
In 1992, Ferrer teamed up with Frost and Lynch again, this time to go back in time for a sitcom stint. The actor played Zoblotnik Broadcasting Corporation Network President Bud Budwaller on ABC's spoof of 1950's live TV. (Credit: ABC/Getty Images)
6/15 ‘The Stand’
In 1994, Ferrer played prison inmate Lloyd Henried in the star-studded TV mini-series based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. (Credit:ABC/Everett Collection)
7/15 ‘LateLine’
In 1998, Ferrer starred alongside Al Franken, Sanaa Lathan, and Megyn Price on the short-lived news satireLateLine, playing Vic Karp. (Credit: Everett Collection)
8/15 ‘Will & Grace’ (1999)
Even in a series known for its many (many) guest stars, Ferrer's Will & Grace Season 1 performance in 1999 was memorable. Berry, a wealthy, impossibly arrogant client of interior designer Grace, had a very special request — actually, demand — of Ms. Adler: He wanted her to make sure her BFF Will would agree to a hot date with him. Will reluctantly agreed to what turned out to be an evening even more unpleasant than he had imagined it would be. (Credit: NBC)
9/15 ‘Crossing Jordan’
In one of his biggest roles, from 2001 to 2007, Ferrer starred opposite Jill Hennessy as chief medical examiner Dr. Garret Macy on the CBS dramaCrossing Jordan. (Credit: Chris Haston/NBC/Getty Images)
10/15 ‘Jackie Chan Adventures’
In 2003, Ferrer took on a recurring voice role as Tarakudo/Shadowkhan King on Cartoon Network's animated series based on the life of action film star Jackie Chan. (Credit: WB)
11/15 ‘Bionic Woman’
Who needs Oscar Goldman? 2007'sBionic Woman reboot featured Ferrer as Jaime Sommers's (Michelle Ryan) superior, Jonas Bledsoe. (Credit: Carol Segal/NBC/Getty Images)
12/15 ‘Young Justice’
Ferrer got animated when he voiced villainous Vandal Savage in the animated Cartoon Network series about young superheroes. (Credit: Cartoon Network)
13/15 ‘Desperate Housewives’
Ferrer had a recurring role as Andre Zeller on ABC's Desperate Housewives. The actor appeared as the egotistical art teacher in five episodes of the series in 2011. (Credit: ABC)
14/15 ‘The Protector’
In 2011, Ferrer turned up as LAPD lieutenant Felix Valdez on Lifetime's police drama The Protector, alongside Ally Walker and Tisha Campbell-Martin. (Credit: ABC)
15/15 ‘NCIS: Los Angeles’
From 2102 until his death in 2017, Ferrer played Assistant Director of NCIS, Owen Granger, on CBS's hit police/military drama. Ferrer was so devoted to the role that he didn't want to quit the show when he became sick, so when cancer began to affect his voice, his illness was written into Granger's storyline. (Credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS)
80 Reactions
What to read next