Miguel Ferrer

Miguel José Ferrer (February 7, 1955 – January 19, 2017) was an American actor. His breakthrough role was as Bob Morton in the 1987 film RoboCop. Other film roles include Harbinger in Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993), Quigley in Blank Check, Eduardo Ruiz in Traffic (2000) and Vice President Rodriguez in Iron Man 3 (2013). Ferrer's notable television roles include FBI Agent Albert Rosenfield on Twin Peaks (1990–1991, 2017), Dr. Garret Macy on Crossing Jordan (2001–2007) and NCIS Assistant Director Owen Granger on NCIS: Los Angeles (2012–2017).

Ferrer also performed voice acting in animated projects, including Shan Yu in Mulan (1998), Tarakudo on Jackie Chan Adventures (2000–2005), Vandal Savage in Young Justice (2010–2012), and Delgado in Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 (2011).

Ferrer was born on February 7, 1955, in Santa Monica, California. He was the oldest of five children born to Puerto Rican actor José Ferrer and American singer Rosemary Clooney.

Ferrer's siblings were sisters Maria and Monsita, and brothers Gabriel (later the husband of singer Debby Boone) and actor Rafael. He also had an older half-sister, Letty (Leticia) Ferrer, from his father José's prior marriage to Uta Hagen. Ferrer was an older cousin of actor George Clooney and nephew of journalist Nick Clooney.

Ferrer was raised in Hollywood and Beverly Hills and attended Beverly Hills High School. As a teenager, his interests tended toward music; he played the drums on Keith Moon's Two Sides of the Moon. After high school, Ferrer studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse.

Ferrer's friend Bill Mumy cast him as a drummer in the series Sunshine, his first television role. Ferrer was also Mumy's bandmate in Seduction of the Innocent, a band that also consisted of Steve Leialoha and Max Allan Collins. Sharing a love of comics Ferrer and Mumy co-created Comet Man and Trypto the Acid Dog plus co-wrote the Marvel Graphic Novel The Dreamwalker.

Ferrer began his acting career in the early 1980s, making guest appearances on episodic television. He played the younger version of his father's character on Magnum, P.I. in 1981. In 1983, he was given a small part as a waiter in The Man Who Wasn't There. He also had a minor role in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) as the U.S.S. Excelsior first officer. In 1984, he directed the Mark Medoff play When Ya Coming Back, Red Ryder? at the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami, Florida. He had a major role in the 1987 action film RoboCop as the corporate executive Bob Morton, the young, ambitious executive of Omni Consumer Products' Security Concepts and project leader of the RoboCop program.

Ferrer's notable later roles include a sinister biker in Valentino Returns, an overzealous engineer in DeepStar Six (1989), a resourceful vigilante in Revenge (1990), Commander Arvid Harbinger in the comedy Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993), Lloyd Henreid in the Stephen King miniseries The Stand (1994), and a drug informant in Traffic (2000). He occasionally took on lead parts as well, such as The Harvest and The Night Flier.

In the early 1990s, Ferrer appeared on three primetime TV series simultaneously: as D.A. Todd Spurrier in Shannon's Deal (1989–1991), as Cajun cop Beau Jack Bowman in Broken Badges (1990–1991), and as cynical, wittily abrasive FBI forensics specialist Albert Rosenfield in Twin Peaks (1990–91). Ferrer reprised the role of Rosenfield in the film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992). Ferrer played a super-villain called "The Weatherman" in the 1997 TV pilot Justice League of America. Later in the same year, he provided the voice for a similar character, the Weather Wizard, in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "Speed Demons". In 1999, Ferrer voiced Aquaman in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "A Fish Story". The same year, at the 41st Grammy Awards, Ferrer was nominated for Best Spoken Word Album for Children in Disney's The Lion King II, "Simba's Pride Read-Along". He was also the protagonist of the American rock band Toto's music video for the song "I Will Remember", appearing alongside actor Edward James Olmos.

In 2000, Ferrer was slated to appear in the CBS live television play of Fail Safe alongside his cousin George Clooney. Cast in the role of U.S. Air Force Colonel Cascio, Ferrer rehearsed the live production with the rest of the cast for three weeks and was featured in promotional materials for the teleplay, but had to drop out before the live broadcast due to a commitment to shoot a pilot for NBC named Sheriff's Homicide based on the James Ellroy book My Dark Places. Ferrer was replaced in the role by John Diehl. The following year, Ferrer again played a medical examiner on the small screen, Dr. Garret Macy, in the television crime/drama series Crossing Jordan (2001–07). In August 2003, Ferrer made his New York stage debut in the off-Broadway production of The Exonerated. In 2004, Ferrer performed as the voice of the Heretic leader in the video game Halo 2. Ferrer took voice-over roles in the TV series Robot Chicken (2006) and American Dad! (2007). He played Jonas Bledsoe on NBC's Bionic Woman series and in 2009 also starred in another NBC series, Kings as a military commander.

Ferrer played Los Angeles Police Lieutenant Felix Valdez in the 2011 Lifetime police procedural drama, The Protector. Also in 2011 he had a multiple-episode guest role on the final season of Desperate Housewives. Signed to a recurring role in NCIS: Los Angeles as Naval Criminal Investigative Service Assistant Director Owen Granger, Ferrer was promoted to a series regular for the fifth season in 2013. Ferrer continued working on NCIS: Los Angeles even after he was diagnosed with cancer. He also appeared in the 2013 film Iron Man 3 as the Vice President of the United States. Ferrer reprised his role of Albert Rosenfield in the 2017 revival of Twin Peaks.

On January 19, 2017, Ferrer died at his Santa Monica home from complications of throat cancer at the age of 61. At the time of his death, Ferrer was married to producer Lori Weintraub. He had two sons and two stepsons.

Miguel O'Hara, the alter ego of the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man 2099, was named after Ferrer by his friend, writer Peter David, who co-created the character.

The Young Justice episode "Evolution" was dedicated to Ferrer. Following Ferrer's death, David Kaye took over his role as Vandal Savage as well as his role as Jonathan Rook/Stretch Monster in Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters.