‘RoboCop 2’ and ‘Manhunter’ actor Tom Noonan dead at 74
RoboCop 2 and Manhunter actor Tom Noonan has died aged 74.
The cause of death has not yet been confirmed. Karen Sillas, his co-star on What Happened Was..., broke the news on February 18th, confirming that Noonan passed away on Valentine’s Day.
Sillas wrote online, “My dear friend and co-star, Tom Noonan, passed peacefully on Valentine’s Day 2026.”
As per Daily Mail, in a post that appears now-deleted, she continued, “Working with him in his original off-Broadway play, What Happened Was… at the Paradise Factory Theater in the early 90’s, was a turning point for me and my career that still resonates throughout my life and work as an actor.”
Sillas went on, “Little did I know when we shot it as a film a year later, we would be creating one of 1990’s most iconic Indies in American cinema. What a privilege and crazy fun it was working with this man and calling him my friend to the end… May his Legacy continue to shine on.”
Noonan was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, in 1951. He first appeared in the original Off-Broadway production of the famous Sam Shepard play, Buried Child, in 1978.
In 1980, he made his big-screen debut in Willie & Phil, followed closely by Gloria and Heaven’s Gate. Over half a decade later, his breakout role came in 1986, when he starred opposite William Petersen’s FBI Agent Will Graham as Francis Dolarhyde in the crime thriller Manhunter.
After his role as the bad guy went down so well in Manhunter, as well as Fred Dekker’s horror comedy The Monster Squad, Noonan landed the role of Cain in Irvin Kershner’s RoboCop 2 in 1990.
Dekker has since paid tribute to the late star, writing on Facebook, “He was the proverbial gentleman and scholar, and the world has lost a great talent, R.I.P. Tom. Thanks for the great work.”
Noonan starred in many other projects, such as The House of the Devil, Heat, and Last Action Hero as well as series such as The X-Files and CSI.
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