Tom Noonan

Who they were

Thomas Patrick Noonan was an American actor, director and screenwriter, best known for his roles as Francis Dollarhyde in Manhunter (1986), Frankenstein's Monster in The Monster Squad (1987), Cain in RoboCop 2 (1990), The Ripper in Last Action Hero (1993), Kelso in Heat (1995), Sammy Barnathan in Synecdoche, New York (2008), Mr. Ulman in The House of the Devil (2009), Reverend Nathaniel in Hell on Wheels (2011–2014), the Pallid Man in 12 Monkeys (2015–2018),

Early life

Educated at: Yale School of Drama.

Early life Thomas Patrick Noonan was born on April 12, 1951, in Greenwich, Connecticut , the son of Rita (McGannon), a mathematics teacher, and John Noonan Sr., a jazz musician and doctor of dental surgery . [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] He had an older brother, John Ford Noonan , an actor, playwright, and screenwriter, [ 4 ] and two sisters, Barbara and Nancy. Noonan was a very talented basketball player, and said "playing basketball is how I learned to perform in a lot of ways.

Path and career

Awards / honours: Guggenheim Fellowship and Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Award.

Career Noonan started working in theatre (appearing in the original Off-Broadway production of Sam Shepard 's play Buried Child ), but in the 1980s he began working in film. At 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) tall, Noonan's imposing presence was probably responsible for his tendency to be cast as menacing villains, as in RoboCop 2 , [ 1 ] Last Action Hero , [ 1 ] Manhunter , [ 1 ] and The Pledge . [ 1 ] [ citation needed ]

Death Noonan died at a hospital in Englewood, New Jersey , on February 14, 2026, at the age of 74. [ 1 ] His death was initially announced by actress Karen Sillas on her Instagram account, [ 2 ] and later confirmed by Fred Dekker in a tribute on Facebook . [ 3 ] ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT was invoked but never defined (see the help page ). ^ Zavaleta, Brian (February 18, 2026). "Tom Noonan Dies: 'Manhunter' Villain and Sundance-Winning Indie Director Was 74" . Phrasemaker .

Why this date

Tom Noonan appears on our February 14 calendar for 2026 as a death entry.