Tom Bower, known for his roles in ‘Die Hard 2’ and ‘The Waltons’, has passed away at the age of 86. His sister-in-law, Mary Miller, shared with The Hollywood Reporter that Bower died in his sleep at his Los Angeles home. The actor’s representative, Marsha McManus, told the USA Today Network that his client was “an extraordinary human being.” A native of Colorado, Bower is best known for playing Marvin, the janitor who helps Bruce Willis’s character John McClane in 1990’s ‘Die Hard 2.’ He was born Ralph Thomas Bower in Denver on January 3, 1938, and had a childhood dream of becoming a professional baseball player. Instead, Bower relocated to New York City in 1965 to train at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. The following year, he worked on John Cassavetes’ directorial debut, ‘Shadows’, after studying acting at the John Cassavetes Shadows Workshop. Bower took a break from acting to work as a private investigator in Boston, working under attorney F. Lee Bailey. He was even still a private investigator when he was cast in ‘The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel’ on Broadway in 1972, starring alongside Al Pacino. Over the years, Bower had various roles on screen and, in 2005, he joined the cast of ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ as Heinrich “Pop-Pop” Landgraf. After his wife Ursala passed away last year, Bower is survived by his children Viv and Rob, & his grandchildren Nicole, Jonathan, Lucille and Henry.
