Mickey Jones, ‘Justified’ and ‘Home Improvement’ Actor, Dies at 76

It has been reported that Justified and Home Improvement actor Mickey Jones has died at the age of 76.

According to TMZ, the actor passed away due to a long illness, but it was not clarified what that illness was.

The outlet did make a point to note that he had reportedly been in and out of the hospital for a few months prior to his death.

Most people will be most familiar with Jones from his time on the classic ’90s Tim Allen sitcom Home Improvement. He played a supporting character named Pete Bilker who was friends with Allen’s character Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor.

Others will recognize Jones from FX’s Justified, the Timothy Olyphant-starring crime drama where he played the reoccurring character Rodney “Hot Rod” Dunham, “a marijuana distributor who ran a small band of criminals.”

Jones first began pursuing a career in acting in the late 1970s. Throughout the course of his career, Jones has roles in over 35 films, which include high profile flicks such as National Lampoon’s Vacation, Total Recall, Tin Cup, and Sling Blade.

He also appeared in about 25 different TV series, which, in addition to the aforementioned shows, included M*A*S*H , Boy Meets World, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Jones once spoke about what it was like to work with Arnold Schwarzenegger on Total Recall, saying that he was the “classiest guy I have ever met, let alone, worked with.”

“I love Arnold. A few weeks after I got home from Mexico City, where we shot Total Recall, I got a large envelope in the mail with the return address reading, SCHWARZENEGGER. I guess the post office knows where he lives. Inside were several photos of Arnold and me doing scenes together. He signed them and sent them to me. He did this jest completely unsolicited… A CLASS ACT,” Jones added, according to IMDB.

Interestingly, Jones did not get his show-business start in movies and TV. Back in the 1950s Jones took up drumming and made a whole career out of it.

In the mid-1960s, Jones played in Johnny Rivers’ band. Rivers is well-known for songs such as “Secret Agent Man”, “Memphis” and “Mountain of Love.”

He later joined Bob Dylan’s band in the late-1960s, after Levon Helm had quit. Jones would go on to tour Europe with Dylan.

Finally, before breaking into acting, Jones played drums in The First Edition, a band led by none other than country music legend Kenny Rogers. With First Edition, Jones helped to make songs such as “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)” and “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town” massive hits.