Memorable ‘X-Files’ and ‘Blacklist’ Villain Dead at 74: RIP to Tom Noonan

Tom Noonan, the actor well known by TV fans for his villainous roles in The X-Files and The Blacklist, has died. He was 74.

Fred Dekker, who directed the 1987 film The Monster Squad starring Noonan as Frankenstein’s monster, announced on Facebook Wednesday that the actor, whom film fans will also remember from Robocop 2, Last Action Hero and Synecdoche, New York, had died on Saturday. No cause of death was immediately available.

“It’s with great sadness that I share the passing of Tom Noonan,” Dekker, 66, wrote, calling Noonan’s performance in The Monster Squad “a highlight of my modest filmography.”

Dekker wrote that he had been “knocked out” by Noonan’s performance as serial killer Francis Dollarhyde in Michael Mann’s 1986 film Manhunter when he asked him to read The Monster Squad script.

“In the end, he found the make-up arduous and annoying (he was fond of tearing it off after we wrapped, and one night didn’t even bother to take it off; just drove home in his Frankenstein appliance),” Dekker recalled of Noonan’s performance. “But all in all, he was the proverbial gentleman and scholar, and the world has lost a great talent. R.I.P. Tom. Thanks for the great work.”

Born on April 12, 1951, in Greenwich, Conn., Noonan made his screen acting debut in 1980’s Willie & Phil and Heaven’s Gate. He would go on to make other memorable appearances in 1995’s Heat and 2009’s The House of the Devil, with his film role coming in 2017’s Wonderstruck.

Noonan also made his place in television history as John Lee Roche in the 1996 episode of The X-Files titled “Paper Hearts,” which is widely regarded as one of the best in the series due to Noonan’s eerie performance as serial killer John Lee Roche.

The actor also had a memorable turn on a 2013 episode of The Blacklist, in which he played “The Stewmaker,” a man with a predilection for dissolving human bodies in acid.

Noonan also directed four feature films in the course of his career, including What Happened Was…, The Wife, Wang Dang and The Shape of Something Squashed.

He was married to actress Karen Young from 1992 to 1999. He’s survived by his daughter and son. Survivors include his daughter, Wanda, and a son.