Obituary: Miguel Ferrer, NCIS star

FILE - JANUARY 19: Actor Miguel Ferrer died of cancer today at age 61. Ferrer was known for his work on "NCIS: Los Angeles," "Crossing Jordan," and "Twin Peaks." MONTE-CARLO, MONACO - JUNE 09: Miguel Ferrer attends a cocktail reception at the Ministere d'Etat on June 9, 2014 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by PLS Pool/Getty Images)

CBS said Ferrer died on Thursday of cancer at his Los He had played assistant director Owen Granger on NCIS: Los Angeles since 2012. Before that, he played the chief medical examiner and gruff-but-supportive boss to series star Jill Hennessy for the six series of Crossing  Jordan.”

A native of Santa Monica, California, Ferrer was the son of Academy Award-winning actor Jose Ferrer and singer-actress Rosemary Clooney, and a cousin of George Clooney, who issued a statement on Thursday afternoon.

“Today, history will mark giant changes in our world,” Clooney said, “and lost to most will be that on the same day Miguel Ferrer lost his battle to throat cancer. But not lost to his family. Miguel made the world brighter and funnier and his passing is felt so deeply in our family that events of the day ... pale in comparison. We love you Miguel. We always will.”

In his own statement, NCIS: Los Angeles showrunner R Scott Gemmill called Ferrer “a man of tremendous talent who had a powerful dramatic presence onscreen, a wicked sense of humour and a huge heart”.

Ferrer began his career in the early 1980s with guest appearances on many TV series. In 1990 he won a signature role as FBI Agent Albert Rosenfield on David Lynch’s smash series Twin Peaks. He reprised that character for the 1992 movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.

He will encore yet again as Agent Rosenfield for the Twin Peaks revival to be broadcast this spring.

Alongside his TV work, Ferrer appeared in more than 40 movies, including RoboCop, in which he played the villainous Bob Morton, designer of the title character, Iron Man 3, in which he portrayed the vice president, and Traffic.

Voiceover credits include Superman: The Animated Series, Robot Chicken and American Dad!

Before becoming an actor, Ferrer was a successful studio musician who played drums in a variety of bands, and toured with his mother and Bing Crosby.

Survivors include his wife Lori and sons Lukas and Rafi, in addition to brothers  Gabriel and Rafael and  sisters Maria and Monsita, and  sister-in-law, the singer  Debby Boone.