Tom Bower death: Die Hard 2 and The Waltons star was 86

Tom Bower, best known for his roles in Die Hard 2 and The Waltons, has died at the age of 86. Photo / Bang Showbiz

Tom Bower has died at the age of 86.

The actor, best known for his roles in Die Hard 2 — in which he starred as janitor Marvin alongside Bruce Willis in the leading role — and in the historical drama The Waltons, died in his sleep at his home in Los Angeles on May 30, his sister-in-law, Mary Miller, confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter.

No cause of death has been announced yet for the star, who is survived by his brother, Bobby, children Viv and Rob, and grandchildren Nicole, Jonathan, Lucille, and Henry.

According to his sister-in-law, Tom had been a big supporter of the SAG-AFTRA strike, when thousands in the industry took to the picket line this year as they fought for fairer earnings amid the rise of streaming platforms.

She said: “He believed that all actors and all people should be represented in a way that was decent.”

The Light of My Life star was married to the German-born Ursula — who spent 40 years working for a law company in LA — from 1972 until her death in August at the age of 1970.

Miller said Tom and Ursula had “never spent a day apart” since they tied the knot.

Elsewhere in his career, Tom was cast in supporting roles in films such as The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Undoing, and hit political series The West Wing.

His last appearance was a guest role on comedy-drama series Lucky Hank as Henry Devereaux snr last year, and shortly before that he starred in the Netflix horror-comedy film We Have a Ghost alongside David Harbour and Jennifer Coolidge.