Miguel Ferrer, who brought stern authority to his featured role on CBS' hit "NCIS: Los Angeles" and, before that, to NBC crime drama "Crossing Jordan," has died.

CBS said Ferrer died Thursday of cancer at his Los Angeles home. He was 61.

 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 seasons 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 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."

(Read also: 'Will & Grace' 10-episode revival set for 2017-18 season)

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 humor and a huge heart."

Ferrer began his career in the early 1980s with guest shots on many TV series. In 1990 he scored 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 Showtime's "Twin Peaks" revival airing this spring.

Along with TV, Ferrer appeared in more than 40 movies, including "RoboCop," where he played the villainous Bob Morton, designer of the title character, "Iron Man 3 ," where he portrayed the vice president, and "Traffic."

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

Before becoming an actor, he 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 and singer Debby Boone.