John Ashton: Mourning for the “Beverly Hills Cop” star

Mourning for the film and TV star John Ashton (1948-2024): The actor who played police officer John Taggart in the “Beverly Hills Cop” films has died at the age of 76. on Thursday (September 26) in Fort Collins, Colorado, after a brief battle with cancer, the industry magazine reported, citing Ashton’s manager, Alan Somers.

John Ashton’s career, which began in the theater, spanned 50 years. He was seen in television series and films, including “Midnight Run – Five Days to Midnight” (1988) alongside Robert De Niro (81), “Little Big Boss” (1994) and “Gone Baby Gone – No Child’s Play ” (2007).

John Ashton celebrated his breakthrough with “Beverly Hills Cop”

Many viewers know him primarily through the “Beverly Hills Cop” films; the actor celebrated his breakthrough with part one in the early 1980s. Ashton was seen alongside Eddie Murphy (63) aka Axel Foley and Judge Reinhold (67) as Billy Rosewood. His Detective Sergeant Taggart was in the first two “Beverly Hills Cop” films in 1984 and 1987 and most recently in the Netflix film “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F”, which was released this year.

From the 1970s to the 2000s, John Ashton also made numerous appearances in well-known series, including “Kojak”, “Columbo”, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”, “M*A*S*H” and “Starsky & Hutch”. According to US media reports, Ashton once also had a recurring role in “Dallas”, where he played the character Willie Joe Garr.

The actor, who is from Springfield, Massachusetts, is survived by his wife of 24 years, Robin Hoye, and his children, Michelle Ashton and Michael Thomas Ashton, according to People magazine.