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John Ashton, identified for his position as John Taggart in Eddie Murphy’s Beverly Hills Cop movies, has died on the age of 76, his supervisor confirmed Sunday (September 29).
Ashton handed away “peacefully” on Thursday in Fort Collins, Colorado, following a battle with most cancers
“John was a loving husband, brother, father, and grandfather who can be deeply missed by all who knew him,” reads a press release shared with The Unbiased.
“John leaves behind a legacy of affection, dedication, and repair. His reminiscence will eternally be treasured by his spouse, kids, grandchildren, in addition to his brother, sisters, his prolonged household and all who cherished him. John’s affect on the world can be remembered and celebrated for generations to return.”
Ashton was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1948. After attending Defiance School in Defiance, Ohio, for 2 years, he transferred to the College of Southern California and graduated with a BA in theater arts.
His early movie credit included roles in An Eye for an Eye (1973), Breaking Away (1979), Borderline (1980), Honky Tonk Freeway (1981), Final Resort (1986) and King Kong Lives (1986).
After first portraying Sergeant Taggart in 1984’s Beverly Hills Cop with Murphy and Decide Reinhold, Ashton reprised the position for the 1987 sequel and most just lately returned for Netflix’s Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024).
Talking in regards to the fame the comedy franchise introduced him, Ashton instructed Comic Book Resources earlier this yr: “I stroll down the road, and folks go, ‘Hey Taggart! Hey Taggart!’ You understand, when it first began taking place, I bought a bit upset as a result of I had carried out so many different issues.
“I mentioned, ‘Properly, you realize, I’ve carried out extra issues than simply Taggart.’ Because the years have gone on, I form of actually get pleasure from it now. There’s not too many actors that may put a stamp on a task that can be with them for eternity, so I take that as an honor now.”
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Ashton appeared as Eric Stoltz’s character’s father within the 1987 John Hughes-penned comedy Some Type of Great, and labored with Hughes once more in She’s Having a Child in 1988.
In the identical yr, he starred as a rival bounty hunter to Robert De Niro in Midnight Run.
Typically typecast as authority figures, Ashton went on to play park ranger Douglas Pine in Meet the Deedles (1996), a brutal jail guard in Intuition (1999) and Detective Nick Poole in Ben Affleck’s Gone Child Gone (2007).
His different movie credit embrace Curly Sue (1991), Little Massive League (1994), Center Males (2009) and As soon as Upon a River (2019). On tv, he starred in episodes of Columbo, Surprise Girl, M*A*S*H, Starsky & Hutch, Dallas, The A-Group, The Twilight Zone, Judging Amy and Legislation & Order: Particular Victims Unit.
Ashton is survived by his spouse of 24 years, Robin Hoye, in addition to his kids Michelle Ashton and Michael Thomas Ashton, his stepchildren Courtney Donovan, Lindsay Curcio and Ashley Hoye, and his grandson Henry.
