John Ashton, ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ Actor, Dies at 76
John Ashton, known for playing John Taggert in Beverly Hills Cop and two sequels, has died. He was 76.
Ashton died Thursday in Fort Collins, Colorado, after a brief battle with cancer, his manager, Alan Somers, told The Hollywood Reporter.
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Ashton’s Detective Sergeant Taggart appeared in the first two Beverly Hills Cop movies in 1984 and 1987 alongside Eddie Murphy and Judge Reinhold. He returned as the character — now promoted to police chief — in 2024’s Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.
Ashton also appeared in films and TV shows that spanned more than a half-century, including 1973’s An Eye for an Eye, 1974’s So Evil, My Sister, 1976’s Cat Murkil and the Silks, 1979’s Borderline and 1981’s Honky Tonk Freeway.
More recently, he had roles in 2006’s Sweet Deadly Dreams, 2007’s Gone Baby Gone, 2009’s Middle Men and 2023’s Lonesome Soldier. On television, he guest starred on Columbo, Police Story, Barnaby Jones and M*A*S*H.
On Dallas in 1978-79, he played Willie Jo Garr, a business associate of JR’s (Larry Hagman) who accidentally causes the death of JR’s former secretary and mistress Julie Gray (Tina Louise).
John David Ashton was born Feb. 22, 1948, in Springfield, Massachusetts. His parents were Edward Richard Ashton Sr. and Eva May Ashton, who raised him in Enfield, Connecticut. He attended Enfield High School and Defiance College before transferring to USC, where he graduated with a BA in theater arts.
Ashton is survived by his sisters, Sharon Ann Ashton (and her husband, Montana State District Judge Kenneth R. Neill) and Linda Jean Ashton, and his brother, Edward Richard (Ann) Ashton Jr.
A celebration of life service will be held later. Donations in his memory can be made to Pathways Hospice Care, 305 Carpenter Road, Fort Collins, CO 80525.
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