R.I.P. John Ashton, Beverly Hills Cop’s short-tempered Sergeant Taggart

Beverly Hills Cop Star John Ashton Passes Away at 76

Sad news everyone – John Ashton, the actor known for his role as Sgt. Taggart in “Beverly Hills Cop”, has died at the age of 76.

Ashton’s manager confirmed the news, but no cause of death has been released yet. This is a big loss for fans of 80s and 90s movies, as Ashton was a familiar face in tons of films and TV shows.

Most folks remember him as the no-nonsense cop alongside Eddie Murphy in “Beverly Hills Cop”. He was in the first two movies and even popped up in the recent Netflix sequel “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F”. Ashton himself talked about how the movie balanced humor with a serious police story, and his character was a key part of making that work.

He also teamed up with “Beverly Hills Cop” director Martin Brest again for another action-comedy classic, “Midnight Run”, starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin. Ashton played a bounty hunter, showing off his comedic chops in a different way.

But Ashton’s career goes way beyond those two movies. He had over 200 roles across film and television, starting back in the 70s with shows like “Kojak”, “Columbo”, and even “M*A*S*H”. He worked consistently in Hollywood, appearing in movies like “Some Kind of Wonderful”, “She’s Having a Baby”, “Curly Sue”, “Gone Baby Gone”, and many more.

Ashton’s family, including his wife, children, stepchildren, and siblings, are in our thoughts. He’ll be remembered as a talented actor who brought a lot of great characters to life.