John Ashton Dies: ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ Star Was 76

Beverly Hills Cop star John Ashton has died at the age of 76. The actor was known for playing Detective Sergeant John Taggart in the film franchise opposite Eddie Murphy and Judge Reinhold.

Ashton died on Thursday, September 26 in Fort Collins, Colorado. His death was confirmed by his manager, Alan Somers, to Variety. Ashton’s rep told TMZ that the actor died peacefully after a battle with cancer.

“John leaves behind a legacy of love, dedication, and service,” Somers said in a statement. “His memory will forever be treasured by his wife, children, grandchildren, as well as his brother, sisters, his extended family and all who loved him. John’s impact on the world will be remembered and celebrated for generations to come.”

Ashton’s family requests that any donations in John’s memory be made to Pathways Hospice Care.

Ashton recently reprised his role as John Taggart in the 2024 film Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, which premiered on Netflix in July. Taggart was a detective in the first two Beverly Hills Cop movies. In Ashton’s third and now final film in the franchise, Taggart had been upped to police chief.

John Ashton, Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, 2024 (Melinda Sue Gordon / Netflix / Everett Collection)

Ashton played many law enforcement officers over the years of his career onscreen both before and after Beverly Hills Cop made him a familiar face. But it was the Murphy-led action-comedy that became his breakout role.

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Ashton has costarred as law enforcement with actors like Dennis Quaid in 1979’s Breaking Away and Charles Grodin and Robert De Niro in 1989’s Midnight Run. He played detectives in the TV miniseries A Death in California (ABC, 1985) and The Deliberate Stranger (NBC, 1986) and a sheriff in Stephen King‘s The Tommyknockers (ABC, 1993).

Detective roles were the bread and butter for the character actor. He reprised his Breaking Away role in the short-lived series of the same name on ABC from 1980-81 and had a leading role in the NBC police drama Hardball (1989-90), in which he played a veteran detective paired with a cocky, inexperienced partner. Ashton played Detective Sergeant Anderson in five episodes of Brookside. In 2009, he played a Chief of Detectives in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Ashton has nearly 100 acting credits on his resume spanning across TV and film. Other TV credits include M*A*S*H, JAG, EastEnders, The Tracey Ullman Show, and King of the Hill, among others.

Ashton was born February 22, 1948 in Springfield, Massachusetts and was raised in Enfield, Connecticut. He began his acting career on the stage in Los Angeles in the early 1970s after graduating from the University of Southern California.