John Ashton, 'Beverly Hills Cop' actor, dies at 76

New York — John Aston, the veteran character actor who memorably played the grumpy but lovable police detective John Taggart in “Beverly Hills Cop,” has died. He was 76.

Ashton died Thursday in Fort Collins, Colorado, his family announced in a statement released Sunday by Ashton's manager Alan Somers. No cause of death was immediately available.

In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Ashton was a regular face across TV series and movies, including “Midnight Run,” “Little Big League” and “Gone Baby Gone.”

But in the “Beverly Hills Cop” movies, Ashton played an essential role in an indomitable trio. Although Eddie Murphy's Axel Foley, a Detroit detective, takes the lead after a case in Los Angeles, two local detectives – Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Ashton's Taggart – are Axel's sometimes reluctant, sometimes eager allies.

Of the three, Taggart — Billy from “Surge” — was the more sinister, by-the-book detective. But he was regularly involved in Axel's schemes. Ashton co-starred in the first two films, starting with the 1984 original, and returned for the Netflix reboot, “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” released earlier this year.

Ashton played a more unscrupulous character in Martin Brest's 1988 buddy comedy “Midnight Run.” He was a bounty hunter rivaling Charles Grodin's wanted accountant in “The Duke” while in the custody of Robert De Niro's Jack Walsh.

Speaking to Collider in July, Ashton recalled auditioning with De Niro.

“Bobby started giving me these matches, and I went to grab the matches, and he threw them on the floor and looked at me,” Ashton said. “I looked at the match, and I looked up, and I said, 'F—- you,' and he said, 'F—- you too.' I said, 'Go —— yourself.' I know every other actor picked them up and handed them to him, and as soon as I left, I knew he went, 'I want him,' because he wanted someone to stand up to him.”

Ashton is survived by his wife, Robin Hoy, of 24 years, two children, three stepsons, one grandson, two sisters and one brother.

___

This story has been updated to correct that Ashton starred in three “Beverly Hills Cop” movies, not four.