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

“It saved my life, probably,” he said.

Mr. Ashton began his career in stage acting in the 1960s. His critically acclaimed performance as Lee in Sam Shepard's “True West” at the South Coast Repertory Theater in Costa Mesa, California in 1981 opposite Ed Harris, eventually earned him an audition for “Beverly Hills Cop.”

After “Beverly Hills Cop II,” Mr. Ashton played bounty hunter Marvin Doerfler opposite Robert De Niro in the 1988 action comedy “Midnight Run.” Mr Ashton said De Niro chose him for the role after the two played a scene together. That same year, Mr. Ashton appeared in “She's Having a Baby,” a film about young newlyweds, marriage and family, starring Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern. Other film credits include “Some Kind of Wonderful,” “Little Big League,” “Instinct,” “Gone Baby Gone,” “Uncle John,” “All Happy Families” and “Once Upon a River.”

In 1989, Mr. Ashton landed a starring role in a television series, playing Charlie Battles on the NBC series “Hardball,” a show about a veteran police officer who teams up with a young hot shot. It lasted only one season. Other TV appearances include “The Twilight Zone,” “The A-Team,” “Police Squad!” “EastEnders,” “Brookside” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”

Mr. Ashton is survived by his wife, Robin Hoy; his sisters, Sharon Ann Ashton and Linda Jean Ashton; his brother, Edward Richard Ashton Jr.; her children, Michelle Ashton and Michael Thomas Ashton; and his grandson, Henry.

In a 2020 conversation with MovieJunk, Mr. Ashton, whose film “Once Upon a River” just opened, said he was far from Hollywood.

“I enjoy my job,” he said. “Someone asked me, 'When are you going to retire?' I said, 'What?' When I work, I love what I do, and when I'm not working I play golf, so am I going to retire? I'm not retiring. I will never retire.”