John Ashton, Beverly Hills Cop Actor, Dead at 76

John Ashton, the actor best known as detective John Taggart in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, has died. He was 76.

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Ashton died in his Colorado home on Friday after a battle with cancer, his rep confirmed to TMZ on Sunday.

Ashton cut his acting teeth in 1973 with an appearance in the film An Eye for an Eye , and went on to appear in numerous movies and TV shows in the decades that followed. He broke out in 1984’s Beverly Hills Cop , playing detective John Taggart, Billy Rosewood’s (played by Judge Reinhold) partner. He later starred in three of the four subsequent films in the Eddie Murphy-led franchise, most recently in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F , Netflix’s 30-years-later sequel that dropped on July 3.

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During his decades-long career, Ashton racked up TV credits for shows such as M*A*S*H*, Dallas, Breaking Away, The Twilight Zone, Hardball, EastEnders , King of the Hill, Fantasy Island and Brookside .

His additional film credits included Some Kind of Wonderful, Midnight Run, Fast Money, Little Big League, Trapped in Paradise and King Kong Lives .

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