John Ashton

Actor Feb 22 (died age 76) Springfield, Massachusetts, USA 1952–2024 (72 year career)

6.1 avg rating

Biography

John David Ashton (February 22, 1948 – September 26, 2024) was an American actor best known for his role as Sergeant John Taggart in the hit action-comedy films Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2025) where he played alongside Eddie Murphy. Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, Ashton developed a passion for acting early in life, later attending the University of Southern California's School of Theatre. Beyond his iconic role in the Beverly Hills…

Known For

Film

Gone Baby Gone

Det. Nick Poole

Film

Beverly Hills Cop

Sgt. Taggart

Film

Beverly Hills Cop II

John Taggart

Film

Midnight Run

Marvin Dorfler, Headhunter

Film

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F

Chief John Taggart

Film

Some Kind of Wonderful

Cliff Nelson

Film

Instinct

Guard Dacks

Film

Curly Sue

Frank Arnold

Filmography

Acting (79)

Movies (52)

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F

2024

as Chief John Taggart

6.7

BRATS

2024

as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

All Happy Families

as Roy Landry

Lonesome Soldier

as Macroberts

Death in Texas

as Asher

The Last Big Save

as Joseph Bird Sr.

American Christmas

as Rob

Making a Deal with the Devil

2019

as FBI Director

Once Upon a River

The Joke Thief

as Joseph Rogers

Uncle John

as Uncle John

A Letter to Dad

as Mike Donahue

Middle Men

as Morgan

Gone Baby Gone

as Det. Nick Poole

Reign of the Gargoyles

2007

as Commander Latham

5.9

Bill's Gun Shop

2001

as Bill Voight

Escape from Alaska

as Kemp

Instinct

as Guard Dacks

Meet the Deedles

as Capt. Douglas Pine

4.5

The Day Lincoln Was Shot

1998

as Ulysses S. Grant

6.8

Little Girls in Pretty Boxes

as Peter Bryant

Fast Money

as Lt. Diego

For Which He Stands

as District Attorney

The Shooter

as Alex Reed

Condition Red

as Deputy Warden

Trapped in Paradise

as Ed Dawson

Little Big League

as Mac MacNally

Dirty Work

as Eddie Ryan

Curly Sue

as Frank Arnold

I Want to Go Home

as Harry Dempsey

Midnight Run

as Marvin Dorfler, Headhunter

She's Having a Baby

as Ken

Beverly Hills Cop II

as John Taggart

Some Kind of Wonderful

1987

as Cliff Nelson

6.8

King Kong Lives

1986

as Lt. Col. R.T. Nevitt

5.2

The Deliberate Stranger

as Det. Roger Dunn

Last Resort

as Phil Cocoran

Beverly Hills Cop

as Sgt. Taggart

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

1984

as Highway Patrolman

6.0

Money Hunt: The Mystery of the Missing Link

1984

as Cash Hunt

Honky Tonk Freeway

1981

as Otto Kemper

5.2

Elvis and the Beauty Queen

as Jake

Borderline

as Charlie Monroe

Breaking Away

as Mike's Brother

Lawman Without a Gun

as 1st State Trooper

The Wilds of Ten Thousand Islands

1978

as Orville

Oh, God!

1977

as Police Officer (uncredited)

6.5

Cat Murkil and the Silks

1976

as Coach Larkin

4.0

My Father's House

1975

as Sergeant

Psycho Sisters

1974

as Brock

An Eye for an Eye

1973

as Sgt. Matthews

5.0

Hot Bath an' a Stiff Drink 2

as Judge Nathan Rivers

Television (27)

The Finder

as Franklin Sherman

Fairly Legal

as Lou Fisher

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

as Alan Fewkes

Judging Amy

as Dashiel Purdue

Fantasy Island

as Bobby

King of the Hill

as Instructor (voice)

JAG

as Brian Turque

The Tommyknockers

as Butch Duggan

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

A Touch of Frost

Love, Lies and Murder

1991

as Carrothers

4.5

I Know My First Name Is Steven

as Del Stayner

Hardball

as Charlie Battles

The Deliberate Stranger

1986

as Det. Roger Dunn

The Twilight Zone

1985

as Chief Brady Simmons (segment "Chameleon")

7.8

A Death in California

1985

as Bob Swalwell

3.7

The A-Team

1983

as Cactus Jack Slater

Police Squad!

Dallas

as Willie Joe Garr

Code R

as Karl

Starsky & Hutch

Police Woman

Kojak

as Cullen

Police Story

M*A*S*H

Columbo

as Calvin MacGruder

Today

as Self