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.

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 two of the three 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.

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.