John Ashton (actor)

John David Ashton (born February 22, 1948) is an American actor, known for his roles in the films Beverly Hills Cop, Beverly Hills Cop II, and Midnight Run.

John Ashton
Ashton in 2006
Born
John David Ashton

(1948-02-22) February 22, 1948
OccupationActor
Years active1973–present
Spouse(s)
Victoria Marie Runn
(m. 1968; div. 1970)

Bridget Alison Baker
(m. 1976; div. 2001)
Children2

Life and career

Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, Ashton attended Defiance College in Ohio and is a graduate of the University of Southern California School of Theatre.[1] He attended Enfield High School in Enfield, Connecticut.

Ashton has made numerous appearances in both television and feature films. He played Willie Joe Garr on several episodes of Dallas. He appeared in an episode of Columbo, "Negative Reaction", and in episode 5 of Police Squad!, "Rendezvous at Big Gulch (Terror in the Neighborhood)".

His early film credits included roles in An Eye for an Eye (1973), Breaking Away (1979), Borderline (1980), Honky Tonk Freeway (1981), Last Resort (1986) and King Kong Lives (1986).

Ashton also starred as Detective Sergeant John Taggart in the first two installments of the Beverly Hills Cop trilogy, alongside Eddie Murphy and Judge Reinhold. He appeared as Eric Stoltz's character's father in the 1987 John Hughes-penned comedy-drama Some Kind of Wonderful, and worked with Hughes again in She's Having a Baby the following year. In 1988, he co-starred in the action-comedy Midnight Run as a rival bounty hunter to Robert De Niro's character. He also starred in Little Big League (1994) with Luke Edwards, Trapped in Paradise (1994), The Shooter (1995), Meet the Deedles (1998), Instinct (1999), and appeared in a supporting role in the 2007 drama Gone Baby Gone directed by Ben Affleck. He also played the role of Cactus Jack Slater in an episode of the 80s TV show The A-Team titled "Cup A Joe".

Ashton has stated that, given the proper arrangements, he would like to reprise his roles in the rumored Beverly Hills Cop IV and Midnight Run II productions.[2] He guest-starred opposite Beverly Hills Cop co-star Ronny Cox in an episode of Matthew Perry's 2011 series, Mr Sunshine.[2]

Personal life

Ashton married his first wife Victoria Marie Runn in 1968: they divorced in 1970. He married his second wife Bridget Baker-Ashton in 1976: they divorced in 2001. Ashton has two children, one by each of his ex-wives. He has a daughter from his first marriage. He currently resides in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Selected filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1973 An Eye for an Eye Sgt. Matthews
1974 Columbo Calvin MacGruder
1974 So Evil, My Sister Brock
1975 My Father's House Sergeant TV series
1977 M*A*S*H (TV series) MP tasked to arrest B.J. Episode: "Last Laugh"
1976 Cat Murkil and the Silks Coach Larkin
1977 Oh, God! Police Officer
1977 Starsky & Hutch (TV series) Paul H. Willits
1978 The Wilds of Ten Thousand Islands Orville TV series
1978 Starsky & Hutch (TV series) Roy Sears TV series
1978 Lawman Without a Gun 1st State Trooper
1980 Breaking Away Mike's Brother
1980 Borderline Border Patrol Agent Charlie Monroe
1981 Elvis and the Beauty Queen Jake TV series
1981 Honky Tonk Freeway Otto Kemper
1984 The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension Highway Patrolman
1984 Beverly Hills Cop Sgt. John Taggart
1985 The A-Team Cactus Jack Slater TV series
1986 Last Resort Phil Cocorun
1986 The Deliberate Stranger Det. Roger Dunn TV series
1986 King Kong Lives Lt. Col. R. T. Nevitt
1987 Some kind of Wonderful Cliff Nelson
1987 Beverly Hills Cop II Sgt. John Taggart
1988 She's Having a Baby Ken
1988 Midnight Run Marvin Dorfler
1989 I Want to Go Home Harry Dempsey
1989 I Know My First Name Is Steven Del Stayner
1991 Curly Sue Frank Arnold
1991 Saturday's George TV series
1992 Dirty Work Eddie TV series
1994 Little Big League Mac Macnally
1994 Trapped in Paradise Ed Dawson
1995 In the Living Years Mike Donahue
1995 Hidden Assassin Alex Reed
1996 For Which He Stands District Attorney
1996 Fast Money Lt. Diego
1997 Little Girls in Pretty Boxes Peter Bryant TV series
1998 Meet the Deedles Capt. Douglas Pine
1998 The Day Lincoln Was Shot Gen. Ulysses Simpson Grant TV series
1999 Avalanche aka Escape from Alaska Kemp
2001 Bill's Gun Shop Bill Voight
2003 Family Martin TV Mini Series
2005 Jane Doe: Til Death Do Us Part Richie Parsons TV series
2006 Sweet Deadly Dreams Harry
2007 Reign of the Gargoyles Commander Latham TV series
2007 Gone Baby Gone Detective Nick Poole
2009 Middle Men Morgan
2009 A Letter to Dad Mike
2015 Uncle John John
2017 The Neighborhood Matt Kravinsky
2017 My Little Baby Sheriff Johnson
2018 The Joke Thief Joseph Rogers

References

  1. Buchanan, Jason. "John Ashton film biography". AllRovi. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
  2. "The Official Website of the Actor". American Actor John Ashton. July 14, 2014. Archived from the original on March 6, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
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