What role did John Ashton play in Beverly Hills Cop? Details explored as actor passes away at 76

Actor John Ashton, who is best known as detective John Taggart in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, sadly passed away last Thursday at the age of 76. After a brief battle with cancer, Ashton died in his Colorado home on September 26.

His family announced his death in a statement released by Ashton’s manager, Alan Somers, on Sunday. No immediate cause of death was mentioned. John Ashton had a career that spanned more than 50 years. He was a regular face in TV series and films, including Midnight Run, Little Big League, and Gone Baby Gone.

---

All about John Ashton's role in Beverly Hills Cop

John Ashton started his acting career in 1973 with an appearance in the film An Eye for an Eye, but he made his breakthrough in 1984 playing detective John Taggart, Billy Rosewood’s partner in Beverly Hills Cop. Sergeant Taggart is a stickler for rules, and his character is balanced out by his partner, a younger, laid-back Billy. Ashton starred in three of the four films in the Eddie Murphy-led franchise, most recently in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, which dropped this July 3.

In the films, Ashton played an essential part of an indelible trio. Although the film's lead character was Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley, a Detroit detective following a case in Los Angeles, Billy Rosewood and Ashton’s Taggart were equally well-featured as local detectives and Axel’s sometimes reluctant collaborators. Although John Ashton's Taggart was the trio's most fearful and by-the-book detective, he would regularly be coaxed into Axel’s plans.

It all began in 1984 with Beverly Hills Cop, when Taggart and Rosewood had to help a fast, young officer from Detroit named Axel Foley track down the person who murdered his best friend. Soon, the trio embarked upon a thrilling but comedic adventure, bending the rules and having each other's backs through all four movies.

Although Taggart and Rosewood were initially cast for minor roles in the film, once Eddie Murphy joined the cast, they all became co-stars in the movie. In a 2020 interview with MovieJunk, a podcast and a YouTube channel, John Ashton commented on the chemistry that developed between all three of them:

“We just started developing a chemistry, and Marty saw it and loved it, and just kept letting us ad-lib and run with scenes,”

John Ashton reprised his role in the 1987 sequel, Beverly Hills Cop II, but gave Beverly Hills Cop III a miss. He returned for Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, released in July, where he reunited with his costars.

---

Ashton's life and roles

John David Ashton was born in 1948 in Springfield and graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in theater arts. His early film credits include roles in:

• An Eye for an Eye (1973)
• Borderline (1980)
• Breaking Away (1979)
• Last Resort (1986)
• Honky Tonk Freeway (1981)
• King Kong Lives (1986)

He has also appeared in the 1987 comedy-drama Some Kind of Wonderful and She's Having a Baby in 1988.

Ashton also appeared in the action-comedy Midnight Run as a rival bounty hunter to Robert De Niro's character and in Little Big League (1994) with Luke Edwards. He also appeared in a supporting role in the 2007 drama Gone Baby Gone, directed by Ben Affleck.

---

John Ashton was a prolific actor who will be remembered in the industry for his roles.