John Ashton (actor)
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John Ashton | |
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![]() Ashton in 2006 | |
Born | John David Ashton February 22, 1948 |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1973–present |
Spouse(s) | Victoria Marie Runn
(m. 1968; div. 1970)Bridget Alison Baker
(m. 1976; div. 2001) |
Children | 2 |
John David Ashton (born February 22, 1948) is an American actor, known for his roles in Beverly Hills Cop, Beverly Hills Cop II, Some Kind of Wonderful and Midnight Run.
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[]
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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 | Coach Larkin | ||
1977 | Oh, God! | Police Officer | |
1977 | Starsky & Hutch (TV series) | Paul H. Willits | |
1978 | 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 | |
1986 | Hardcastle and McCormick | Leonard Porter | |
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 film |
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 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 | Matt Kravinsky | ||
2017 | My Little Baby | Sheriff Johnson | |
2018 | The Joke Thief | Joseph Rogers |
References[]
- ^ Buchanan, Jason. "John Ashton film biography". AllRovi. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "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.
External links[]
- 1948 births
- Living people
- American male film actors
- American male television actors
- Male actors from Massachusetts
- Actors from Springfield, Massachusetts
- USC School of Dramatic Arts alumni