AP
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John Ashton, the veteran actor who played the gruff but lovable police detective John Taggart in the “Beverly Hills Cop” films, has died. He was 76.

Ashton died Thursday in Fort Collins, Colorado, his family announced in a statement released Sunday by Ashton’s manager, Alan Somers. A cause of death was not immediately known.

In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Ashton was a regular face in TV series and films including “Midnight Run,” “Little Big League” and “Gone Baby Gone.”

But in the ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ films, Ashton played an essential role in an indelible trio. Although Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley, a Detroit detective following a case in Los Angeles, was in charge, the two local detectives – Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Ashton’s Taggart – were Axel’s sometimes reluctant, sometimes enthusiastic associates.

Of the three, Taggart – ‘Sarge’ in Billy’s eyes – was the most fearful detective, by the book. But he was regularly lured into Axel’s plans. Ashton co-starred in all four films, starting with the 1984 original and continuing through the Netflix reboot, “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” released earlier this year.

Ashton played a more unscrupulous character in Martin Brest’s 1988 buddy comedy “Midnight Run.” He was the rival bounty hunter who also pursued Charles Grodin’s wanted accountant in “The Duke” while in the custody of Robert De Niro’s Jack Walsh.

When Ashton spoke to Collider in July, he recalled auditioning for De Niro.

“Bobby started handing me these matches, and I went to grab the matches, and he threw them on the ground and stared at me,” Ashton said. “I looked at the matches, and I looked up, and I said, ‘F– you,’ and he said, ‘F– you too.’ I said, ‘Go yourself.’ I know every other actor picked it up and handed it to him, and I found out that as soon as I left, he said, ‘I want it,’ because he wanted someone to stand up to him.

Ashton is survived by his wife, Robin Hoye, of 24 years, two children, three stepchildren, a grandson, two sisters and a brother.