Actor John Beasley passed away at the age of 79 due to liver problems. The news was confirmed by his children and his grandson, NBA player Malik Beasley, who shared three photos of him on his Instagram account. The exact cause of death was not confirmed.
Beasley was known for playing various characters on popular television series such as Everwood where he starred (in the role of bus driver Irv Harper). He was also part of series such as Your Honor, Limetown, The Soul Man, Treme, CSI, Boston Legal, NCIS and Firestarter, among others. He also appeared in the first episode of The Mandalorian,
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The actor died after a "brief and unexpected illness" in a hospital in his hometown of Omaha (Nebraska), according to his representative Don Spradlin. His sons Tyrone and Michael Beasley also confirmed his passing.
Tyrone told The Hollywood Reporter that his father had "undergone constant liver tests due to liver problems and his health unexpectedly took a turn for the worse."
On his Facebook account, Michael posted a very emotional message and described his father as his "hero":
Today I lost my best friend. They say you should never meet your heroes because they don't turn out to be who you thought they were. That is so wrong. My hero was my father. Thank you for everything.
Before his death, the actor was to make his Broadway debut playing Noah (as an old man) in the musical adaptation of The Notebook. Beasley considered it to be the "role of a lifetime" and told American Theatre:
That Broadway comes at this age, I guess that's par for my course. I think it's the ultimate validation of my acting career. Broadway has always been that vision. I have been told it is life-changing. Being a working artist is the highest calling, and I appreciate wherever it takes me. If I never made it to Broadway, I would still feel like I've had a pretty successful career.
The actor began his career in Hollywood at the age of 45. In 1990 he starred in the series Brewster Place with Oprah Winfrey. This was one of his first roles.
In 1990 John Beasley starred in Brewster Place with @Oprah @OprahDaily pic.twitter.com/H26bSBtJV6
— Let The Checks Roll Accordingly (@PoeticJusticeK) May 31, 2023
In addition to his career in Hollywood, he founded the John Beasley Theater and Workshop in Omaha, a theater that taught acting classes and theatre workshops.
We changed the lives of many people through theater alone.
