John Ashton, the unforgettable Sergeant Taggart from 'Beverly Hills Cop,' passes away.

Actor John Ashton, best known for portraying Sergeant John Taggart in Beverly Hills Cop, alongside Judge Reinhold and Eddie Murphie, passed away at age 76 after a brief battle with cancer. In addition to this role in the Veverly Hills Cop series, Ashton appeared in nearly 100 movies and television series (such as Dallas) during his career that spanned over 50 years.

Reinhold shared the news publicly in a post he uploaded to his X account: 

"Thursday night John seemed like he was sleeping but the Yankees were on. They won the game, clinched the division then John made it to home. Forty years of laughs on screen and off. John LIVED his life! 

My brother, my partner, my Sarge - I love you. There’s no smoking in Heaven, John."

In addition to the movie to which he owes his fame, Ashton is credited in Some Kind of Wonderful (as Eric Stoltz's father), Midnight Run (where he played the antagonist opposite Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin), An Eye for an Eye, Gone Baby Gone, Borderline, Columbo, M*A*S*H, Starsky & Hutch, Dallas and numerous other television series.