AP
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John Ashton, the veteran character actor who memorably played the gruff but lovable police officer 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 initially not known.

In a career spanning more than 50 years, Ashton has been a regular face in television series and films, including “Midnight Run,” “Little Big League” and “Gone Baby Gone.”

But in the Beverly Hills Cop films, Ashton played an integral part of an indelible trio. Although it starred Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley, a Detroit detective pursuing a case in Los Angeles, the two local detectives – Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Ashton’s Taggart – were Axel’s sometimes reluctant, sometimes eager collaborators.

Of the three, Taggart – “Sarge” to Billy – was the more timid, stern detective. But he was regularly persuaded to go along with Axel’s plans. Ashton starred in all four films, from the 1984 original to the Netflix reboot “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” released earlier this year.

Ashton played a more ruthless 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 care of Robert De Niro’s Jack Walsh found.

In July, Ashton spoke to Collider about his audition with De Niro.

“Bobby started giving me these matches and I went to get them and he threw them on the floor and stared at me,” Ashton said. “I was looking at the matches and I looked up and said, ‘F– you,’ and he said, ‘F– you too.’ I said, “Go – yourself.” I know every other actor picked that up and gave it to him, and when I left I found out he said, “I want it,” because he wanted that someone defends himself against him.”

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