When John Ashton first appeared in Haroula Rose's “All Happy Families,” now in theaters, I smiled. As he did so many times throughout his career, Ashton helps make Rose's film believable. He was an actor who never seemed fake, even in the broader comedy scenes of hits like “Beverly Hills Cop” and “Midnight Run,” two of the best films of their era. Ashton added a run-of-the-mill credibility to everything he did, until the end, which sadly came this week when the actor died of cancer at age 76.
John Ashton, a graduate of the USC School of Theatre, was a staple of television and film in the '70s and '80s, appearing in several episodes of “Dallas” and in one-shots of everything from “Columbo” to “Police Squad.” He played characters in movies like “Breaking Away” and even “King Kong Lives,” but his gruff personality was a perfect fit for a couple of beloved '80s action comedies. First, as Taggart in “Beverly Hills Cop,” Ashton was the foil. perfect for Eddie Murphy, capturing the conservative, old-fashioned cop that Murphy's Axel Foley was designed to replace, while refusing to turn him into a two-dimensional dinosaur. Other actors would have leaned into the differences between Axel and Taggart, but Ashton gives a more complex performance than that, eventually realizing that his way of policing may not be the only one.
He's even better in 1988's “Midnight Run,” again knowing how to be a perfect supporting actor by balancing the energy of the leads without ever taking attention away from them. He memorably appeared in “Some Kind of Wonderful” between the two, but the '90s were tougher for Ashton with many forgettable roles in forgettable films. He was basically gone by the time Ben Affleck made the very smart decision to cast Ashton in “Gone Baby Gone,” where he reminded viewers how much he can do even in a limited role. He was recently seen reprising his role in “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” and can again be seen in Rose's film, making what he did well look very, very easy.