John Ashton, beloved for his role as the tough yet endearing detective John Taggart in the Beverly Hills Cop series, has died at the age of 76. His passing, which occurred on Thursday in Fort Collins, Colorado, was announced by his family through his manager, Alan Somers, on Sunday. The cause of death has not been disclosed.

With a career spanning more than five decades, Ashton became a familiar face on both TV and in films, with memorable performances in Midnight Run, Little Big League, and Gone Baby Gone. However, it was his portrayal of Detective Taggart in Beverly Hills Cop that left a lasting mark. Teaming up with Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley and Judge Reinhold’s Billy Rosewood, Ashton’s character brought both comic relief and heart to the action-packed franchise.

In Beverly Hills Cop, Ashton played the straight-laced and sometimes anxious Sergeant Taggart, who would often find himself reluctantly dragged into Axel Foley’s unconventional crime-solving methods. Ashton appeared in all four installments of the series, including the recent Netflix reboot, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, which premiered earlier this year.

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Ashton also shone in Martin Brest’s 1988 film Midnight Run, where he portrayed a rival bounty hunter alongside Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin. His bold performance during his audition with De Niro, as he once recounted, was what won him the role. Ashton recalled the unique moment in an interview, saying, “Bobby started handing me matches, threw them on the floor, and stared at me. I looked at the matches, then back at him, and said: ‘F— you.’ That was it. He wanted someone to stand up to him.”

John Ashton leaves behind his wife of 24 years, Robin Hoye, two children, three stepchildren, a grandson, two sisters, and a brother. His legacy as a character actor will live on in the many unforgettable roles he brought to life on screen.