
John Ashton
Actor · 1948 – 2024 · Springfield, Massachusetts, USA
John David Ashton (February 22, 1948 – September 26, 2024) was an American actor best known for his role as Sergeant John Taggart in the hit action-comedy films Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2025) where he played alongside Eddie Murphy. Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, Ashton developed a passion for acting early in life, later attending the University of Southern California's School of Theatre. Beyond his iconic role in the Beverly Hills Cop series, Ashton appeared in a wide range of films and TV shows throughout his career. His notable film appearances include Midnight Run (1988) alongside Robert De Niro, where he portrayed a bounty hunter named Marvin Dorfler. On television, Ashton has made guest appearances on popular series such as Columbo, MASH, and The A-Team. Ashton's performances are often characterized by his ability to balance humor and toughness, making him a beloved character actor, especially in roles that highlight his everyman charm and strong screen presence.
Movies24
Movie7.2ComedyCrimeFast-talking, quick-thinking Detroit street cop Axel Foley has bent more than a few rules and regs in his time, but when his best friend is murdered, he heads to sunny Beverly Hills to work the case like only he can.
Beverly Hills Cop
1984 · 4.7K votes
Movie6.5ActionComedyAxel Foley returns to the land of sunshine and palm trees to investigate the near-fatal shooting of police Captain Andrew Bogomil. With the help of Sgt. Taggart and Det. Rosewood, they soon uncover that the shooting is associated with a series of "alphabet" robberies masterminded by a heartless weapons kingpin—and the chase is on.
Beverly Hills Cop II
1987 · 2.9K votes
Movie6.6ActionComedyForty years after his unforgettable first case in Beverly Hills, Detroit cop Axel Foley returns to do what he does best: solve crimes and cause chaos.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
2024 · 1.5K votes
Movie7.3CrimeDramaWhen 4 year old Amanda McCready disappears from her home and the police make little headway in solving the case, the girl's aunt, Beatrice McCready hires two private detectives, Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro. The detectives freely admit that they have little experience with this type of case, but the family wants them for two reasons—they're not cops and they know the tough neighborhood in which they all live.
Gone Baby Gone
2007 · 4.3K votes
Movie7.2ComedyCrimeA bounty hunter pursues a former Mafia accountant who is also being chased by a rival bounty hunter, the F.B.I., and his old mob boss after jumping bail.
Midnight Run
1988 · 1.3K votes
Movie6.0Science FictionComedyAdventurer/surgeon/rock musician Buckaroo Banzai and his band of men, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, take on evil alien invaders from the 8th dimension.
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
1984 · 518 votes
Movie5.2FantasyActionAfter falling from the Twin Towers, Kong lies in a coma for ten years. When his heart begins to fail, scientists engineer an artificial heart, and a giant female ape is captured to serve as a source for a blood transfusion. When Kong awakens following his heart transplant, he senses the nearby presence of the female ape and the two escape to wreak havoc together.
King Kong Lives
1986 · 273 votes
Movie6.5DramaThrillerIn a prison for the criminally insane, deranged anthropologist Ethan Powell is set to be examined by a bright young psychiatrist, Theo Caulder. Driven by ambition and a hunger for the truth, Caulder will eventually risk everything—even put his very life on the line—in a harrowing attempt to understand the bizarre actions of this madman.
Instinct
1999 · 680 votes
Movie5.9ComedyDramaJake and Kristy Briggs are newlyweds. Being young, they are perhaps a bit unprepared for the full reality of marriage and all that it (and their parents) expect from them. Do they want babies? Their parents certainly want them to. Is married life all that there is? Things certainly aren't helped by Jake's friend Davis, who always seems to turn up just in time to put a spanner in the works.
She's Having a Baby
1988 · 232 votes
Movie6.4ComedyDramaBill is a penniless drifter who scams strangers out of just enough money to feed himself and his partner in crime, an orphan girl known as Curly Sue. Bill and Curly Sue target Grey, a yuppie lawyer, but their con takes an unexpected turn when the successful woman begins to like the ramshackle duo. But there's one problem—Grey's jealous, conniving boyfriend, Walker.
Curly Sue
1991 · 587 votes
Movie6.5DramaComedyChronicles Jack Harris, one of the pioneers of internet commerce, as he wrestles with his morals and struggles not to drown in a sea of conmen, mobsters, drug addicts, and pornstars.
Middle Men
2009 · 357 votes
Movie6.0ActionCrimeJeb Maynard is a patrolman guarding the U.S.-Mexican border, whose partner and buddy Scooter has just been murdered. Maynard knows that a smuggler of illegal aliens is responsible for Scooter's death, but the feds insist that drug dealers committed the crime.
Borderline
1980 · 57 votes
Movie7.2DramaComedyDave, nineteen, has just graduated high school, with his three friends: the comical Cyril, the warm hearted but short-tempered Moocher, and the athletic, spiteful but good-hearted Mike. Now, Dave enjoys racing bikes and hopes to race the Italians one day, and even takes up the Italian culture, much to his friends' and parents' annoyance.
Breaking Away
1979 · 307 votes
Movie6.9RomanceComedyKeith Nelson, an artsy high school outcast, tries to land a date with popular girl Amanda Jones with some help from his tomboy best friend, Watts. However, Watts realizes she likes Keith as more than just a friend and tries to convince him to stop pursuing Amanda. Matters are further complicated when Keith's invitation draws the ire of Amanda's rich yet snobby ex-boyfriend, Hardy Jenns, who makes plans to get even.
Some Kind of Wonderful
1987 · 560 votes
Movie5.6ComedyCrimeResidents of a friendly Pennsylvania town foil three brothers' plan to rob a bank on Christmas Eve.
Trapped in Paradise
1994 · 289 votes
Movie4.8ActionThrillerA CIA agent gets caught up in political intrigue after he gets brought in to solve the murder of a Cuban ambassador.
The Shooter
1995 · 61 votes
Movie6.4FantasyComedyWhen God appears to an assistant grocery manager as a good natured old man, the Almighty selects him as his messenger for the modern world.
Oh, God!
1977 · 142 votes
Movie6.1DocumentaryIn the 1980s, Andrew McCarthy was part of a young generation of actors who were set to take over Hollywood after a string of successful teen movies. However, when the New York magazine cover story in 1985 dubs them the Brat Pack, stars in the making suddenly find themselves losing control over the trajectory of their careers. Now, almost forty years later, McCarthy looks to reconnect with peers and co-stars so that together they can reflect on their respective legacies.
BRATS
2024 · 59 votes
Movie6.0ComedyFamilyWhen the owner of the Minnesota Twins passes away, he bequeaths the team to his preteen grandson. The newly minted head honcho quickly appoints himself manager, causing unrest in an organization that struggles to take orders from a 12-year-old.
Little Big League
1994 · 122 votes
Movie5.2CrimeDramaRecently released from prison, Billy will do whatever it takes to save the only person who has stuck by him, his mother Grace who desperately needs a liver transplant and she is all out of legal options.
Death in Texas
2022 · 6 votes
Movie6.3DramaCrimeBased on a true story, this film depicts the life of Ted Bundy, the serial killer. In 1974, after having murdered several young women, he leaves Seattle for Utah, where he is a law student and where other girls disappear. It takes the cooperation of a number of police forces to work efficiently on this case. Soon, but not soon enough, the police eliminate endless possibilities and close in on him. Bundy is tried in the media and his good-boy attitude brings him sympathy but also the hatred of many.
The Deliberate Stranger
1986 · 26 votes
Movie4.5ComedyFamilyTwo surfers end up as Yellowstone park rangers and have to stop a former ranger who is out for revenge.
Meet the Deedles
1998 · 89 votes
Movie5.4ComedyTiclaw, a small town in Florida, has only one attraction: a safari park. The government constructs a freeway that passes near Ticlaw, but decides not to put an exit into the town. The people of Ticlaw, leaded by its Mayor, will do anything in order to convince the governor to alter the project.
Honky Tonk Freeway
1981 · 27 votes
Movie9.0DramaTV MovieDuring the 1960s' civil rights movement, a black civil rights worker returns to his small Southern town and runs for sheriff against the incumbent, a popular segregationist.
Lawman Without a Gun
1979 · 1 votes
Series24
TV8.0CrimeDramaIn the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999 · 4.4K votes
TV7.2DramaAction & AdventureHarmon "Harm" Rabb Jr. is a former pilot turned lawyer working for the military's JAG (Judge Advocate General) division, the elite legal wing of officers that prosecutes and defends those accused of military-related crimes. He works closely with Lt. Col. Sarah Mackenzie, and together they do what needs to be done to find the truth.
JAG
1995 · 409 votes
TV8.1CrimeDramaColumbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently underestimated by his suspects. Despite his unprepossessing appearance and apparent absentmindedness, he shrewdly solves all of his cases and secures all evidence needed for indictment. His formidable eye for detail and meticulously dedicated approach often become clear to the killer only late in the storyline.
Columbo
1971 · 857 votes
TV7.4AnimationComedySet in Texas, this animated series follows the life of propane salesman Hank Hill, who lives with his overly confident substitute Spanish teacher wife Peggy, wannabe comedian son Bobby, and naive niece Luanne. Hank has conservative views about God, family, and country, but his values and ethics are often challenged by the situations he, his family, and his beer-drinking neighbors/buddies find themselves in.
King of the Hill
1997 · 699 votes
TV5.4Talk ShowComedyJay Leno hosts some of the biggest celebrities in the world.
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992 · 106 votes
TV7.5Action & AdventureComedyA fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel work as soldiers of fortune while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit."
The A-Team
1983 · 1.1K votes
TV6.9SoapDramaThe world's first mega-soap, and one of the most popular ever produced, Dallas had it all. Beautiful women, expensive cars, and men playing Monopoly with real buildings. Famous for one of the best cliffhangers in TV history, as the world asked "Who shot J.R.?" A slow-burner to begin with, Dallas hit its stride in the 2nd season, with long storylines and expert character development. Dallas ruled the airwaves in the 1980's.
Dallas
1978 · 248 votes
TV7.9War & PoliticsDramaThe 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is stuck in the middle of the Korean war. With little help from the circumstances they find themselves in, they are forced to make their own fun. Fond of practical jokes and revenge, the doctors, nurses, administrators, and soldiers often find ways of making wartime life bearable.
M*A*S*H
1972 · 769 votes
TV5.6NewsTalk ShowToday is a daily American morning television show that airs on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television and in the world, and is the fifth-longest running American television series. Originally a two-hour program on weekdays, it expanded to Sundays in 1987 and Saturdays in 1992. The weekday broadcast expanded to three hours in 2000, and to four hours in 2007. Today's dominance was virtually unchallenged by the other networks until the late 1980s, when it was overtaken by ABC's Good Morning America. Today retook the Nielsen ratings lead the week of December 11, 1995, and held onto that position for 852 consecutive weeks until the week of April 9, 2012, when it was beaten by Good Morning America yet again. In 2002, Today was ranked #17 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest Television Shows of All Time.
Today
1952 · 32 votes
TV7.5DramaJudging Amy is an American television drama that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS-TV. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character is a judge who serves in a family court, and in addition to the family-related cases that she adjudicates, many episodes of the show focus on her own experiences as a divorced mother, and on the experiences of her mother, a social worker who works in the field of child welfare. This series was based on the life experiences of Brenneman's mother.
Judging Amy
1999 · 84 votes
TV7.7Sci-Fi & FantasyDramaThis 1980s revival of the classic sci-fi series features a similar style to the original anthology series. Each episode tells a tale (sometimes two or three) rooted in horror or suspense, often with a surprising twist at the end. Episodes usually feature elements of drama and comedy.
The Twilight Zone
1985 · 264 votes
TV7.6DramaCrimeJack Frost is a gritty, dogged and unconventional detective with sympathy for the underdog and an instinct for moral justice who attracts trouble like a magnet. Despite some animosity with his superintendent, Norman “Horn-rimmed Harry” Mullett, Frost and his ever-changing roster of assistants manage to solve cases via his clever mind, good heart, and cool touch.
A Touch of Frost
1992 · 79 votes
TV7.3Action & AdventureDramaStreetwise Detective David Starsky partners up with a more intellectual partner, Kenneth 'Hutch' Hutchinson, to protect citizens and patrol the streets of Bay City.
Starsky & Hutch
1975 · 208 votes
TV7.3CrimeDramaA bald, lollipop sucking police detective with a fiery righteous attitude battles crime in New York City.
Kojak
1973 · 154 votes
TV7.0Action & AdventureCrimeDetective Cheng is commissioned by Interpol to destroy the Empire of Chaiba, a worldwide criminal organization based in Southeast Asia. He initiates an undercover operation to infiltrate the organization.
Police Story
1973 · 20 votes
TV6.6DramaComedyKate Reed is a firm believer that justice can always be found – even if it's not always in the courtroom. Once a lawyer at her family's esteemed San Francisco firm, Kate's frustration with the legal system led her to a new career as a mediator. Thanks to her innate understanding of human nature, thorough legal knowledge, and wry sense of humor, Kate is a natural when it comes to dispute resolution. Except, it seems, when it comes to conflicts in her own life.
Fairly Legal
2011 · 62 votes
TV7.1DramaWalter Sherman, an Iraq War veteran, has the extraordinary ability to help people find the unfindable.
The Finder
2012 · 187 votes
TV7.9ComedyCrimeIn this cult parody of cop dramas, replete with farce and sight gags, Lieutenant Frank Drebin and his fellow officers from Police Squad bungle their way though crime investigations.
Police Squad!
1982 · 451 votes
TV7.4Sci-Fi & FantasyDramaMr. Roarke and his three assistants run a tropical paradise where guests come in to have their wildest dreams and fantasies come true.
Fantasy Island
1998 · 16 votes
TV7.0CrimeAction & AdventureBattles is a 45-year-old hard-nosed veteran cop who is forced to take a desk job or retire. Battles is soon assigned a new partner, the 25-year old hotshot Kaczierowski who follows his own set of rules when dealing with criminals. The pair are soon at odds over their respective methods of law enforcement. HARDBALL is an American crime drama television series that ran on NBC during the 1989-1990 television schedule.
Hardball
1989 · 4 votes
TV6.7DramaCrimeIn 1973, 7-year-old Steven Stayner is kidnapped by pedophile Kenneth Parnell. Under the belief that Parnell has been given legal custody of him, and that his family has moved away, he stays with Parnell for seven years, enduring repetitive sexual abuse the entire time. Finally, in 1980, when Parnell kidnaps another young boy, Steven finds a way for them both to escape and return home.
I Know My First Name Is Steven
1989 · 41 votes
TV8.0Action & AdventureCode R is an American action-adventure television series that aired on CBS from January 21 to June 10, 1977. Code R focuses on the emergency services of the California Channel Islands. The series stars James Houghton, Martin Kove and Tom Simcox and ran for a single season of thirteen episodes.
Code R
1977 · 1 votes
TV5.5Sci-Fi & FantasyMysteryA buried UFO slowly turns local inhabitants into gizmo-building alien mutants.
The Tommyknockers
1993 · 207 votes
TV4.9CrimeDramaWhen a young homemaker is murdered, the cops find her troubled daughter guilty after she confesses to the crime--but was she really the killer? LOVE, LIES, AND MURDER is a 1991 American miniseries starring Clancy Brown, Sheryl Lee, Moira Kelly, Tom Bower, John Ashton, and Cynthia Nixon. It is based on the 1985 murder of Linda Bailey Brown. The names were not changed for the film. The miniseries is four hours long and aired on NBC in two parts, the first on February 16, 1991, and the second on February 18, 1991. Lifetime airs the miniseries.
Love, Lies and Murder
1991 · 7 votes