John Ashton, the veteran character actor who memorably played the terrifying but lovable police detective John Taggart in the Beverly Hills Cop films, has died. He was 76 years old.

Ashton died on Thursday in Fort Collins, Colorado, his family announced in a statement released by Ashton’s manager Alan Somers on Sunday. No cause of death was immediately available.

In a career spanning more than 50 years, Ashton was a regular face in TV series and films including ‘Midnight Run,’ ‘Little Big League,’ and ‘Gone Baby Gone.’

But in the Beverly Hills Cop films, Ashton played a key part of an indelible trio. Although Axel Foley was Detroit detective Eddie Murphy’s chief of staff after a case in Los Angeles, two local detectives – Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Ashton Kay Taggart – were Axel’s sometimes reluctant, sometimes eager allies.

Of the three, Taggart – “Sarge” to Billy – was the scarier detective according to the book. But she was regularly included in Axel’s schemes. Ashton co-starred in the first two films, starting with the 1984 original, and returned for the Netflix reboot, ‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’, released earlier this year.

Ashton played a more unscrupulous character in Martin Brest’s 1988 buddy comedy ‘Midnight Run’. He was a rival bounty hunter to Charles Grodin’s wanted accountant in “The Duke”, while he was in the custody of Robert De Niro’s Jack Walsh.

Speaking to Collider in July, Ashton recalled auditioning with De Niro.

Ashton said, “Bobby started giving me these matches, and I went to get the matches and he threw them on the floor and started staring at me.” “I watched the matches, and I looked up, and I said, ‘F—- you,’ and he said, ‘F—- you too.’ I said, ‘Go yourself.’ I know every other actor picked them up and handed them to him, and I knew as soon as I left he said, ‘I want that,’ because he wanted someone to stand with him.’

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