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Beloved character actor John Ashton has died at the age of 76, it has been confirmed. The prolific star of stage and screen, who made memorable turns in the likes of the Beverly Hills Cop franchise and Midnight Run during a career that spanned over half a century, passed away on Thursday in Fort Collins, Colorado after a short battle with cancer.

News of Ashton's passing was shared by a rep of the actor, who issued the following statement: “John was a loving husband, brother, father, and grandfather who will be deeply missed by all who knew him. John leaves behind a legacy of love, dedication, and service. His memory will forever be treasured by his wife, children, grandchildren, as well as his brother, sisters, his extended family and all who loved him. John’s impact on the world will be remembered and celebrated for generations to come.”

And it was certainly quite some impact.

Actor John Ashton, best known for the action-comedy Beverly Hills Cop franchise, has passed away. Ashton’s rep has issued a statement confirming his passing. He was 76 at the time of his death.

Ashton’s Family Has Asked For Donations In His Honor

In a statement with TMZ, Ashton’s rep Alan Somers confirmed he had passed away this past Thursday in Ft. Collins, Colorado. He was battling cancer at the time of his death.

According to the publication, Somers issued the following statement, “John leaves behind a legacy of love, dedication, and service. His memory will forever be treasured by his wife, children, grandchildren, as well as his brother, sisters, his extended family and all who loved him. John’s impact on the world will be remembered and celebrated for generations to come.”

John Ashton – YouTube

The publication noted that Ashton’s family any donations made be used for Pathways Hospice Care.

John Ashton has died. Ashton’s manager, Alan Somers, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that the Beverly Hills Cop star died on Thursday. No official cause of death has been announced. He was 76.

Ashton was a prolific character actor who starred in over 200 productions on stage and screen. Perhaps best known as Sgt.

John Ashton, known in part for his role as Taggart in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, has passed away. He was 76 years old.

Per TMZ, Ashton "died peacefully" at his Ft. Collins, Colorado home on Thursday. He had been living with cancer, which contributed to his death. The actor's family has requested donations in Ashton's memory be made to Pathways Hospice Care. Ashton's rep, Alan Somers, also shared a statement confirming his death.

"John leaves behind a legacy of love, dedication, and service," Somers said. "His memory will forever be treasured by his wife, children, grandchildren, as well as his brother, sisters, his extended family and all who loved him. Johns impact on the world will be remembered and celebrated for generations to come."

John David Ashton was born on Feb. 22, 1948, in Springfield, Massachusetts. His first movie role was in the 1973 movie The Psychopath, which he followed up with films like So Evil,...

John Ashton has passed away. Ashton was a star who played Sergeant John Taggart in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise and recently reprised his role in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. He was born on February 22, 1948 in Springfield, Massachusetts and began acting in 1973 after signing onto The Psychopath. He was best known for his performances in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, and Axel F proved to be one of his final roles.

According to a report by Variety, the actor tragically died at 76 years old on Thursday, September 26, in Colorado. His manager, Alan Somers, confirmed his death. Ashton's representative, Alan Somers, told TMZ that Ashton passed peacefully after a fight with cancer. Somers' full statement reflects Ashton's lasting legacy:

John leaves behind a legacy of love, dedication, and service. His memory will forever be treasured by his wife, children, grandchildren, as well as his brother, sisters, his extended family and all who loved him.

The studio that mastered the art of the gleefully ghoulish cinematic short-story collection in the 60s and 70s is set to return. It may just raise a terrific genre from the dead

Although Hammer usually receives the bulk of the recognition, there would be no real British horror movie scene without Amicus Productions. Between 1962 and 1977, Amicus produced 28 movies, many of which have become cult classics. The Psychopath. The Deadly Bees. And Now the Screaming Starts! Fine films, all.

But where Amicus really sang was in its “portmanteau” films, made up of five or six short stories connected by a loose overarching theme. These films were not only masterpieces of creativity but also of marketing. Most of the seven Amicus anthologies were sold on the star power of one actor who, given the brevity of each story, might have only appeared on screen for a couple of minutes.

A few months ago, while covering Hex Studios’ fantasy film throwback The Slave and the Sorcerer, we also mentioned that Hex was also working to “build a new British horror and fantasy studio that’s inspired by the likes of Cannon, Hammer, and Aip”. Now their endeavor has taken a mind-blowing leap forward: Hex Studios has announced they’re working with the family of late producer Milton Subotsky to resurrect Amicus Productions! Hex co-founder Lawrie Brewster is set to be the president of the revived Amicus… and their first project will be exactly the sort of movie Amicus is best remembered for: a horror portmanteau (or anthology) film called In the Grip of Terror!

Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg founded Amicus Productions in the early ’60s, and from 1962 to 1977 they produced nearly thirty films, including Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors, Dr. Who and the Daleks, The Skull, The Psychopath,...

UK streamer Itvx is to look into the life of fake CIA agent and bigamist William Allen Jordan in a three-part doc series.

The Other Mrs Jordan will unpick the life of Jordan, who convinced his British wife Mary Turner Thompson that he was a CIA operative working in counter-terrorism in the early 2000s until she received a phonemail from another woman claiming to be his “other” spouse. In emerged he had multiple marriages, relationships and children elsewhere.

At the center of the doc is the literal and metaphorical search for Jordan, who was in reality a serial bigamist, sexual predator and pathological liar. While the pursuit begins with Thompson, ITV says its “becomes a baton race of women each seeking the truth.”

The series is from Bafta-winning filmmaker Matt Smith for Circle Circle Films, co-produced with October Films for ITV’s streaming service Itvx, and based on Thompson’s books The Bigamist and ThePsychopath.

From Baby Elephants To Teenage Lovers

Amazon miniTV, a free-of-charge service within the Amazon shopping app and on Fire TV, will next month begin airing short-form teen romance series “Gutar Gu.” The show is produced by Guneet Monga and Sikhya Productions, whose “The Elephant Whisperers” recently won the Oscar for best documentary short.

“We at Sikhya are super excited to work with director Saqib Pandor, transforming our well-received short film into its own web series! “Gutar Gu” – a new chapter in the story of Ritu and Anuj, dives deep into the many ups and downs of teenage relationships- navigating strict parents, dating protocols, and the innocence and moments of first love,” said Monga.

“Gutar Gu” features Ashlesha Thakur (in the role of Ritu) and Vishesh Bansal (as Anuj) who experience the dawn of first love. Over six episodes, the series “focuses on issues, and challenges that can uncover their notions...

Need to catch up? Read our previous How to Get Away With Murder recap here.

Thursday’s episode of How to Get Away With Murder was all about loopholes — literal and figurative.

I have to assume that someone in the Murder writers’ room has a fascination with O.J. Simpson’s trial (or, at the very least, really loved Season 1 of American Crime Story), as the ABC drama gave a nod to Simpson’s court proceedings in its latest installment. Only this time, it wasn’t a glove that needed to fit the defendant; it was a belt.

Let’s recap...

Robert Bloch and Milton Subotsky may have helped to codify the Giallo in this murder thriller but the results are not up to even the shaky standards of Amicus. That said, horror fans are going to flock to get their hands on a big color & ‘scope release that’s gone missing for decades. It’s a significant ‘save’ by Kino Lorber.

The Psychopath

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen Techniscope / 82 min. / Street Date April 10, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Patrick Wymark, Margaret Johnston, John Standing, Alexander Knox, Judy Huxtable, Don Borisenko, Thorley Walters, Robert Crewdson, Harold Lang, Gina Gianelli, Greta Farrer, John Harvey.

Cinematography: John Wilcox

Film Editor: Oswald Hafenrichter

Art Direction: Bill Constable

Original Music: Elisabeth Lutyens

Written by Robert Bloch

Produced by Max Rosenberg, Milton Subotsky

Directed by Freddie Francis

A look at the cast and crew of The Psychopath raises one’s hopes. Good actors Patrick...

April 10th is going to be a momentous day to be a cult genre fan, as we have a bevy of home media releases that folks are surely going to want to add to their Blu-ray and DVD collections. Arrow Video’s two-disc limited edition set for Dario Argento’s Deep Red looks absolutely incredible, and Scream Factory is keeping busy with a few releases of their own, including Larry Cohen’s Full Moon High, Crucible of Horror, and Superbeast. And as if all that wasn’t enough, Kino Classics is resurrecting The Psychopath in HD as well (which I personally cannot wait to revisit myself).

We also have several new genre-related movies coming our way, too: Ted Geoghegan’s Mohawk, My Friend Dahmer, Are We Not Cats, and Us & Them. Other notable releases for Tuesday, April 10th include Braven, Grindsploitation Trilogy, Disembodied and Enigma Rosso/Red Rings of Fear.

While us horror lovers revelled in the ripped bodices and cobwebbed corridors of another vampire plagued castle, Hammer was busy trying to clear the halls and make their way into the modern world. Take Nightmare (1964), an effective black and white thriller that shows you don’t need fangs to be fearsome.

Released in its native U.K. in April and stateside in June, Nightmare (Aka the amazing Here’s the Knife, Dear: Now Use It) still has a lot of wandering down darkened hallways, but instead of coming up against the undead, our heroine has to do battle with her own brittle mind. Or has the dead come back for her?

Pity poor Janet (Jennie Linden – Old Dracula). Our film opens with her hearing a distant voice calling her name. She leaves the comfort of her bed and follows the whispered voice which leads her to a shadowed room where...

Well, I hope you guys have been saving your pennies, because there are a lot of great horror and sci-fi titles coming home on March 14th. Scream Factory is giving Firestarter the Collector’s Edition treatment this week, and both Drive-In Massacre and The Skull are being resurrected in HD as well.

If you missed them during their theatrical runs late last year, both The Love Witch and Paul Verhoeven’s award-winning thriller Elle are getting Blu-ray / DVD releases this Tuesday, and Demon Seed is making its way to Blu-ray as well (which I highly recommend watching if you haven't).

Other notable home entertainment titles for March 14th include Passengers, Z Nation Season 3, Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word, Stray Bullets, and The Man Who Could Cheat Death.

Drive-In Massacre (Severin Films, Blu-ray & DVD)

It was one of the few true slasher movies to pre-date Halloween and Friday The 13th,...

With the advent and huge success of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960), studios were quick to hop aboard the killer train. Out were the outsized monsters of the ’50s, in were mama’s boys and socially maligned women dealing with sins of the past. Dementia 13 (’63) and No Way to Treat a Lady (’67) are just a sample of the ’60s horror films that focused on smaller scale, human dilemmas, regardless of how twisted they may be. One film that seems to have been misplaced in the schizoid shuffle is Freddie Francis’ The Psychopath (1966), a lean little thriller that acts as a gateway for one of the most revered European horror sub-genres: the giallo.

Of course, Psycho plays a major part in this association; the Italian-originated giallo wallowing in mysteries of the mind shot through with a razor-sharp emphasis on the visceral, stemming from a psychological need, a desire, to fix wrongs,...

Movies dealing with witchcraft are usually lumped in with the supernatural, so they’re sometimes unfairly shoved to the back of the horror line. However, I truly believe they should have their own category. With supernatural horror, forces are typically thrust upon a protagonist, revenge for misbegotten deeds perpetrated upon the deceased, or righting of wrongs from beyond the pale. Where witchcraft sets itself apart is in the approach – yes, it does deal with the unseen, unkempt and unwanted from beyond – but these forces are usually conjured by a human, for good or nefarious purposes. It’s definitely a case of “don’t call us, we’ll call you”, and you won’t find a finer example of filmic witchery than 1962’s Burn, Witch, Burn.

A British production (Independent Artists), Burn, Witch, Burn was picked up and distributed in North America by American International Pictures. In the U.K., it...