John Beasley dead – Everwood and Rudy star dies aged 79 after health battle
EVERWOOD and Rudy actor John Beasley has died at the age of 79 as his family paid tribute.
His son shared the news in a Facebook post, referring to his father as his “best friend”.
Beasley was best known for his performance as Irv Harper in the drama series Everwood – which is on ITVX in the UK.
Moving into acting later in life, he appeared in other TV shows such as The Soul Man, NCIS, CSI, and even a small role in The Mandalorian.
And he appeared in movies such as Rudy, The Purge: Anarchy, Walking Tall, and The Sum of All Fears.
John passed away in Omaha, Nebraska, after his health deteriorated due to a liver condition, according to his family.
His son Mike W. Beasley wrote: “They say you shouldn’t ever meet your heroes because they don’t turn out to be who you thought they were. That is so wrong. My hero was my father.”
The actor was born in 1943, and began acting in his 40s after a lengthy career working on trains.
He began his career as an assistant coach in the blockbuster Rudy, and also appeared in The Mighty Ducks, Firestarter and Little Big League.
He was set to make his Broadway debut this year in The Notebook.
John said: “To be a working artist is the highest calling, and I appreciate wherever it takes me. If I never got to Broadway, I would still feel I’ve had a pretty successful career.”
He established the John Beasley Theatre and Workshop in his hometown of Omaha, and ran it for 13 years.
John previously said: “We changed the lives of a lot of people just through the theatre.”