It’s not very often that you grow up idolizing certain people you see in movies and television. Usually, the motto “never meet your heroes” has truth to it. I must have watched Beverly Hills Cop I and II at least over a hundred times in my life whenever they played on cable. I always loved the musketeer-like dynamic between Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold… and John Ashton.

When my Unfinished Business TELEVISION co-host Jeff Gallashaw and I gained the confidence to reach out to respected names in the film industry for interviews, John Ashton was one of those names on my list. It seemed like a slim chance he would say yes. After all, he just wrapped shooting Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. We are just simply fans with a YouTube show. But to my great surprise when I reached out, John said yes.

It was only for one hour of his time on an eventful June day in 2023. Like always, Jeff and I get nervous when we have a guest on. I mean John played many tough guys in the Cop movies as well as Midnight Run and Gone Baby Gone. The first thing he did when he came on was compliment my replica Detroit Lions jacket which made my day.

For one hour that day, John shared his stories about life as an actor in Hollywood. There were so many life lessons and revelations I learned throughout that time. Even his promise that Axel F would return to the franchise’s roots gave me hope that eventually deliver when I saw the movie on Netflix this past summer. We even spoke briefly about possibly working together in the future on a film project. Unfortunately, it will never come to fruition.

There was a bit of sadness on my part when the interview ended. It was the first time in a very long time I felt like a kid again talking to one of my screen heroes. I had hoped to speak to him again after Axel F came out and now I understand why he was unable to respond. Upon learning of his passing today, I tried to keep it together as best I could. Then I came across Judge Reinhold’s tribute on social media where he revealed that John was a big Yankee fan. Ironically, I was at a Yankee game with my family when the news hit my phone. My first immediate thought was that if John was talking to me right now, he would want me to enjoy the time I was spending with loved ones at that moment.

In the last email he responded to after the interview, John expressed his gratitude to fans like us for recognizing his work. He left Jeff and me with a motto that I will never forget: “Think Big, Work Hard, Have a Dream, and Make a Difference”. Now I have to pay that forward as a filmmaker, as a mentor, and as a humanitarian. Thank you John for making just a little bit of a difference in my life.