Actor John Beasley, who played roles in various TV series and films, has died at the age of 79.
Best known for his role on the WB show ‘Everwood,’ the star also appeared in Losing Isiah, The Mighty Ducks, and The Soul Man.
His grieving son confirmed the heartbreaking news of his death to The Hollywood Reporter, revealing that the veteran actor passed away on May 30 in a hospital in Nebraska.
Beasley’s other son, Mike, took to Facebook and wrote: “Man…you know this is a part of life…but that doesn’t make it any easier. I lost my best friend today. 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. Thank you for everything. I hope I made you proud. Love you more.”
Beasley was aged 45 when he made his acting debut.
In an interview with WOWT, he explained that he did not pursue an acting career until later in life as his family and children were his first priority.
“I was raising my family. I have two sons that I’m very proud of and I thought that being a father and watching these kids grow up was more important,” Beasley said.
Recently, the actor appeared in the stage production of The Notebook in Chicago.
Last year, he said in an interview with the American Theater that he and his wife decided to fly to New York after he found out that he might have a role in the production, which is based on the 2004 film of the same name, which starred Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling.
“I said to Judy, ‘I know this is Broadway, but at this point in my career I’m looking for good material.’ It wasn’t about the money. It wasn’t even about Broadway,” he said.
“I was prepared to turn it down if the script was not as good as the script I was going to do in Indianapolis.
“I finally read it on the plane, and by the time we landed in New York I was sobbing,” he added. “My wife handed me a tissue and I told her, ‘I’ve gotta do this. If I get in that room, it’s mine.’ I told that story to the cast here and they said, ‘And it is.’”
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