John Beasley (June 26, 1943 – May 30, 2023) was an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films '' Rudy'' (1993), '' The Apostle'' (1997), ''

The Sum of All Fears ''The Sum of All Fears'' is a political thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and released on August 14, 1991, as the sequel to '' Clear and Present Danger'' (1989). Main character Jack Ryan, who is now the Deputy Director of Central Intellig ...

'' (2002), '' Walking Tall'' (2004), '' The Purge: Anarchy'' (2014), '' Sinister 2'' (2015), and his role as Irv Harper in the TV series '' Everwood'' (2002–2006). In 2002, Beasley founded the "John Beasley Theater & Workshop" in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, to promote live theater, especially works written by or featuring African Americans.

Life and career

Beasley was born in

, on June 26, 1943. He did not begin his acting career until his mid-40s. Prior to that he was a railroad man with the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

. He established the John Beasley Theater and Workshop in

South Omaha South Omaha is a former city and current district of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. During its initial development phase, the town's nickname was "The Magic City" because of the seemingly overnight growth due to the rapid development of the Unio ...

, and he would remain working there for nearly a dozen years. Beasley played General Lasseter in ''

'' and Reverend C. Charles Blackwell in '' The Apostle''. In 1992, he played Jesse and Terry Hall's father in ''

The Mighty Ducks ''The Mighty Ducks'' is an American media franchise. It features a trilogy of live-action films released in the 1990s by Walt Disney Pictures and a live-action sequel television series, as well as an animated television series by Walt Disney ...

''. He starred in the 2004 remake of '' Walking Tall''. Beasley made numerous guest roles on television and has appeared in several television films. His most prominent role in a television series was as Irv Harper in the WB series '' Everwood''. He also appeared in the

TV Land TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division's MTV Entertainment Group. It was originally launched as Nick at Nite’s TV Land as a spinoff of Nick at Nite programing block consisting e ...

sitcom ''

The Soul Man ''The Soul Man'' is an American sitcom created by Suzanne Martin and Cedric the Entertainer. The series is a spin-off from ''Hot in Cleveland'', in which Cedric guest starred in the 2011 episode "Bridezelka", the backdoor pilot for ''The Soul M ...

'', which aired its fifth and final season in 2016. Beasley also claimed that even if he had not made it to Broadway, he still would have had a successful career.

Personal life and death

Beasley married Judy Beasley, and would remain her husband for nearly sixty years, until his death. They had two sons and six grandchildren. His grandson

Malik Malik (; ; ; variously Romanized ''Mallik'', ''Melik'', ''Malka'', ''Malek'', ''Maleek'', ''Malick'', ''Mallick'', ''Melekh'') is the Semitic term translating to "king", recorded in East Semitic and Arabic, and as mlk in Northwest Semitic d ...

is a professional basketball player for the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. Beasley died at a hospital in Omaha on May 30, 2023, at the age of 79.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beasley, John 1943 births 2023 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors 20th-century African-American male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Male actors from Omaha, Nebraska Actors from Omaha, Nebraska Technical High School (Omaha, Nebraska) alumni 21st-century African-American male actors