Yahoo Sports John Beasley, Everwood and The Soul Man actor, dies at 79
John Beasley, a character actor known for his roles on beloved shows such as Everwood and The Soul Man, as well as numerous memorable film roles, has died. He was 79.
Beasley's son, actor Michael Beasley, announced the news on a Facebook post on Tuesday. "Man...you know this is a part of life...but that doesn't make it any easier," he wrote. "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, who started his acting career later in life, was born June 26, 1943. He worked as a railroad worker with the Union Pacific Railroad before nabbing his first onscreen credit as a henchman in 1989's Rapid Fire.
From there, he played Mr. Willie in four episodes of the 1990 ABC series Brewster Place, alongside Oprah Winfrey. Next came the TV movie Lucky Day, and Beasley would continue to find steady work in both film and TV throughout the '90s and 2000s.
Though his TV credits included the likes of CSI, Judging Amy, Boston Legal and Treme, perhaps his most well-known roles came on The WB drama Everwood and the TV Land comedy The Soul Man. On the former, Beasley played bus driver Irv Harper, and on the latter, he brought to life the character of Barton Bellentine, the father of Cedric the Entertainer's character.
On the film side, notable roles included The Apostle, V.I. Warshawski, The Mighty Ducks, Rudy, Untamed Heart, Losing Isaiah, Little Big League, Crazy in Alabama, The General's Daughter, The Sum of All Fears, Walking Tall and Firestarter.
SGranitz/WireImage John Beasley has died
More recently, Beasley had a role on the Fox drama Shots Fired, played a bartender on The Mandalorian, and had a crucial role as Warren Chambers in the Facebook Watch thriller series Limetown.
Beasley was set to later this year make his Broadway debut in the musical The Notebook, based on the 2004 film of the same name, after first playing the role of Duke in a Chicago run of the musical last fall. At that time, he said in an interview with American Theatre that the opportunity was a validation of his lengthy career.
"That Broadway comes at this age — I guess that's par for my course. I think it's the ultimate validation of my acting career. Broadway's always been that vision. I'm told it's life-changing," he said.
Beasley continued, "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."
Beasley leaves behind his wife, Judy, sons Tyrone and Michael, and six grandchildren.
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