Veteran actor John Beasley, who appeared in the WB series "Everwood," died at age 79.
His son, Mike Beasley, confirmed the news in a Facebook post 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 began his professional acting career in his 40s. He spoke about his late start in a 2020 interview with WOWT, saying that family had been his main priority.
"I was raising my family and I have two sons I'm very proud of, and I thought being a father and watching these kids grow up was more important," he said.
Beasley would appear in a string of films, including "The Mighty Ducks," "Little Big League" and notably as a Notre Dame assistant football coach in 1993's "Rudy."
His big break came when he was cast in the 1997 drama "The Apostle" starring Robert Duvall, who received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
According to WOWT, Beasley racked up over 90 film and TV credits.
In recent years he has appeared in "The Purge: Anarchy" as well as the first episode of "The Mandalorian," according to the New York Post.
Beasley also carved a successful career on stage, performing in regional theater for decades. Last year he starred in a Chicago production of "The Notebook" but was sidelined by COVID-19, the Post reported.
Beasley was also honored by the Empowerment Network's African-American Leadership Conference as a Legends recipient in 2020.
Beasley is survived by his wife of 58 years, Judy, and two sons.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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