‘Everwood’ & ‘The Soul Man’ Actor Was 79 – Deadline

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John Beasley, known for his role in TV shows like Everwood and The Soul Man has died. He was 79.

Beasley’s son Mike, shared a touching post on Facebook honoring his late father.

“Man…you know this is a part of life…but that doesn’t make it any easier. I lost my best friend today,” he wrote. “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 born in Omaha, Nebraska in June 26, 1943 and didn’t get started in acting until his 40s. His first acting credits were in films like V.I. Warshawski (1991), The Mighty Ducks (1992), Rudy (1993), Untamed Heart (1993) and Little Big League (1994) and in TV shows like Brewster Place (1990), Lucky Day (1991) and Laurel Avenue (1993).

His first main role in a television series was in Greg Berlanti’s Everwood in the role of Irv Harper which he played throughout its four-season run. Beasley was also a main cast member of The Soul Man, a sitcom created by Suzanne Martin and Cedric the Entertainer.

Other television credits included Judging Amy, CSI, The Lost Room, NCIS, Boston Legal, CSI: Miami, Treme, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Shots Fired, The Resident, and The Mandalorian.

Beasley’s film credits also included The General’s Daughter (1999), Crazy in Alabama (1999), The Sum of All Fears (2002), The Purge: Anarchy (2014), I’ll See You in My Dreams (2015), The Turkey Bowl (2019), Cowboys (2020) and Spell (2020), to name a few. Firestarter was his last acting credit in 2022.