Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

John Beasley death: Everwood and The Mandalorian actor dies aged 79

Veteran character actor played a kindly school bus driver on the TV drama ‘Everwood’ and appeared in films including ‘Rudy’ and ‘The Apostle’

Via AP news wire
Thursday 01 June 2023 19:49 BST
Star Wars: The Mandalorian trailer

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

John Beasley, the veteran character actor who played a kindly school bus driver on the TV drama Everwood has died at the age of 79.

Beasley, who appeared in dozens of films dating back to the 1980s, died Tuesday (30 June) after a “brief and unexpected illness” at a hospital in his hometown of Omaha, his manager, Don Spradlin, said.

The actor played an assistant coach in the 1993 football film Rudy and a retired preacher in 1997’s The Apostle, co-starring and directed by Robert Duvall.

On TV, Beasley was the father of Cedric the Entertainer in the TV Land comedy The Soul Man and later starred for four seasons alongside Treat Williams in The WB’s Everwood.

Most recently, Beasley had small parts in the Showtime drama Your Honor, with Bryan Cranston, and The Mandalorian, a Star Wars offshoot on Disney+.

For more than a dozen years, he ran the John Beasley Theater and Workshop in Omaha, where he was born in 1943.

“To be a working artist is the highest calling, and I appreciate wherever it takes me,” Beasley told the publication American Theatre last year.

He is survived by Judy, his wife of 58 years; two sons, Michael and Tyrone; and six grandchildren, including Malik Beasley, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers.

The NBA veteran paid tribute to his grandfather on Instagram.

“To the man who put the Beasleys on the map,” he wrote.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in