John Beasley obit

John Beasley, Actor on ‘Everwood’ and ‘The Soul Man,’ Dies at 79

A late bloomer, he stood out in films like 'The Apostle,' 'Rudy' and 'The Sum of All Fears' and was set to make his Broadway debut this year in 'The Notebook.'

 

He was not on the list.

John Beasley, the admired character actor who played the school bus driver Irv Harper on The WB drama Everwood and Barton Bellentine, the father of Cedric the Entertainer’s character, on the TV Land comedy The Soul Man, died Tuesday. He was 79.

Beasley died in a hospital in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, his son Tyrone Beasley told The Hollywood Reporter. He had been undergoing tests on his liver before taking an unexpected turn for the worst.

Beasley sparkled as an assistant coach in Rudy (1993) and as the retired minister Charles Blackwell in the Robert Duvall-starring and directed The Apostle (1997) and appeared in such other films as V.I. Warshawski (1991), The Mighty Ducks (1992), Untamed Heart (1993), Losing Isaiah (1993), Little Big League (1994), Crazy in Alabama (1997), The General’s Daughter (1999), The Sum of All Fears (2002), the 2004 remake of Walking Tall and Firestarter (2022).

More recently, he appeared onstage in Chicago in the Broadway-bound musical adaptation of The Notebook, based on the 1996 Nicholas Sparks novel that spawned the 2004 film that starred James Garner, Gena Rowlands, Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams.

Beasley was playing the Garner role and was set to go to New York in August to workshop the musical as producers settled on a theater, his son said.

“To be a working artist is the highest calling, and I appreciate wherever it takes me,” he said in an interview last year. “If I never got to Broadway, I would still feel I’ve had a pretty successful career.”

He established the John Beasley Theater and Workshop in Omaha and ran it for 13 years. “We changed the lives of a lot of people just through the theater,” he said in 2020.

Born on June 26, 1943, Beasley worked as a railroad man with the Union Pacific Railroad and did not begin acting until he was 45. In one of his first onscreen roles, he played Mr. Willie on the 1990 Oprah Winfrey-starring ABC series Brewster Place.

Beasley portrayed Irv, husband of Debra Mooney’s Edna Harper, on the Greg Berlanti-created Everwood from 2002-06 and Barton, another retired minister, on The Soul Man from 2012-16.

His TV résumé also included guest turns on Missing Persons, Early Edition, CSI, Judging Amy, Boston Legal, Treme and The Mandalorian.

On Facebook, his son Michael 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.”

Survivors also include his wife of 58 years, Judy; daughter-in-law Katie; and grandchildren Evan, Miles, Olivia, Mika, Darius and Malik Beasley, an NBA veteran who played last season with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Beasley was born in Omaha, Nebraska, 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. He established the John Beasley Theater and Workshop in South Omaha.

Filmography

Film

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1991      V.I. Warshawski Ernie     

1992      The Mighty Ducks             Mr. Hall                

1993      Rudy      Coach Warren   

1993      Untamed Heart Cook     

1994      Little Big League                Roberts               

1997      The Apostle        Brother C. Charles Blackwell       

1999      The General's Daughter Col. Slesinger    

1999      Crazy in Alabama              Nehemiah Jackson          

2000      The Operator     Rev. James          

2000      Lost Souls            Mike Smythe     

2000      The Gift                Albert Hawkins

2001      The Journeyman               Cleofas

2002      The Sum of All Fears        Gen. Lasseter    

2002      TOC: The Goal    Lou         Video

2004      Walking Tall        Chris Vaughn Sr.               

2009      For Love of Amy                Mr. Tate               

2014      The Purge: Anarchy         Papa Rico Sanchez           

2015      I'll See You in My Dreams              Mike     

2015      Sinister 2              Father Rodriguez             

2016      Second Words   Hank      Short

2016      It Snows All the Time      Mr. Stewart        

2017      Haunted Maze   Detective Edwards          

2019      The Turkey Bowl               Judge Tibbins    

2020      Cowboys              Ben the Friendly Ranger               

20??      Tattoo   Seymour              Short

2020      Stoker Hills          Dr. Jonathan Brooks       

2020      Spell      Earl       

2022      Firestarter           Irv Manders       

Television

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1990      Brewster Place   Mr. Willie             Episodes: "Open for Business", "Spring Fever", "Whatever Happened to Patience Jones", "Bernice Sands Comes Home"

1991      Lucky Day            Bo           TV film

1993      Laurel Avenue    Mr. Coleman       TV miniseries

1997      To Sir, with Love II             Ogden   Episode: "Pilot"

1998      Early Edition       Capt. Leon Haines            Episodes: "A Minor Miracle", "The Quality of Mercy"

1999      Millennium         James Edward Hollis        Episodes: "Darwin's Eye", "Via Dolorosa", "Goodbye to All That"

1999      A.T.F.      Sec. Robert Edward         TV film

2000      Freedom Song   Jonah Summer TV film

2000      The Moving of Sophia Myles        Nathaniel Myles                TV film

2000      Disappearing Acts            Mr. Banks            TV film

2000, 2003         Judging Amy       Judge Henry Bromell       Episodes: "Dog Days", "Shock and Awe", "Kilt Trip"

2000–2001         CSI: Crime Scene Investigation    Charles Moore   Episodes: "Crate 'n' Burial", "Evaluation Day"

2002–2006         Everwood            Irv Harper            Main role

2006      The Lost Room   Gus        Episode: "The Comb and the Box"

2007      NCIS       Daryl Hardy         Episode: "Suspicion"

2007      Boston Legal       Det. Walter McKay           Episode: "The Chicken and the Leg"

2009      Chasing a Dream               Peter Boscow     TV film

2010      CSI: Miami           Henry Dawson   Episode: "Backfire"

2011      Harry's Law         Judge Ronald Winston    Episode: "Pilot"

2011      Detroit 1-8-7      Joe King                Episode: "Beaten/Cover Letter"

2011      Treme   Don Encalade     Episodes: "Carnival Time", "Can I Change My Mind?", What Is New Orleans?", "Do Watcha Wanna"

2012–2016         The Soul Man     Barton Ballentine             Main role (season 1), recurring (seasons 2–5)

2017      The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks        Cliff        TV film

2017      Shots Fired          Mr. Dabney         Recurring role

2018      The Resident      Mortimer Rosenthal        Episode: "Comrades in Arms"

2019      Limetown            The Reverend     Episodes: "Rake", "Napoleon"

2019      The Mandalorian              Bartender            Episode: "Chapter One"

2021      Your Honor         Elijah Davies       Episode: "Part Ten"