Rather unbelievably, the classic buddy cop action movie “Beverly Hills Cop” is 41 years old today, December 5. It was released on the same day in 1984.
Martin Brest’s Eddie Murphy-led vehicle was the highest-grossing movie of 1984, taking in a whopping $320 million. It outperformed classics like the supernatural comedy “Ghostbusters,” action-adventure movie “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” comedy-horror “Gremlins,” and martial arts drama “The Karate Kid” in that regard.
“Beverly Hills Cop’s” iconic cast also included Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher, Steven Berkoff, Ronny Cox, and Bronson Pinchot â the majority of whom are still with us, thankfully.
However, all of their careers and lives have taken very different trajectories. So, on its anniversary, let’s take a look at the core cast of “Beverly Hills Cop” back in the 1980s and now.
Eddie Murphy (Detective Axel Foley)
Eddie Murphy was just 23 when “Beverly Hills Cop” hit theaters. He was primarily known as a stand-up comic before he took on the role of plainclothes Detroit police detective Axel Foley. He had shot to fame on the sketch comedy show “Saturday Night Live” in 1980.
That being said, per IMDb, he had also already starred in three movies. They were 1982’s action comedy “48 Hrs.,” 1983’s festive comedy “Trading Places,” and 1984’s action comedy “Best Defense.”
GettyMurphy is by far the biggest star to come out of “Beverly Hills Cop.” His subsequent movie credits include the likes of 1988’s rom-com “Coming to America,” 1996’s sci-fi comedy “The Nutty Professor,” 2006’s musical drama “Dreamgirls,” voicing Donkey in the “Shrek” franchise, and, of course, three more “Beverly Hills Cop” installments.
Recently, a Netflix documentary about his life and career was released, titled “Being Eddie,” which we thoroughly recommend.
GettyJudge Reinhold (Detective Billy Rosewood)
Judge Reinhold was arguably the second-biggest name to appear in “Beverly Hills Cop.” He played the polite, by-the-book, and sometimes naive Beverly Hills Police Department detective Billy Rosewood.
Reinhold was 27 at the time of “Beverly Hills Cop” being released. Per IMDb, he had already appeared in movies like 1981’s war comedy “Stripes,” 1982’s coming-of-age comedy “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” and 1984’s comedy-horror “Gremlins” (meaning he appeared in two of 1984’s four highest-grossing movies).
On television, his credits included superhero show “Wonder Woman” and crime drama “Magnum, P.I.”
GettyReinhold’s biggest roles since “Beverly Hills Cop” include all three of its sequels and all three movies in “The Santa Clause” franchise. He’s been far from prolific in terms of his movie acting in recent years, but his other credits include 1988’s fantasy comedy “Vice Versa,” 1997’s comedy “Family Plan,” and two direct-to-video sequels to “Beethoven” in 2000 and 2001 respectively.
On television, his credits now include the likes of sitcom “Seinfeld,” sitcom “Ellen,” sitcom “The King of Queens,” and comedy-drama series “Easy Money.”
GettyJohn Ashton (Sergeant John Taggart)
The late John Ashton was a 36-year-old established actor when “Beverly Hills Cop” released, though the majority of his roles had been on television. He played the no-nonsense Beverly Hills Police Department sergeant John Taggart in the film.
Per IMDb, the movies he had appeared in at that point included 1977’s comedy “Oh, God!,” 1980’s action crime drama “Borderline,” and 1984’s adventure sci-fi comedy “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.”
His television credits had included crime drama series “Kojak,” superhero series “Wonder Woman,” war comedy drama series “M*A*S*H,” action series “Starsky & Hutch,” soap opera “Dallas,” and police procedural parody “Police Squad!”
Having only just returned to the “Beverly Hills Cop” franchise for 2024’s “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” Ashton sadly passed away from cancer on September 26, 2024.
His subsequent movie roles after the first “Beverly Hills Cop” film included 1987’s teen rom-com “Some Kind of Wonderful,” 1988’s action-comedy thriller “Midnight Run,” 1991’s comedy-drama “Curly Sue,” 1994’s family sports movie “Little Big League,” and 2007’s neo-noir crime thriller “Gone Baby Gone.”
May John Ashton rest in peace.
GettyLisa Eilbacher (Jenny Summers)
Lisa Eilbacher was a prolific television actress when she was cast in “Beverly Hills Cop.” Per IMDb, she had appeared in shows like Western series “Bonanza,” historical drama series “The Waltons,” sitcom “The Brady Bunch,” superhero show “The Amazing Spider-Man,” sci-fi series “Logan’s Run,” and police procedural “Hawaii Five-O.”
In terms of movies, her filmography was modest. The most well-known of her five credits were 1982’s romantic drama “An Officer and a Gentleman” and 1983’s neo-noir thriller “10 to Midnight.” Still, she landed the role of Axel Foley’s friend Jenny Summers.
GettyEilbacher continued her acting career in a number of modest roles on both the big and small screens after appearing in “Beverly Hills Cop,” but not for long. She retired in the mid-1990s and has kept away from the public eye ever since â to the extent that there are no confirmed recent photographs of her.
The acting credits she did gain after “Beverly Hills Cop” include movies like 1989’s sci-fi horror “Leviathan” and 1992’s action movie “Live Wire,” as well as television shows like anthology series “The Twilight Zone” and drama series “Midnight Caller.”
Steven Berkoff (Victor Maitland)
A then-47-year-old Steven Berkoff had a long career as an actor behind him when “Beverly Hills Cop” hit theaters. The English actor played the movie’s main antagonist, Victor Maitland, a wealthy art dealer who also runs a smuggling ring.
Per IMDb, Berkoff’s substantial filmography already included dozens of big and small screen credits. His movie appearances included 1971’s dystopian crime flick “A Clockwork Orange,” 1975’s historical drama “Barry Lyndon,” and 1983’s spy action movie “Octopussy.”
On television, Berkoff had appeared in the likes of espionage series “The Avengers,” crime series “The Saint,” and crime-action drama “The Professionals.”
GettyNow 88 years of age, Berkoff is an actor, author, playwright, theater practitioner and theater director â though his acting career has significantly (and understandably) slowed down.
His subsequent credits after “Beverly Hills Cop” included movies like 1985’s war action flick “Rambo: First Blood Part II,” 1990’s British biographical crime drama “The Krays,” 2000’s British crime movie “Rancid Aluminium,” and 2010’s romantic thriller “The Tourist.”
On television, he has since appeared in the likes of sci-fi series “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” action-drama “La Femme Nikita,” supernatural comedy “Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased),” mystery crime drama “Jonathan Creek,” and sci-fi series “Doctor Who.”
GettyRonny Cox (Lieutenant Andrew Bogomil)
Ronny Cox played the Beverly Hills Police Department’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Andrew Bogomil, in “Beverly Hills Cop.” The actor was 46 at the time of the movie’s release.
Per IMDb, he had appeared prominently on television and in films before he appeared in the buddy cop action comedy. On television, for instance, he’d been in the likes of Western series “Bonanza,” anthology series “Tales of the Unexpected,” and fantasy drama “Fantasy Island.”
Movies he’d appeared in included 1972’s thriller “Deliverance,” 1977’s supernatural horror “The Car,” and 1982’s comedy-drama “Some Kind of Hero.”
GettyCox is now 87 and, since “Beverly Hills Cop,” he’s both acted and performed as a musician.
Subsequent movie appearances include 1987’s sci-fi action film “RoboCop,” 1990’s sci-fi action flick “Total Recall,” and 1999’s sci-fi horror “Deep Blue Sea.”
His subsequent television credits include sci-fi series “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” legal drama “L.A. Law,” sci-fi adventure series “Stargate SG-1,” sci-fi anthology series “The Outer Limits,” police procedural show “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” mystery comedy-drama “Desperate Housewives,” action crime drama “Leverage,” and musical drama “Nashville.”
GettyBronson Pinchot (Serge)
Bronson Pinchot played the inimitable Serge in “Beverly Hills Cop.” Serge is an eccentric and flamboyant sales assistant at an upscale Beverly Hills art gallery owned by Victor Maitland. Pinchot was 25 at the time of the movie’s release.
Per IMDb, “Beverly Hills Cop” was only Pinchot’s second acting credit. He had previously played Barry, opposite Tom Cruise, in 1983’s coming-of-age teen comedy movie “Risky Business.”
GettyFollowing his appearance in “Beverly Hills Cop,” Pinchot went on to have a prolific career in both film and television.
Now 66 years old, his movie credits include 1985’s neo-noir black comedy “After Hours,” 1993’s romantic crime drama “True Romance,” 1997’s animated Christmas movie “Babes in Toyland,” 1998’s animated musical fantasy “Quest for Camelot,” and two of the three “Beverly Hills Cop” sequels â including 2024’s “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.”
On television, he had a prominent role in the sitcom “Perfect Strangers,” with additional credits including superhero show “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” horror miniseries “The Langoliers,” sci-fi sitcom “3rd Rock from the Sun,” and 20 episodes of his own reality series “The Bronson Pinchot Project.”
GettyHappy 41st Birthday to “Beverly Hills Cop!”
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