John Ashley (December 25, 1934 – October 3, 1997) was an American actor, producer and singer. He was best known for his work as an actor in films for American International Pictures, producing and acting in horror films shot in the Philippines, and for producing various television series, including The A-Team. Early life Ashley never knew his unmarried parents who gave him up for adoption. He was adopted by a doctor, Roger Atchley and his wife Lucille, and reared in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he had a younger sister, Kathryn. He attended Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, where he was a champion wrestler, then went to Oklahoma State University in Stillwater on a wrestling scholarship, where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics. Acting career While still in college, Ashley was holidaying in California. He visited an alumnus of his college fraternity, Sigma Chi, who was a press agent who represented Dick Powell and John Wayne. The agent took him to the set of The Conqueror (1956), where he met Wayne, who had also belonged to Sigma Chi. Wayne was impressed with the young man's good looks and set him up with an interview with William Castle. Castle was then making the TV anthology series Men of Annapolis, and was looking for someone to play a role that involved wrestling. Ashley's wrestling experience helped him get the job, and he did two episodes of the series, which helped him get an agent. American International Pictures Ashley broke into films when he accompanied a girlfriend to an audition at American International Pictures for a part in Dragstrip Girl (1957), directed by Edward L. Cahn. "We had a date at 6 p.m. but first she had to read for a part in a movie", he later recalled. "I was sitting in American International Picture's waiting room and a guy walked out and said, `Have we read everyone? What about this young man here?' It was the old Hollywood story -- I got a part in the film and she didn't." He ended up getting the part as the villain; his audition included an Elvis Presley impersonation. AIP signed Ashley to a four-picture non-exclusive contract expected to run for two years. Dragstrip Girl was a success relative to its small budget. Ashley became a particular favorite of the daughters of James H. Nicholson, one of the main figures at AIP, and Nicholson always