John Ragin

John Stanley Ragin (May 5, 1929 – April 14, 2013) was an American actor born in Newark, New Jersey, whose career spanned Broadway, film, and television. He attended Rutgers University on a scholarship before transferring to Carnegie Tech, and later pursued advanced study in Europe through two Fulbright Program grants.

Ragin's stage career included Broadway appearances between 1957 and 1958, during which he performed in three productions: the comedy Measure for Measure, The Duchess of Malfi, and J.B.

On television, Ragin became most widely recognized for his recurring role as Dr. Robert Asten, M.E., a bureaucratic medical examiner in the series Quincy, M.E., a part he held from 1976 to 1983. Earlier, in 1974, he played Walter Cramer in the short-lived CBS series Sons and Daughters, and from 1990 to 1991 he appeared as Dr. Grant Jameson on the NBC daytime soap opera Santa Barbara. His television work also included guest appearances on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Invaders, Cannon, McCloud, Murder, She Wrote, and Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Ragin appeared in several films in supporting capacities, including Doctors' Wives (1971), The Parallax View (1974), in which he played Buster Himan, and Earthquake (1974), where he portrayed a Chief Inspector. He also served as the narrator for Copernicus (1973) and appeared as Agent Shank in Moving Violation (1976).

Ragin died in Los Angeles on April 14, 2013, at the age of 83, and was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.