Frederic Forrest, Apocalypse Now star and Oscar nominee, dead at 86

Frederic Forrest, who earned critical acclaim opposite Bette Midler in The Rose and collaborated with Francis Ford Coppola, has died. He was 86.

Other than earning both Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for playing Huston Dwyer — the opposite end of a doomed relationship — in 1979’s The Rose, Frederic Forrest is perhaps best known for playing Jay “Chef” Hicks, who loses his head both mentally and literally, in Apocalypse Now the same year. For both performances Forrest was recognized by the National Society of Film Critics as that year’s Best Supporting Actor.

Bette Midler took to Twitter to pay tribute to her co-star, saying Frederic Forrest was a “remarkable actor” and “brilliant human being.”

Frederic Forrest saw success early on in his movie career, earning a Golden Globe nod for Best New Star for the 1972 western When the Legends Die. Two years later, he appeared in his first movie with Coppola, The Conversation, leading to a short but memorable teaming that also saw One from the Heart (1982) and Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988), in addition to playing hard-boiled novelist Dashiell Hammett in Hammett, executive produced by Coppola and directed by Wim Wenders.

Frederic Forrest’s onscreen credits spanned nearly 40 years. He also notably worked with Jack Nicholson on The Missouri Breaks (1976) and The Two Jakes (1990), in addition to memorable turns in Richard Fleischer’s The Don Is Dead (1973), Valley Girl (1983) – released the same year he divorced Marilu Henner – and as a neo-Nazi store owner in Falling Down (1993).

But it wasn’t just movies that Frederic Forrest was known for, also accumulating a number of television credits, even making his first small screen appearance on gothic soap Dark Shadows. In addition to stints on 21 Jump Street and The Young Riders, Forrest also supported a commendable collection of TV movies and miniseries that saw him playing Lee Harvey Oswald in Ruby and Oswald, saddling up for Lonesome Dove and engaging in the Civil War in John Frankenheimer’s Andersonville. His last credit was in 2006’s All the King’s Men.

What is your favorite Frederic Forrest performance? Leave your condolences in the comments section below.