Bette Midler Mourns 'The Rose' Co-Star Frederic Forrest: 'Lucky to Have Him'

Bette Midler announced the death of her "The Rose" co-star Saturday, warmly remembering the man with whom she starred in her dramatic film debut over 40 years ago.

"The great and beloved Frederic Forrest has died," she tweeted. "Thank you to all of his fans and friends for all their support these last few months. He was a remarkable actor, and a brilliant human being, and I was lucky to have him in my life. He was at peace.”

Fans were touched to learn Midler had remained close to the man who played her love interest in "The Rose," a film for which both earned Oscar nominations.

Forrest, who died at 86, was born December 23, 1936, in Waxahachie, Texas.

He made his professional acting debut off-Broadway in a 1966 production of "Viet Rock," and following some small TV and film appearances, he made a major splash in "When the Legends Die," a 1972 film for which he was nominated for New Star of the Year by the Golden Globe Awards.

He was also well-known as Jay "Chef" Hicks in "Apocalypse Now" (1979) and as the title character's hippie dad in 1983's "Valley Girl."

Other films included "The Conversation" (1974), "The Executioner" (1975), "The Missouri Breaks" (1976), "One from the Heart" (1981), "Hammett" (1982), "Cat Chaser" (1989), "Trauma" (1993), "Lassie" (1994), "The Brave" (1997), and his final film, "All the King's Men" (2006).

On TV, he was on several episodes of "21 Jump Street" (1987) and seen in the miniseries "Lonesome Dove" (1989), "I Know My First Name Is Steven" (1989), and "Andersonville" (1996),

Forrest was married and divorced twice, including a three-year marriage to actress Marilu Henner.