Frederic Forrest, Actor in ‘Apocalypse Now,’ ‘The Rose,’ Dies at 86
variety.comPat Saperstein Deputy Editor Frederic Forrest, a character actor who had a memorable role in 1979’s “Apocalypse Now” and earned an Oscar nomination for “The Rose” in the same year, died Friday in Santa Monica.
He was 86. Forrest’s death was first reported by his “Rose” co-star Bette Midler, who paid tribute to the actor on Twitter. “The great and beloved Frederic Forrest has died,” Midler wrote. “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.” As Jay “Chef” Hicks in Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now,” Forrestt played the tightly-wound former New Orleans chef on the river patrol boat who raves “I didn’t come here for this, I don’t fucking need this, all I wanted to do is fucking cook” before later getting beheaded.
Coppola also cast him in “One From the Heart,” “The Conversation,” “Hammett” and “Tucker: The Man and His Dream.” Forrest’s titular conversation with Cindy Williams in “The Conversation” is recorded by Gene Hackman, and his voice is heard throughout the film. “Freddie Forrest was a sweet, much beloved person, a wonderful actor and a good friend,” Coppola wrote in a statement regarding Forrest’s death. “His loss is heartbreaking to me.” In “Falling Down,” Forrest played the white supremacist Army surplus store owner who gets killed by Michael Douglas’ Foster.
Read more on variety.com