John Travolta pays moving tribute to Mickey Gilley

John Travolta took to social media to reveal that he was grieving the loss of someone he considered a friend and many considered a legend.

MORE: John Travolta's daughter Ella sparks huge reaction with heartbreaking new post

ALSO: HELLO! launches Jubilee T-shirt collection to celebrate Queen Elizabeth in style

The actor shared that he was mourning the death of country star Mickey Gilley, who passed away the previous weekend at the age of 86.

VIDEO: John Travolta's incredible show of support for Ella

He shared a snapshot of the two from the 1980 flick Urban Cowboy, which saw John's character frequent a club named Gilley's, Mickey's real life Texas nightclub, and was inspired by the country music scene at the time.

The film not only proved to be a success for the star, but also revitalized Mickey's career, with the soundtrack kicking off a movement in soft-core country music in the 80s.

MORE: John Travolta shares never-before-seen family photographs of late wife Kelly Preston for Mother's Day

John penned: "'Mickey Gilley, the ultimate urban cowboy'. I was so sorry to see Mickey go. He had a wonderful life and he always appreciated me deeply and I loved him for that."

© Photo: Instagram

Born in 1936, Mickey's death was shared by the mayor of Pasadena Texas, writing: "It was my great honor to know this man most of my life. Mickey was a true musical talent who charted 42 singles in the Top 40 Country Charts over a span of two decades."

Mickey leveraged his success with Urban Cowboy into an acting career, starring in The Fall Guy, Fantasy Island, and Dukes of Hazzard.

MORE: John Travolta leaves fans in disbelief as he shares unreal experience following major milestone

MORE: John Travolta's son Ben leaves fans stunned with hidden talent

He is one of only a few artists to win the ACM's Triple Crown Award, which most recently was won by Miranda Lambert.

He won six Academy of Country Music Awards and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame over his career, and in 2011 he was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame.

© Photo: Getty Images

Mickey's career was rejuvenated by Urban Cowboy

He is survived by his wife Cindy Loeb Gilley, and children Kathy, Michael, Gregory and Keith Ray, as well as four grandchildren and nine great grandchildren and his cousins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Jimmy Swaggart.

Read more HELLO! US stories here

Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox