Kevin Bacon’s Tribute to Bonnie Tyler Will Hit Every ‘Footloose’ Fan Hard

Iconic actor Kevin Bacon is among millions heartbroken over the death of beloved singer Bonnie Tyler, 75. Her family announced Tyler’s death on July 9, news that came weeks after she had been hospitalized and in a coma.

Bacon has an unforgettable connection to one of Tyler’s most famous songs, “Holding Out for a Hero.” Although the song became immensely popular in its own right, it was also used in a key scene in Bacon’s breakout role in Footloose.

After learning of Tyler’s death, Bacon provided a statement to Entertainment Weekly. He noted that she was “one of the great voices of rock.”

“I could not imagine chicken racing a tractor to any other song. RIP,” Bacon added.

As Entertainment Weekly noted, Tyler’s death on July 8 happened on Bacon’s 68th birthday.

In Footloose, Tyler’s song “Holding Out for a Hero” plays as Bacon’s character, Ren McCormack, faces off against local bully Chuck Cranston (Jim Youngs) in a tractor game of “chicken.”

Ren, the city kid who is new to the small and conservative town, surprisingly wins the face-off. However, viewers saw that he stayed on the tractor solely because his shoe got stuck and he couldn’t jump off the tractor before Chuck did.

Both that scene and Tyler’s song became forever iconic for those who loved the 1984 film.

Other movie fans may recall that “Holding Out for a Hero” was also prominently used in the animated film Shrek 2, which was released in 2004.

Tyler was also known for the song “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” which played a part in a fan-favorite scene in the television show Modern Family.

A statement on Tyler’s Facebook page read, “Bonnie’s family and team are heartbroken to announce that Bonnie unexpectedly passed away last night in [a] hospital in Portugal as a result of the illness she was being treated for.”

The Facebook statement indicated that more information would be released “shortly,” but “for now [we] ask for privacy to deal with this tragedy.”

Thousands of fans flooded the post on Tyler’s Facebook page with condolences. Fellow entertainers took to social media to mourn Tyler’s death, as well.

Bryan Adams tweeted, “Dear Bonnie Tyler passed today, she had such a great voice and I’ll always be grateful for her beautiful version of Straight From the Heart.”

A fan shared a clip of the song from Shrek 2 and tweeted, “I’m honestly crying over the Bonnie Tyler thing. She walked so the rest of us could have one of the best musical scenes in the history of cinema. May she rest in peace because she deserves it.”