Mickey Gilley, Who Helped Inspire ‘Urban Cowboy,’ Dies at 86

Mickey Gilley poses with the Triple Crown Award on the red carpet at the 50th annual Academy of Country Music Awards at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on April 19, 2015. Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP

NEW YORK—Country star Mickey Gilley, whose namesake Texas honky-tonk inspired the 1980 film “Urban Cowboy” and a nationwide wave of Western-themed nightspots, has died. He was 86.

Gilley died Saturday in Branson, Missouri, where he helped run the Mickey Gilley Grand Shanghai Theatre. He had been performing as recently as last month, but was in failing health over the past week.