The American filmmaker directed several Academy Award-nominated films including The Fox, The Reivers, Cinderella Liberty, The Rose and The River.
He also directed Midler in The Rose, which was loosely based on the life of Janis Joplin and was released in 1979.
Paying tribute to Rydell on Instagram, Midler shared photos of him behind cameras and on set with her, captioning the post: "Mark Rydell, the director or my first film, The Rose, died this morning.
"He was an actor of note before he became a director, and I was so lucky to have met him when I did; he taught me so much on The Rose and later on For The Boys. Two Oscars nominations, both because of him.
"He was the actor's whisperer; just a few words was all it took to understand what was needed. Devoted to Meisner. So many happy memories. Â RIP."
Rydell was best known for directing 1981 romantic drama On Golden Pond, which starred Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda and his daughter Jane Fonda.
The film received 10 Academy Award nominations, including for best picture, and won three: best actor for Fonda, best actress for Hepburn, and best adapted screenplay.
On Golden Pond also marked Henry Fonda's final screen role before his death aged 77 in 1982.
Born Mortimer H Rydell in New York City, the director initially trained at the Juilliard School of Music but later studied as an actor at both the Neighbourhood Playhouse and at the Actors Studio
He went on to appear in Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye and in As The World Turns for six years.
Rydell then turned his focus to directing, leading episodes of television shows including Mr Novak, Ben Casey and Gunsmoke.
His first feature film as director was 1967's The Fox, and two years later directed Steve McQueen in The Reivers and John Wayne in 1972's The Cowboys, before going on to direct the string of Oscar-nominated films.
The director's final credit was a 2007 episode of the series Masters of Science Fiction hosted by Stephen Hawking.
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