RIP Kris Kristofferson

 

Kris Kristofferson, Country Music Legend and ‘A Star Is Born’ Leading Man, Dies at 88

Variety

By Chris Morris

September 29, 2024

 

Kris Kristofferson, who attained success as both a groundbreaking country music singer-songwriter and a Hollywood film and TV star, died Saturday at home in Maui, Hawaii. No cause of death was given, but he was described as passing away peacefully while surrounded by family. He was 88.

Said his family in a statement, “It is with a heavy heart that we share the news our husband/father/grandfather, Kris Kristofferson, passed away peacefully on Saturday, Sept. 28 at home. We’re all so blessed for our time with him. Thank you for loving him all these many years, and when you see a rainbow, know he’s smiling down at us all.” The statement was offered on behalf of Kristofferson’s wife, Lisa; his eight children, Tracy, Kris Jr., Casey, Jesse, Jody, John, Kelly and Blake; and his seven grandchildren.

Kyle Young, the CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, said, “Kris Kristofferson believed to his core that creativity is God-given, and that those who ignore or deflect such a holy gift are doomed to failure and unhappiness. He preached that a life of the mind gives voice to the soul, and then he created a body of work that gave voice not only to his soul but to ours. Kris’s heroes included the prize fighter Muhammad Ali, the great poet William Blake, and the ‘Hillbilly Shakespeare,’ Hank Williams. He lived his life in a way that honored and exemplified the values of each of those men, and he leaves a righteous, courageous and resounding legacy that rings with theirs.”

Kristofferson had already spent several modestly successful years in Music City’s song mills by the time he broke through as the author of such No. 1 country hits as “For the Good Times” (Ray Price, 1970), “Sunday Morning Coming Down” (Johnny Cash, 1970) and “Help Me Make It Through the Night” (Sammi Smith, 1971). His song “Me and Bobby McGee” became a posthumous No. 1 pop hit for his former paramour Janis Joplin in 1971.

His first four albums for Monument Records, which showcased his rough, unmannered singing and poetically crafted, proto-outlaw country songs, all reached the country top 10, and 1972’s “Jesus Was a Capricorn,” which contained his No. 1 country hit “Why Me,” topped the country LP chart. He won three Grammys: for best country song (“Help Me Make It Through the Night”) and a pair of duets with Rita Coolidge, to whom he was married from 1973-80.

KRISTOFFERSON, Kris (Kristoffer Kristofferson)

Born: 6/22/1936, Brownsville, Texas, U.S.A.

Died: 9/28/2024, Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A.

 

Kris Kristofferson’s westerns – actor:

Pat Garret and Billy the Kid – 1973 (Billy the Kid)

Heaven’s Gate – 1980 (Averill)

The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James (TV) – 1986 (Jesse James)

Stagecoach (TV) – 1986 (Ringo Kid/Bill Williams)

The Tracker (TV) – 1988 (Noble Adams)

Pair of Aces (TV) – 1990 (Rip Metcalf)

Another Pair of Aces: Three of a Kind (TV) – 1991 (Rip Metcalf)

Outlaw Justice (TV) – 1999 (Jesse Ray Torrance)

Requiem for Billy the Kid – 2006 [narrator]

Miracle in the Wilderness (TV) – 1991 (Jericho Adams)

Sodbusters (TV) – 1994 (Destiny)

Adventures of the Old West – 1995

Blue Rodeo – (TV) 1996 (Owen Whister)

Pharaoh’s Army – 1995 (Preacher)

Lone Star – 1996 (Charlie Wade)

Dead Man’s Gun (TV) – 1997-1999 [narrator]

Two for Texas (TV) – 1998 (Hugh Allison)

Comanche – 2000 (Sergeant Sam Winchester)

Go West Young Man - 2003

Gun – 2005 [voice of Ned White]

Requiem for Billy the Kid - 2006

Fallout: New Vegas – 2010 (

The Last Rites of Ransom Pride – 2010 (Sheperd Graves)

Texas Rising (TV) 2015 (Andrew Jackson)

Traded – 2016 (Billy)

Hickok – 2017 (George Knox)

Born on the Rez – 2018 [himself]