COUNTRY music superstar and Hollywood actor Kris Kristofferson has died at the age of 88 after an incredible career spanning six decades.
Kristofferson died peacefully surrounded by family at his home in Maui, Hawaii, on Saturday, a family spokeswoman said.
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Kris Kristofferson has died at the age of 88 Credit: Getty – Contributor
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Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand shot the cult film from 1976 — A Star Is Born
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Kristofferson walks the red carpet during the premiere of his film DreamerCredit: AP
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Kristofferson performs in 2003. Credits: Allstar
Acknowledgments began to pour in for Kristofferson, who played with Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, and is best known for the hit Me and Bobby McGee.
Country Music Hall of Fame Executive Director Kyle Young said, “Kris Kristofferson believed that creativity is God-given, and those who ignore such a gift are doomed.
“He preached that the life of the mind gives voice to the soul, and his work gave voice not only to his but also to our soul.
“He leaves a sonic legacy.”
Country music wasn’t Kristofferson’s first career choice, as he went through the elite Army Ranger School, learned to fly a helicopter and reached the rank of captain.
After moving to Nashville in 1965, Kristofferson became a janitor at Columbia Records because it would give him the opportunity to pitch his songs to the famous stars recording there.
He didn’t make a record until he was 33, but he became one of country music’s most famous stars.
Beginning in the late 1960s, the Brownsville, Texas native wrote such classic standards as Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down, Help Me Make it Through the Night, For the Good Times and Me and Bobby McGee.
During his career, he was encouraged by a brief backstage meeting with his other idol, country superstar Johnny Cash.
“I’m sure he didn’t remember it,” Kristofferson said, “but for me that moment was electric. He was everything I expected.”
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Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson appear at the preview of their film Credit: AP
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Kristofferson in No Place to Hide 1992 Credit: Rex
But he came to play with Cash, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings in the country supergroup the Highwaymen.
As an actor, he played the leading man opposite Barbra Streisand in A Star Is Born, but he also loved gunfights and cowboy dramas.
Born into a military family in Brownsville, Texas, his father rose through the ranks to become a major general in the US Air Force.
At first, the handsome, athletic Kristofferson was the apple of his parents’ eye.
He excelled in sports, playing American football and rugby at a high level.
He even received a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University, where he received a blue for boxing.
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Kristofferson in The Sailor Who Fallen from Grace with the Sea Credit: Alamy
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