Legendary country musician and actor Kris Kristofferson dies aged 88
30 September 2024, 10:46
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Kris Kristofferson has died aged 88
The legendary country musician and actor died at his home in Maui, Hawaii on Saturday 29th September 2024 according to his family's spokesperson Ebie McFarland.
No cause was given for Kristofferson's death, though it was stated he died peacefully, surrounded by his family.
An emotional family statement on Instagram read: "It is with a heavy heart that we share the news our husband/father/grandfather, Kris Kristofferson, passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 28 at home.
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"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 confirming his passing was signed from the "Family of Kris Kristofferson”, which added: "The family asks for privacy during this time."
Kris Kristofferson - who retired from the entertainment industry three years ago - is survived by his wife Lisa, his eight children, and seven grandchildren.
He was a true American Renaissance man: a romantic poet, troubadour, and country music storyteller, his Grammy Award-winning music touched millions, with classic songs such as 'Help Me Make It Through the Night', 'Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down', and 'Me and Bobby McGee'.
Alongside Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings, Kristofferson formed outlaw country supergroup The Highwaymen, who only released three albums together between 1985 and 1995.
But Kristofferson was a man of seemingly endless talents and achievements. Throughout his life he was a boxer, US Army veteran, pilot, author, Rhodes scholar, and even a one-time janitor.
Aside from music, however, it will be his acting that will live equally as long in the memory, starring in films such as Heaven's Gate, Blade, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Stagecoach, and Vigilante Force.
It was his turn as beleaguered country music star John Norman Howard in the 1976 version of A Star Is Born opposite Barbra Streisand that established Kristofferson as an icon of the silver screen however.
Kristofferson's performance won him a Golden Globe, and a lifelong friendship with Barbra, who he joined on stage in 2019 at her BST Hyde Park headline performance.
After hearing the news of his death, Streisand took to Instagram to pay tribute to her late co-star:
"The first time I saw Kris performing at the Troubadour club in L.A. I knew he was something special," she wrote.
"Barefoot and strumming his guitar, he seemed like the perfect choice for a script I was developing, which eventually became 'A Star Is Born'. In the movie, Kris and I sang the song I’d written for the film’s main love theme, 'Evergreen'.
"For my latest concert in 2019 at London’s Hyde Park, I asked Kris to join me on-stage to sing our other 'A Star Is Born duet', 'Lost Inside Of You'. He was as charming as ever, and the audience showered him with applause.
"It was a joy seeing him receive the recognition and love he so richly deserved. My thoughts go to Kris’ wife, Lisa who I know supported him in every way possible."
Kris' old friend Dolly Parton was one of many fellow country music legends to pay tribute to the late musician.
In a post on social media, Dolly wrote: "What a great loss. What a great writer. What a great actor. What a great friend. I will always love you, Dolly."
Adored by his peers, Kristofferson was inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 2004, whose chief executive Kyle Young said:
"Kris Kristofferson believed creativity is God-given, and those who ignore such a gift are doomed to unhappiness.
"He preached that a life of the mind gives voice to the soul, and his work gave voice not only to his soul but to ours. He leaves a resounding legacy."
Nobody put it better than Willie Nelson, however, who in 2009 said: "There's no better songwriter alive than Kris Kristofferson. Everything he writes is a standard and we're all just going to have to live with that."
