Popular US Country Music Star Kris Kristofferson Dies, Aged 88

Award-winning country singer and actor, Kris Kristofferson, who worked with Johnny Cash and Martin Scorsese, has died. 

A representative said he passed away "peacefully" at his home in Hawaii, surrounded by family, at the age of 88.

The statement described Kristofferson as "a peacenik, a revolutionary, an actor, a superstar, a sex symbol, and a family man."

Kris Kristofferson was known for his songwriting, notably credited for Me and Bobby McGee, and Help Me Make It Through the Night, among others. He also acted in the hit movie A Star Is Born.

A message from his family said they were all "so blessed" for the time they had 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."

Born in Brownsville, Texas, on 22 June, 1936, Kristofferson became a leading figure in country music.

“When I got started, I was one of the people hoping to bring respect to country music,” he said, according to the family message.

“Some of the songs I had that got to be hits did that. I imagine that’s why somebody might vote me into a Hall of Fame. I know it’s not because of my golden throat.”

Kristofferson studied writing at Pomona College in California before attending Oxford as a Rhodes scholar, where he earned a master's degree in 1960. After returning to the U.S., he joined the army and was tasked with teaching literature, a role he described as "sounding like hell." In 1965, after visiting Nashville, he resigned from the military within two weeks to pursue a music career in the heart of country music.

The head of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Kyle Young, praised Kristofferson's lasting impact, stating, "Kris Kristofferson believed creativity is a gift from God, and those who ignore it are bound to be unhappy. He taught that a life of the mind gives voice to the soul, and his work expressed not only his soul but ours."

Kristofferson won three Grammy Awards: Best Country Song for "Help Me Make It Through the Night" in 1972, and two duet awards with his then-wife Rita Coolidge in 1974 and 1976.

In 1971 Kristofferson debuted as an actor, going on to win a Golden Globe for his portrayal of John Norman Howard in A Star Is Born (1976) opposite Barbra Streisand's Ester Hoffman.

Streisand shared a tribute to her co-star on Instagram, saying she knew watching him perform for the first time that he was "something special" and the perfect choice for A Star Is Born.

At her latest concert in London's Hyde Park in 2019, she invited Kristofferson on stage to sing a duet from the film.

"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," she said.

In 1985 Kristofferson joined friends Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson to form a supergroup called The Highwaymen.

“Every time I look at a picture of Willie and me and John and Waylon, I find it amazing that they let the janitor in there,” he told journalist Mikal Gilmore, referring to his former job at CBS's Nashville studio.

In 2003, Kristofferson received the Free Speech Award from the Americana Music Association.

A year later, he became a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

He also received multiple lifetime achievement honours, including from The Recording Academy, the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.

Kristofferson is survived by his wife Lisa, his eight children, and seven grandchildren.

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