09/30/2024
Kris Kristofferson has died!
Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American country singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night", all of which were hits for other artists.
In 1985, Kristofferson joined fellow country artists Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash in the country music supergroup the Highwaymen, which was a key creative force in the outlaw country music movement that eschewed the traditional Nashville country music machine in favor of independent songwriting and producing.
As an actor, Kristofferson was known for his roles in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), Blume in Love (1973), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), A Star Is Born (1976) (which earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor), Convoy (1978), Heaven's Gate (1980), Stagecoach (1986), Lone Star (1996), and the Blade film trilogy (1998–2004). Kristofferson was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.
Kris's father was a Major General in the Air Force and young Kris was raised as an Air Force Brat. He became an Army Officer and Helicopter Pilot and Rhodes Scholar! He had an amazing life. One of hit songs that went viral was WHY ME LORD. After gaining the reputation of an outlaw and bad guy, WHY ME LORD had a profound impact on people because it was so real and authentic coming from someone who considered himself truly lost from God.
In 1961, Kristofferson married his longtime girlfriend, Frances "Fran" Mavia Beer, eventually divorcing. Kristofferson briefly dated Janis Joplin before her death in October 1970. His second marriage was to singer Rita Coolidge in 1973, ending in divorce by 1980. Kristofferson married Lisa Meyers in 1983.
Kristofferson and Meyers owned a home in Las Flores Canyon in Malibu, California, and maintained a residence in Hana, Hawaii, on the island of Maui. Kristofferson had eight children from his three marriages: two from his first marriage to Fran Beer; one from his second marriage to Rita Coolidge and five from his marriage to his third wife, Lisa (née Meyers) Kristofferson.
Kristofferson said that he would like the first three lines of Leonard Cohen's "Bird on the Wire" on his tombstone:
Like a bird on the wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free
Kristofferson died at his home in Maui on September 28, 2024. He was 88. RIP
Posted As A National PSA in the 2024 Series
By HistoryDawg Productions.
