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Agence France-Presse

US singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson, a country music legend who notably hit the silver screen opposite Barbra Streisand in A Star is Born, died at the age of 88, his family announced Sunday.
No cause of death was given in a statement issued by the family of the artist, a Country Music Hall of Fame honoree and Grammy winner known for writing hits like “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” and “Me and Bobby McGee”.
Kristofferson performed solo for decades but also formed the supergroup The Highwaymen in the mid-1980s with Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.
In film, the Golden Globe winner was also known for his appearances as Whistler alongside Wesley Snipes in the vampire trilogy Blade.

“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” In Hawaii, the family said in a statement carried on his official Facebook page.
“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.”
Born on June 22, 1936, in Brownsville, Texas, Kristofferson moved frequently as a child because his father was in the US military. He attended Pomona College in California and went to Oxford as a Rhodes scholar, according to his official website.
He joined the army, but was still pursuing his interest in music and songwriting. He was offered a teaching job at West Point but decided instead to head to Nashville, where he began to submit songs for others to record.
He finally signed his own record deal and put out a first album in 1970. He would earn success both with his own voice and by providing tunes for other hitmakers.
Cash took “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” to the top of the charts, and Ray Price did the same with “For the Good Times”.

“Me and Bobby McGee” became a posthumous hit for Janis Joplin, who once dated Kristofferson.
“You can look at Nashville pre-Kris and post-Kris, because he changed everything,” Bob Dylan is quoted on Kristofferson’s website as saying.
Kristofferson sang in a raspy voice about loneliness, hard times and romance. One of his heroes was English poet William Blake.
Kristofferson would go on to pivot to acting, where his good looks led to work with directors Sam Peckinpah and Martin Scorsese.
Then came the massive success of A Star is Born (1976), in which he played a washed-up rock singer who discovers a new talent (Streisand).
He won the Golden Globe for best actor for the film, a remake of a 1937 movie that was again redone in the 1950s with Judy Garland, and later in 2018 with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga.

Kristofferson’s acting career hit a snag when he starred in the notorious flop Heaven’s Gate in 1980, and he struggled with drugs and alcohol, but he went on to take dozens of other TV and film roles.
As a solo artist, his album output tapered off after the 1980s. The Highwaymen recorded three popular albums over a decade, and he collaborated often with Nelson in the years that followed.
Kristofferson toured often until the Covid-19 pandemic, though he suffered from memory loss and announced in early 2021 that he had retired from music.
“He created a body of work that gave voice not only to his soul but to ours,” Country Music Hall of Fame CEO Kyle Young said in a statement.
Kristofferson is survived by his third wife Lisa and his eight children.


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Obituaries

Kris Kristofferson, American country music star and actor, dead at 88

Kris Kristofferson in 2017. File photo: AFP

Producer Jon Peters, Barbra Streisand with Kristofferson at a preview of A Star is Born in New York in 1976. File photo: AP

Country stars Johnny Cash, left and Kris Kristofferson in 1983. File photo: AP

Kris Kristofferson in 1995. File photo: AP

Beverly Hills Cop actor John Ashton dead at 76

John Ashton arrives at the premiere of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F in June. The actor has died at the age of 76. Photo: Invision via AP

John Ashton in 1999. File photo: Reuters 

James Earl Jones, acclaimed actor and voice of Star Wars’ Darth Vader, dead at 93

James Earl Jones in 2017. The actor died on Monday at 93. File photo: Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions

David Prowse wore the costume, but James Earl Jones provided the voice for Darth Vader. File photo: Lucasfilm 

James Earl Jones poses with his honorary Oscar in 2012. File photo: AP

James Earl Jones in 2013. File photo: AP

Edward B. Johnson, second CIA officer in Iran for ‘Argo’ rescue mission, dies at 81

Edward B. Johnson, right, receives the CIA’s Intelligence Star from John N. McMahon, then the agency’s deputy director for operations, in 1980. File photo: Family of Edward B. Johnson / CIA via AP

A photo of a painting hanging at the CIA’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia shows former CIA officers Antonio ‘Tony’ Mendez, face visible, and Edward B. Johnson. Photo: CIA via AP

Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez, centre, in the Oscar-winning film Argo. Photo: AP

Tito Jackson, member of the Jackson 5 and Michael’s brother, dead at 70

Tito Jackson, a member of the famed Jackson 5, in 2019. File photo: Invision via AP

The Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, front right; Marlon Jackson, front left; Tito Jackson, back left; Jackie Jackson, back centre; and Jermaine Jackson, back right. File photo: AP

News

World

United States & Canada

Kris Kristofferson became one of the most influential American singer-songwriters of his time and a successful actor


Kris Kristofferson became one of the most influential American singer-songwriters of his time and a successful actor.
