Getty ImagesKris Kristofferson, the award-winning country singer and actor who worked with Johnny Cash and Martin Scorsese, has died at the age of 88.
A representative said he died “peacefully” at his home in Hawaii on Saturday, surrounded by family.
The statement described Kristofferson as a “peacenik, revolutionary, actor, star, sex symbol, and family man.”
The multi-award winner was known for his songwriting, most notably Me and Bobby McGee, and Help Me Make It Through the Night, among others. He also starred in the hit movie A Star Is Born.
A message from his family said they were all “very blessed” for the time they had with him.
“Thank you for loving him all these years, and if you see a rainbow, know that you are all smiling,” said the message, quoted by CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
Born in Brownsville, Texas, on June 22, 1936, Kristofferson became a leading figure in country music.
“When I started I was one of the people who hoped to bring respect to country music,” he said, according to a family message.
“Some of the songs I had that were hits did that. I think that’s why someone else voted for me in the Hall of Fame. I know it’s not because of my golden throat.”
Kristofferson studied writing at Pomona College in California and later went to Oxford as a Rhodes scholar. He got his masters from Oxford in 1960, then returned to the US and joined the army.
He was assigned to the army to teach literature, which he said “felt like hell”.
In 1965 he visited Nashville, and within two weeks he resigned from his position and moved to the country music scene to continue his music career.
The head of the Country Hall of Fame and Museum said he left behind an “amazing legacy”.
Kris Kristofferson believed that art comes from God, and those who ignore such a gift will lose happiness,” wrote Kyle Young in X. “He preached that the life of the mind gives voice to the soul, and his work is silent. not only in his soul but in ours.”
He won three Grammys for best country song, Help Me Make It Through the Night in 1972, and two separate duets with Rita Coolidge (1974, 1976), whom he married in the 1970s.
In 1971 Kristofferson made his acting debut, 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.
His acting career saw him play many roles, including Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Lone Star, and the Blade franchise.
In 1985 Kristfferson 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 guard down there,” he told reporter Mikal Gilmore, referring to his former job at the CBS studio in Nashville.
In 2003, Kristfferson 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 has also received numerous awards throughout his career, including The Recording Academy, Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.
Kristofferson is survived by his wife Lisa, eight children and seven grandchildren.
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