Country music legend and actor Kris Kristofferson has died at the age of 88 at his home in Maui, Hawaii. A spokesperson for his family said, “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.” A cause of death has not been released.
Born in Brownsville, Texas, Kristofferson was a Rhodes Scholar who served in the U.S. Army as a helicopter pilot and attained the rank of Captain. He began his career as a struggling Nashville musician until he broke through as a songwriter with smash hits like “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” and “Sunday Morning Coming Down.” Along with legends like Willie Nelson, he pioneered the Outlaw Country movement, a loose collection of country artists in the 1970s and 1980s who fought for their creative freedom outside of the Nashville country music establishment.
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In the 1980s, he teamed up with Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson to form the country supergroup The Highwaymen. The band’s first album went platinum in the United States.
Kristofferson also found success in film, starring in major productions such as A Star is Born, alongside Barbara Streisand, for which he won a Golden Globe award, and Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Later, he even helped jumpstart the comic book movie trend that would later dominate Hollywood with his role as Whistler in the Blade films.
Kristofferson battled substance abuse issues and depression throughout his career. Despite some hardships, he remained a stalwart figure in the entertainment industry. He won three Grammy awards and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004.
