Kris Kristofferson, country music icon and celebrated Hollywood actor, died on Saturday (September 28) at the age of 88. Kristofferson died peacefully at his home in Maui while surrounded by his family. No cause of death has been disclosed. Kristofferson was a native of Brownsville, Texas, who wrote classic country songs like “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” “For the Good Times,” and “Me and Bobby McGee.” Kristofferson also made his mark in Hollywood, featuring in Martin Scorsese’s 1974 film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, and starring opposite Barbra Streisand in the 1976 hit movie, A Star Is Born, with the duo’s collaborative 4x-platinum soundtrack reaching No. 1 on the Billboard chart.
Kristofferson placed three No. 1 records on the Top Country Albums chart, 1973’s Jesus Was a Capricorn and Full Moon (with Rita Coolidge), and 1985’s Highwayman (with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash), while scoring two No. 1 Hot Country Songs singles, 1973’s “Why Me” and 1985’s “Highwayman.” “There’s no better songwriter alive than Kris Kristofferson,” Willie Nelson said in 2009. “Everything he writes is a standard and we’re all just going to have to live with that.” (Billboard)
