Award-winning country singer and actor Kris Kristofferson, star of films such as Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid And A star is bornunfortunately passed away at the age of 88, it has been confirmed. The news was announced by Kristofferson’s family last night on his official Instagram account, with a statement as follows: “It is with heavy hearts that we share the news that our husband/father/grandfather, Kris Kristofferson, passed away peacefully on Saturday dead. September 28 at home. We are all so blessed for our time with him. Thank you for loving him all these years, and when you see a rainbow, know that he is smiling at us all.”

Born to Mary Ann and Lars Henry Kristofferson in Brownsville, Texas on June 22, 1936, Kristoffer Kristofferson’s pursuit of the creative arts began at an early age. While his father’s service in the U.S. Air Force certainly seemed to push Kristofferson into a military career, and the multi-hyphenate would one day serve as a second lieutenant stationed in West Germany in the early 1960s, a young Kris wrote award-winning essays in his early years for The Atlantic Monthin literature from Pomona College in California, and – when he wasn’t on the court, playing American football or getting his knees dirty as a budding rugby player – started writing songs while studying on a scholarship at the University of Oxford.

After breaking through in the early 1970s as a singer-songwriter who wrote hits for Johnny Cash, Janis Joplin, Ray Price and Sammy Smith, among others, and scored several top 10 country albums, Kristofferson – with his sky-blue eyes, characteristic beard and a incredibly cool personality – quickly turned his attention to a second act in his creative life as an actor. After making an impressive debut starring Gene Hackman in the 1972 crime drama Cisco PikeKristofferson’s film career took off, with the aspiring actor delivering a slew of powerful turns in Sam Peckinpah films Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid, bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia, And Convoyand also stars in the romantic lead role of Paul Mazursky Blume in love and Martin Scorsese’s Alice no longer lives here.

Perhaps best known among Kristofferson’s filmography is Frank Pierson’s 1976 version A star is born. As washed-up rock ‘n’ roll legend John Norman Howard, a character that would one day be played by Elvis Presley, Kristofferson is in erratic form, bringing a lived-in sense of world-weariness, abundant sex appeal and magnetic charm. to Barbra Streisand’s ill-fated friend. The role won Kristofferson a well-deserved Golden Globe for Best Actor, spurring the star on to further, increasingly ambitious projects such as Michael Cimino’s much-maligned but recently (deservedly) reappraised Western epic. Heavenly Gate.

Heading into the ’90s and ’00s, Kristofferson continued to work consistently on both the big and small screen, with highlights from this period in his career including a wonderfully dark turn as sadistic redneck sheriff Charlie Wade in John Sayles’ Lone stara trifecta of impressive performances as vampire hunter Abraham Whistler in the Leaf films and an unmistakable voice-over as narrator of Todd Haynes’ surreal Bob Dylan film I’m not here. Trying to pick out notable turns from Kristofferson – who earned more than 120 credits in film and television while carving his way as one of America’s greatest singer-songwriters of all time – is a folly, but whether you’re a gunslinger, a rock star or Kris Kristofferson, Miss Piggy’s singing partner, always made a lasting impression.

Since Kristofferson’s death was announced, tributes have poured in from far and wide. Are A star is born Co-leader Barbra Streisand recalled on Instagram that the rocker was in “charming as ever” form when the duo shared the stage in London’s Hyde Park in 2019. Fellow singer-songwriter Dolly Parton movingly recalled “a great writer, a great actor.” , a good friend” on X, and says, “I will always love you.” And Kristofferson’s Knife II director Guillermo del Toro added his own personal tribute, calling him “a true and proven humanist and a stand-up guy,” a man he affectionately describes as “principled, funny and absolutely no-nonsense.”

Kris Kristofferson will be remembered for his fierce artistry, his fearlessness as a performer and his incredible depth of humanity, reflected in his interviews, his music and – of course – the films he made and the TV shows on which he appeared. He will be missed, and our thoughts are with his friends, family and loved ones at this difficult time.