MOVIE NEWS – Kris Kristofferson, the iconic country singer and star of The Blade, The Convoy and The Star Is Born, has died at the age of 88.

Legendary country musician Kris Kristofferson has died. He was 88 years old. The star had a prolific musical and acting career, including starring alongside Barbra Streisand in A Star Is Born (1976) and in Wesley Snipes’ Blade Trilogy. The star’s family shared the sad news on Instagram in a message in which they revealed that Kristofferson passed away on Saturday. The statement read:

“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that our husband/father/grandfather, Kris Kristofferson, passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 28 at home. 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.”

Although Kristofferson is best known as an iconic country singer/songwriter, he also had a stellar career on the big screen. From the moment he made his acting debut in the 1971 Dennis Hopper film The Last Movie, he very quickly gained a serious reputation in the world of films.

Kris Kristofferson’s career

Born in Brownsville, Texas, in 1936, Kristofferson pursued his dreams of a more creative life in Nashville instead of an academic or military career. He established himself in the world of country music with hits such as “Me and Bobby McGee”, “Help Me Make It Through the Night”, and “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down”. But after her film debut, it became clear that another path was calling her almost as strongly as music, and just two years after her role in The Last Movie, she found her breakthrough role in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.

The combination of Kristofferson’s soulful voice and rugged good looks soon led to several other roles, such as Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. He played his best-known role in the 1976 version of A Star is Born. Playing a faded rock star opposite Barbra Streisand, Kristofferson won a Golden Globe for Best Actor for the role and continued to have more and more film roles throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

His widely known film, especially in Europe, is the 1978 Convoy.

The truck revenge thriller is still a favourite of many fans in the genre. While Kristofferson remained active in film and music, he starred in several genre films in the 1990s and 2000s that endeared him to a new generation. The biggest of these was the 1998 Marvel film Blade, in which he played one of the leading roles as the gruff vampire hunter Whistler, who was responsible for training Wesley Snipes’ title character, Daywalker. He also appeared in Blade II and Blade: Trinity. Other notable films in which Kristofferson starred in this period are Mel Gibson’s action thriller Payback, and Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes remake. In total, he appeared in more than 100 films and TV series during his career.

Whether playing complex characters on screen, delivering music projects solo and as a member of country supergroups like The Highwaymen, or working with Stephen King on the musical Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, Kristofferson has worked tirelessly until his retirement in 2021. His last live performance was at the Sunrise Theater in Florida in 2020.

Source: Instagram

“Kris Kristofferson believed creativity is God-given, and those who ignore such a gift are doomed to unhappiness. He preached that a life of the mind gives voice to the soul, and his work gave voice not only to his soul but to ours. He leaves a resounding legacy.”
—Kyle Young,… pic.twitter.com/JMyZp6lJUr

— Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (@countrymusichof) September 29, 2024