Country music icon and actor Kris Kristofferson, known for his role in helping the outlaw country movement, passed away at the age of 88 on Sunday at his home in Hawaii.
Kristofferson had one of the oddest starts to his music journey as his first job in Nashville was as a janitor at Columbia Music, where he met June Carter and had her give Johnny Cash some of his music. He also spent a few years as a commercial helicopter pilot at Lafayette’s PHI.
Shortly after, his music career took off when Cash recorded Kristofferson’s song “Sunday Mornin Comin Down” and won him a Songwriter of the Year award for it in 1970. Several more of his hits were recorded, including “Me and Bobby McGee”.
From there, his own music career began to take shape after he released a few albums in the early 70s before a legendary film career began. His time on screen included A Star is Born with Barbara Streisand, for which Kristofferson won an Academy Award for Best Actor, and the Blade trilogy in the early 2000s.
Kristofferson also spent time in a country music group The Highwaymen with Cash, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings and the group was a major success. He continued his film career while doing the group and had great success in both avenues.
He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985, the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004, and in 2007 was awarded the Johnny Cash Visionary Award by CMT.
He had eight children from three marriages and lived in Hawaii until his death.
