# Kris Kristofferson has died
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** celebrity-death
**Created:** [September 29, 2024, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260 "2024-09-29T22:54:45Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2024, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260/1 "2024-09-29T22:54:45Z")
> **[Kris Kristofferson, Country Music Legend and ‘A Star Is Born’ Leading Man,...](https://variety.com/2024/film/obituaries-people-news/kris-kristofferson-dead-country-music-legend-actor-1236159472/)**
>
> Kris Kristofferson, a groundbreaking country music singer-songwriter and a Hollywood actor in 'A Star Is Born' and 'Blade,' has died at age 88
I don’t care what anybody says. I liked _Heaven’t Gate_.
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### Author:  [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2024, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260/2 "2024-09-29T23:00:45Z")
My favorite lyricist, bar none.
I’d trade all my tomorrows for a single yesterday.
Dreaming was as easy as believing it was never gonna end.
I headed up the street and caught the Sunday smell of someone frying chicken, and it took me back to something that I lost somewhere, somehow along the way.
Damn.
Only Willie remains.
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2024, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260/3 "2024-09-29T23:06:31Z")
“Heaven’s Gate” wasn’t a bad movie. It was just so grandiose!
RIP.
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### Author:  [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2024, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260/4 "2024-09-29T23:11:42Z")
I always liked a handful of old country songs, but in general did not care for the genre. I changed my mind after watching Ken Burns’ documentary _Country Music_. Lots of good stuff there, but the very best of it was by Kristofferson. An amazing lyricist and a very impressive man. I bought several of his CDs after seeing the special. And of course my Spotify list has many songs of his.
So many great lines. What a poet!
_Yesterday is dead and gone
And tomorrow’s out of sight_
_And found my cleanest dirty shirt_
_My thirsty wanted whiskey
But my hunger needed beans_
_She ain’t ashamed to be a woman
Or afraid to be a friend_
_Busted flat in Baton Rouge waiting for a train
And was feeling near as faded as my jeans_
_Freedom’s just another word
For nothing left to lose_
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### Author:  [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2024, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260/5 "2024-09-29T23:12:45Z")
His film _Millenium_ is an old favorite of mine.
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### Author:  [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2024, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260/6 "2024-09-29T23:13:00Z")
A star has died.
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### Author:  [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2024, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260/7 "2024-09-29T23:13:32Z")
Love Kristofferson’s music and several of his acting roles. He was great as Whistler in the _Blade_ series.
More than just a great performer, Kristofferson was a stand-up human being. I’m always moved at him telling Sinead O’Connor “Don’t let the bastards get ya down” after she was booed off the stage at a Bob Dylan tribute concert for having the audacity to speak publicly about the crimes of Catholic clergy. If you want an example of non-toxic masculinity, that would be it.
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### Author:  [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2024, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260/8 "2024-09-29T23:24:43Z")
He was what some might call a Renaissance man, talented in many disciplines and a master of all. I liked him. I’ll miss him.
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### Author:  [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2024, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260/9 "2024-09-29T23:24:56Z")
The movie, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. If you haven’t seen it, you should.
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### Author:  [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2024, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260/10 "2024-09-29T23:36:44Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#):
>
> I don’t care what anybody says. I liked _Heaven’t Gate_.
Should I put that into the Typo Thread or is that a sarcastic dig in disguise?
I liked him in the Blade movies, well the first two at least.
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### Author:  [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2024, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260/11 "2024-09-29T23:39:47Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#):
>
> I liked him in the Blade movies, well the first two at least.
Good gracious! I had completely forgotten that was him. In my head he got mixed up with Sam Elliot who totally would have played that role 10 years later.
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2024, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260/12 "2024-09-29T23:42:55Z")
Dude did it all. Probably shouldn’t have done _Convoy_, though.
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#):
>
> Only Willie remains.
Did I ever mention I had a beer with Willie?
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2024, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260/13 "2024-09-29T23:49:46Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#):
>
> Should I put that into the Typo Thread or is that a sarcastic dig in disguise?
Definitely not. _Heaven’s Gate_ was a wonderful movie based on actual historical events. I admit that I didn’t like the opening scene at Harvard, nor the roller skating scene. But the story, costumes, accoutrements, and props were great.
And Isabelle Huppert was naked a lot. 😉
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2024, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260/14 "2024-09-29T23:51:28Z")
It’s amazing Kris survived the years of booze and drugs. Never thought he’d make it to 60.
He was extremely talented. Incredibly gifted with writing lyrics and music.
My favorite song is _Lovin her was Easier_
2nd verse
> [@](#):
>
> Wakin’ in the mornin’ to the feelin’ of her fingers on my skin
> Wipin’ out the traces of the people and the places that I’ve been
> Teachin’ me that yesterday was somethin’ that I’d never thought of trying’
> Talkin’ of tomorrow and the money love and time we had to spend
> Lovin’ her was easier than anything I’ll ever do again
Wow, just incredible
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw94RzY1Y7g)
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2024, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260/15 "2024-09-29T23:59:22Z")
That appearance with Rosanne Cash was just a few years ago. Obviously Kris is in his eighties and not singing at full strength.
It’s the friendship that I love. Kris was good friends with Johnny Cash. Rosanne has known Kris since childhood
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### Author:  [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2024, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260/16 "2024-09-30T00:02:47Z")
For the sake of completeness, **a Washington Post giftlink and excerpt**.
_Kristoffer Kristofferson, his first name reflecting his partial Swedish heritage, was born in Brownsville, Tex., on June 22, 1936. His father, then in the Army Air Corps, became an Air Force major general. His mother was a homemaker._
_He grew up drawn to the unvarnished, emotional vocals of Hank Williams and wrote his first tune at 11, a Williams-inspired ditty he called “I Hate Your Ugly Face.” He completed high school in San Mateo, Calif. While at California’s Pomona College, he earned two prizes in a national collegiate short story competition sponsored by the Atlantic Monthly. He also became a Golden Gloves boxer and made the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society while serving as an Army ROTC commander._
_He graduated from Pomona in 1958 and, on a Rhodes scholarship, pursued his studies on Blake while struggling to write novels. In 1960, he left Oxford without a degree and soon married his high school girlfriend, Frances Beer, and joined the Army as a commissioned officer._
_While stationed in Germany, Mr. Kristofferson began to rebel against the trajectory of his life. He drank heavily and wrecked cars and motorcycles. Seeking greater adventure, he volunteered for Vietnam, only to discover his next assignment would be teaching English at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point._
_His platoon leader, impressed by Mr. Kristofferson’s songs, connected him with an aunt, country songwriter Marijohn Wilkin. Her encouragement led Mr. Kristofferson to visit Nashville in July 1965 for a two-week leave that decided his future._
_The next year, he wrote [“Vietnam Blues,”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjz0aYPChEM) a stinging rebuke of antiwar protesters that became a top-20 country single for singer Dave Dudley. (The song reflected Mr. Kristofferson’s rightward political leanings before his beliefs took a hard left turn, the result of talking to friends who served in Vietnam.)_
_Janis Joplin, with whom the songwriter had a brief affair, recorded [“Me and Bobby McGee,”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwU89X4k6bM) days before her death in 1970 from a heroin overdose at 27. Released in 1971, it became her only No. 1 single._
_In 1970, the year Monument Records released Mr. Kristofferson’s first album, three of his songs, including Cash’s interpretation of [“Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED5s1-Fe9FA) became No. 1 country singles. Ray Price’s aching performance of the bittersweet breakup lament [“For the Good Times”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phLlo_t-z-U) also became a pop hit. Sammi Smith’s sensual rendering of [“Help Me Make It Through the Night”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLQAAxcBTQs) became her signature._
_His most successful year as a recording artist was 1973. Inspired by a visit to Nashville’s Evangel Temple, pastored by the son of country legend Hank Snow, he wrote and recorded the simple, eloquent gospel ballad [“Why Me,”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U7Okcu5rX0) his only No. 1 country single. He and Wilkin co-wrote the modern gospel standard “One Day At a Time.” He and Coolidge shared a Grammy for their duet on Mr. Kristofferson’s dissolute, pessimistic [“From the Bottle to the Bottom.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq4wgvZ1vv4)_
_From 2004 to 2015, Mr. Kristofferson experienced progressive memory loss. Doctors told him that the worsening condition was caused either by Alzheimer’s or by dementia that was brought on by blows to the head he suffered in his athletic youth._
[https://wapo.st/47MgIdE](https://wapo.st/47MgIdE)
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### Author:  [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2024, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260/17 "2024-09-30T00:24:20Z")
RIP. What I life he had!
I was thinking of him just a few weeks ago – I drove past [the ranch he used to own](https://youtu.be/SuhOjlq3Bes?si=Fb3gv_dvsVRT-cUO) near Elk in Mendocino County. Oddly enough, the SDMB came to mind at the same time…as it happens, the property is right across Highway 1 from “Devil’s Basin”, which was the [subject of a thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-this-location-in-california/789956) here back in 2017.
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### Author:  [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2024, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260/18 "2024-09-30T00:25:11Z")
A long and storied career. RIP.
> **[Kris Kristofferson filmography](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kris_Kristofferson_filmography)**
>
> American singer-songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson has been in numerous films, television films, television series and video games. He started acting in the 1970s, appearing in the films The Last Movie (1971), Cisco Pike (1972), Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), Blume in Love (1973), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) and Vigilante Force (1976), before starring in the 1976 film A Star Is Born as John Norman Howard, which earned him a Gol...
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### Author:  [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2024, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260/19 "2024-09-30T00:31:55Z")
If he had done nothing except write “_Me and Bobby McGee,_” I would number him among the great.
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### Author:  [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2024, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kris-kristofferson-has-died/1008260/20 "2024-09-30T01:04:55Z")
Here’s another article (gift link):
New York Times
[https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/29/obituaries/kris-kristofferson-dead.html?unlocked\_article\_code=1.Ok4.FMM5.xHNxXXZG73LT&smid=url-share](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/29/obituaries/kris-kristofferson-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Ok4.FMM5.xHNxXXZG73LT&smid=url-share)
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