A Moment For Kris Kristofferson

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Kris Kristofferson, singer-songwriter and actor, dies at 88​

Kris Kristofferson, a Rhodes scholar who became a superstar songwriter, singer and actor, has died. A family spokeswoman says Kristofferson died at his home in Hawaii on Saturday.



Be peaceful.

 

[Tastingurjuices]

I just saw that

 

[CX726577]

Kris Kristofferson, singer-songwriter and actor, dies at 88​

Kris Kristofferson, a Rhodes scholar who became a superstar songwriter, singer and actor, has died. A family spokeswoman says Kristofferson died at his home in Hawaii on Saturday.



Be peaceful.

Very sad. They had a really good part with him in the PBS "History of Country Music" I believe.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Ah damn.

 

[MelissaBaby]

A very special song to many of us who have struggled with substance abuse.

 

[MrPixel]

My wife was a big, big fan. We - quite frequently - dance to Sunday Morning Coming Down, singing the words to each other. We will miss his poetry.

 

[Bisexguy70]

My favorite role was in the movie Convoy as the rubber duck

 

[Rob_Royale]

I always liked him. Adios Whistler.

 

[matureman32]

Take the ribbon from your hair, a shake it loose and let it fall, great lyrics.

 

[MrPixel]

I was just reminded that both my wife and I have IRL connections to Kris. He attended her high school (San Mateo HS); years before, obviously. Similar for me, he attended the college I studied music at, Pomona College, one of the Claremont Colleges. Just one of those out-of-the-blue coincidences that had nuthin' to do with nuthin'.

Oh - and my best bud owned the surviving Rubber Duck (movie) truck for a while. It was a big restoration project, and parked it beside the other movie truck he had, the notorious evil truck from Duel.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

RIP

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Damn.

But the heavenly band gets that much better...

 

[Smuttyandfun]

He was such a gifted artist. May he Rest in Peace.

 

[SimonDoom]

Not being a country music fan, I never knew much about him as a musician. He was a good actor, though. My favorite among his many roles was as the evil sheriff in Lone Star, a very underrated movie.

 

[Wonderer67]

Maybe one of the best singer songwriters ever. RIP, sir.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Not being a country music fan, I never knew much about him as a musician. He was a good actor, though. My favorite among his many roles was as the evil sheriff in Lone Star, a very underrated movie.

You might know some of his musical work better through the versions recorded by others: "Me & Bobby McGee", "Help Me Make It Through The Night" etc.

 

[JGittes]

Second to Lone Star, Trouble in Mind is a wonderful, rarely-seen film. I think there were copyright issues. The only legitimate DVD is one from Shout Factory! from 2014.

Everyone wants to go to heaven,
No one wants to die.
Hilly Blue

 

[MetaBob]

Not being a country music fan, I never knew much about him as a musician.

Then you knew sh**. Ask Janis Joplin, then report back. The journey might be weird.

He was a good actor, though.

Yeah, he acted, as even Hank Jr. acknowledged. And that one time, Hank Jr. wasn't wrong.

My favorite among his many roles was as the evil sheriff in Lone Star, a very underrated movie.

That would have been a better place to start. Great show. That film made Matthew McConaughey's and Elizabeth Pena's and Chris Cooper's careers.

I think I only played three of Kris' songs at the bar today, before I learned.

Now, of course, I'm effing drunk. RIP Kris.

 

[SimonDoom]

Then you knew sh**. Ask Janis Joplin, then report back. The journey might be weird.

You don't need to tell me. I knew about his authorship of songs like Bobbie McGee. I knew he was extremely talented. But I was aware on his passing that he was one of those artists that I didn't know or appreciate as much as maybe I should have, given his talent and impact. We all have gaps in our cultural knowledge. For whatever reason, I've never seen any of the Star is Born movies. I'm an avid moviegoer, so I don't know why.

I always thought of Kristofferson, from the admittedly little I knew, as a sensitive and thoughtful artist, which is why his convincing and chilling performance as the tough-guy villain in Lone Star was so surprisingly powerful. He had a similar role in the movie Payback, with Mel Gibson.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

" ... Kristofferson was given an assignment to teach English literature at West Point. Instead, he decided to leave the Army and pursue songwriting. His family disowned him because of his career decision; sources are unclear on whether they reconciled. They saw it as a rejection of everything they stood for, ... "



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kris_Kristofferson#Military_service

 

[gunhilltrain]

" ... Kristofferson was given an assignment to teach English literature at West Point. Instead, he decided to leave the Army and pursue songwriting. His family disowned him because of his career decision; sources are unclear on whether they reconciled. They saw it as a rejection of everything they stood for, ... "



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kris_Kristofferson#Military_service

He was was not a typical "country" singer. He was a Renaissance Man with a complex career. His original aspiration was to be a novelist. One of the jobs he held was flying helicopters on and off oil derricks. His flying skills were learned during his Army days. He was also a Rhodes scholar to Oxford in 1958, from which he earned a degree in literature. And he had athletic ability too.

I find his comments about acting in Heaven's Gate worth noting, along with the other people interviewed in this.

 

[MetaBob]

Second to Lone Star, Trouble in Mind is a wonderful, rarely-seen film. I think there were copyright issues. The only legitimate DVD is one from Shout Factory! from 2014.

Everyone wants to go to heaven,
No one wants to die.
Hilly Blue

As it happens, I possess DVDs for both of these films, both of which I saw in theaters when they were first released. It wasn't the Kris factor that lured me to either one, though it helped once I got there. ISBNs:

Trouble In Mind: 978-1-60399-372-2 (Shout! Factory LLC -- the 25th Anniversary Special Edition from 2010)
Lone Star: 0-7806-2699-0

I went to see Trouble In Mind because one of the deejays on a weekly blues show I listened to played Marianne Faithful's version of the classic title song, characterized it as "from Mars". It blew me away then, frankly, and is doing the same again as I write this.

A couple years later I moved to Seattle, again not because of the film or any of the actors or events portrayed therein, though maybe it might've been in the back of my mind.

My other favorite Kris role was as the protagonist in Amerika, a TV miniseries that disappeared almost as soon as it was broadcast, except that the gazebo Hollywood built for it in in Tecumseh, Nebraska still stands.

And, oh yeah, he played a wide receiver in Semi-Tough, for which the only memorable scene for me was the commercial's end:

Kris and Janis (yeah, they got it on, and yeah Janis absolutely killed her version of Me and Bobbie McGee, which she made in part as a surprise gift to Kris, taking it places he could only dream of): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/...n-Janis-Joplin-romance-Bobby-McGee-death.html

I know a woman who was a protégé of Janis Joplin. Lotta crazy stories there.

 

[NoTalentHack]

One of the greats, and a decent person, too. The story about him taking Toby Keith apart backstage for being a chickenhawk when Kris had actually served warms my heart.

“You ever worn your country’s uniform? Don’t ‘What?’ me, boy! You heard the question. You just don’t like the answer. Have you ever served your country? The answer is, no, you have not. Have you ever killed another man? Have you ever taken another man’s life and then cashed the check your country gave you for doing it? No, you have not. So shut the f*ck up… you don’t know what the h*ll you’re talking about.”

As per Ethan Hawke’s account, Kris Kristofferson also addressed the people around them. He said that Waylon Jennings said that guys like Toby Keith were doing to country music “what pantyhose did to finger f*cking.”

God bless that magnificent bastard.

 

[MetaBob]

I was just reminded that both my wife and I have IRL connections to Kris. He attended her high school (San Mateo HS); years before, obviously. Similar for me, he attended the college I studied music at, Pomona College, one of the Claremont Colleges. Just one of those out-of-the-blue coincidences that had nuthin' to do with nuthin'.

Yo Hens!

Oh - and my best bud owned the surviving Rubber Duck (movie) truck for a while.

Convoy was a terrible film. Didn't stop me from downloading it from Youtube a few years ago, though.

 

[Blind_Justice]

Saw him in the Blade movies. Serious badass. RIP man. Now the Afterlife All-Stars have another one to play with.