Kris Kristofferson

Biography

Extracted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kris_Kristofferson on 29 September 2024

Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American country singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night", all of which were hits for other artists.

In 1985, Kristofferson joined fellow country artists Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash in the country music supergroup "The Highwaymen", which was a key creative force in the outlaw country music movement that eschewed the traditional Nashville country music machine in favor of independent songwriting and producing.

As an actor, Kristofferson was known for his roles in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), Blume in Love (1973), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), A Star Is Born (1976) (which earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor), Convoy (1978), Heaven's Gate (1980), Stagecoach (1986), Lone Star (1996), and the Blade film trilogy (1998–2004).

Kristofferson was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.

Personal life and death

Kristoffer Kristofferson was born in Brownsville, Texas, to Mary Ann (née Ashbrook) and Lars Henry Kristofferson, a U.S. Army Air Corps officer (later a U.S. Air Force major general).[1] Kristofferson's paternal grandfather was an officer in the Swedish Army.[2] While Kristofferson was a child, his father pushed him toward a military career.[2]

In 1961, Kristofferson married his longtime girlfriend, Frances "Fran" Mavia Beer, eventually divorcing.[10][43] Kristofferson briefly dated Janis Joplin before her death in October 1970.[43] His second marriage was to singer Rita Coolidge in 1973, ending in divorce by 1980.[3][43] Kristofferson married Lisa Meyers in 1983.[43]

Kristofferson and Meyers owned a home in Los Flores Canyon in Malibu, California,[28] and maintained a residence in Hana on the island of Maui.[43] Kristofferson had eight children from his three marriages: two from his first marriage to Fran Beer; one from his second marriage to Rita Coolidge and five from his marriage to his third wife, Lisa (née Meyers) Kristofferson.[44]

Kristofferson said that he would like the first three lines of Leonard Cohen "Bird on the Wire" < music link > on his tombstone:[45][46]

Like a bird on the wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free

Kristofferson died at his home in Maui, Hawaii, on September 28, 2024. He was 88.[47]

Family

Kristofferson married first to his high-school sweetheart Frances (Fran) Beer married 11 February 1961; divorced January 1973).

They had two children:

1. a daughter, Tracy January 9, 1962 in Parker County, Texas, USA,
2. a son, Kris 1968.

Kristofferson married second to Rita Coolidge; married 17 August 1973; divorced 26 June 1980). He married her two days after his divorce from his first wife.

they had one daughter,

1. Casey 1974.

In 1983, Kristofferson married his third wife, Lisa Meyers, who survived him.

They had five children:

1. Jesse Turner Kristofferson (b. October 7, 1983),
2. Jody Ray Kristofferson (b. May 21, 1985),
3. Johnny Robert Kristofferson (b. 1988),
4. Kelly Marie Kristofferson (b.November 1, 1990) and
5. Blake Cameron Kristofferson (b. July 17, 1994)

   ---

Notable kin

5th great grandson of Charles Apthorp (1697-1758),(relationship path): "in his day he was called the richest man in Boston."

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kris_Kristofferson
2. Kristoffer Kristofferson in the Texas, U.S., Birth Index, 1903-1997 < AncestrySharing >
3. Christopher [sic: Kristoffer] Kristofferson in the 1940 United States Federal Census < AncestrySharing >
4. Kristopher Kristofferson in the 1950 United States Federal Census < AncestrySharing >
5. "Kris Kristofferson" (1954) San Mateo High School Yearbook. < AncestrySharing >
6. Sports Illustrated (1957) < vault.si.com > "This dashing young man in the Rugby outfit plays standoff on the team at Pomona College in California, where he is a senior. But this is only a small facet of 21-year-old Kris Kristofferson's amazing record. ..."
7. "Kristopher Kristofferson, better known to Brownsville as 'Kristy'" Newspapers.com. The Brownsville Herald, January 12, 1958. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brownsville-herald-kristophe.... "Kristoffer Kristofferson, better known to Brownsville as 'Kristy,' as been awarded the coveted Rhodes Scholarship for two, and possibly three, to study at Oxford University in England, according to word received here. He is 21 years old and the son of Maj. Gen. and Mrs. H. C. Kristofferson, who are former resident of Brownsville. The Kristoffersons now live in Dhahran, Saudia Arabia ... "
8. Kristoff Kristoffers in the California, U.S., Marriage Index, 1960-1985 < AncestrySharing > Name Kristoff Kristoffers Gender Male Birth Year abt 1937 Age 24 Marriage Date 11 Feb 1961 Marriage Place San Mateo, California, USA Spouse Name Frances M Beer Spouse Age 23
9. "Gen. Henry Kristofferson Rites Private; Former Airline Pilot." The San Diego Union, San Diego, California, January 7, 1971. (document attached). " ... Surviving are his widow, Mary; a daughter and two sons, Kraigher, of San Diegto, and Kris, a Nashville, Tenn., composer, one of whose compositions recently was named Song of the Year by the Country Music Association."
10. Kristoff Kristoffers in the California, U.S., Divorce Index, 1966-1984 < AncestrySharing > Name Kristoff Kristoffers Spouse Name Frances Beer Location Santa Clara Date Jan 1973
11. "Kris, Rita Get Married in California" Newspapers.com. The Tennessean, August 24, 1973. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tennessean-kris-rita/156277018/ Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge, both recording artists, were married Sunday at the home of Rita's father, north of Malibu Beach, Calif. Fred Foster, president of Monument Records, attended the double-ring ceremony with about 50 other guests, describing it as a "very beautiful affair." . ,"Rita's father, who Is a minister, performed the ceremony," Foster said. "Among the guests were James Coburn, who was in Kris' movie and Sam Peckin-pah, the director," he added. Kristofferson and Miss Coolidge starred in the movie "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid." He said the bride wore a "very lacy" dress with flowers in her hair. "Kris was dressed to the teeth, with a ruffled shirt and the whole works," Foster said. He said the oldest person there was Rita Coolidge's grandmother, who is in her 90s. - ; She was also the brightest," he added. "She told jokes,, recited poetry and entertained us royally." Foster said he thought the honeymoon had been postponed until the bride and groom can complete taping for the Dean Martin television show.
12. "Kris Kristofferson marries" Newspapers.com. Tampa Bay Times, February 21, 1983. https://www.newspapers.com/article/tampa-bay-times-kris-kristoffers.... MALIBU, Calif. Actor-singer Kris Kristofferson and Lisa Meyers, an aspiring lawyer, were married Saturday in a small private ceremony in the chapel of Pepperdine University. The marriage was the third for Kristofferson, 46, and the second for Meyers, a native of Los Angeles who recently finished law school. . The couple will delay their honeymoon while she studies for the bar exam and Kristofferson works on a new album ...
13. "When Kris Kristofferson (RIP) Stood by Sinéad O’Connor at the Height of Her Controversy" (History, Music, October 3, 2024). < openculture.com > “In 2010, the two performed a duet of Kristofferson’s ‘Help Me Make It Through the Night’ on an Irish talk show. It was a year after Kristofferson had released a song about the 1992 incident, ‘Sister Sinead.’ ” Outwardly, the two could hardly have had less in common, but inwardly, they must have recognized each other as kindred spirits — the likes of which we’ll surely not see again."
14. "Kris Kristofferson reflects on a remarkable career" (2011) < americanrhodes.org > "BRADENTON, Fla. — "Kris Kristofferson threw it all away. So many times. That's why his life story remains more compelling than any of his timeless songs or the memorable characters he has played on screen. Yeah, a Kristofferson biopic should make for a first-rate film some day. A Golden Gloves boxer with top grades at Pomona College in California, Kristofferson earned a Rhodes Scholarship to study literature at the University of Oxford in London ..."
15. "A Slow Slipping Away: Kris Kristofferson’s Long Undiagnosed Battle with Lyme Disease." (2016 Fall News) < lymedisease.org > "Like many, I was stunned and elated to read in Rolling Stone that Kris’s long-diagnosed Alzheimer’s turned out to be Lyme disease, and that with proper treatment, he is back on the road, doing all the things he loves, and being his blazing, irreverent self again. ..."
16. "Kris Kristofferson + Lisa Meyers: Inside Their Nearly 40-Year Love Story" (June 22, 2022) < wideopencountry.com >
17. "The Many Lives of Kris Kristofferson" (Feb. 6, 2024) < medium.com > "Rhodes Scholar, Boxer, Helicopter Pilot, Actor, Hall of Fame Musician, and that’s just scratching the surface. ..."
18. "Kris Kristofferson, Country Singer, Songwriter and Actor, Dies at 88" (Sept. 29, 2024) < NYTimes.com >; (document attached) "Kris Kristofferson, the singer and songwriter whose literary yet plain-spoken compositions infused country music with rarely heard candor and depth, and who later had a successful second career in movies, died at his home on Maui, Hawaii, on Saturday. He was 88. His death was announced by Ebie McFarland, a spokeswoman, who did not give a cause. Hundreds of artists have recorded Mr. Kristofferson’s songs — among them, Al Green, the Grateful Dead, Michael Bublé and Gladys Knight and the Pips. ..."
19. "Kris Kristofferson, Songwriter Whose Poetic Lyrics Transcended Genre, Dead at 88" (September 29, 2024) < rollingstone.com >; (document attached). "Songwriting was merely one aspect to the Renaissance man, who was also a Golden Globe-winning actor, Golden Gloves boxer, Rhodes scholar, author, U.S. Army veteran, pilot, and onetime record-label janitor. But it was his penetrating lyricism that caused a seismic shift in the perception of country music by the late Sixties. Well-educated (with a military discipline) though he was, he quickly fell in with the freshman class of “outlaw” singer-songwriters that would buck the star system and influence generations to come. ... "
20. < official website > "Kris Kristofferson’s life is unprecedented, and won’t be replicated. Born Kristoffer Kristofferson in the border town of Brownsville, Texas on June 22, 1936, Kristofferson changed the language of country music, with extraordinary internal rhymes, Shakespearean iambic pentameter, and socially progressive subject matters that found the personal within the political. He was an Oxford scholar, a defensive back, a bartender, a Golden Gloves boxer, a gandy dancer, a forest-fighter, a road crew member, and an Army Ranger who flew helicopters. He was a peacenik, a revolutionary, an actor, a superstar, a Casanova, and a family man. He was almost a teacher at West Point, though he gave that up to become a Nashville songwriting bum. ..."
21. < instagram/kristofferson >; < biography.com >; < IMDb >; < allMusic >; < ethnicelebs >; < wikitree >; < geneastar.org >; "Kris Kristofferson: The Counter-Culture Hero", TV documentary on < YouTube >
22. 'Discography" < kriskristofferson.com >; "Kris Kristofferson Lyrics" < azlyrics.com >; "Kris Kristofferson Greatest Hits" < YouTube playlist >; "The Highwaymen performing "Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)" from American Outlaws: Live at Nassau Coliseum, 1990. < YouTube >; < Google image search >
23. Tributes: RollingStone / X com. < x.com >; Barbra Streisand / Instagram < instagram.com >; PBSNews < PBSNews.org >; Tribute / country music stars < kdhlradio.com >