Kris Kristofferson is remembered for his talents as a singer-songwriter and actor after his death at his home in Maui, Hawaii, at the age of 88.
His professional life, which spanned seven decades, was nearly cut short by his partying days on the road as a musician and in Hollywood as a leading man and character actor.
Turns out he had the old-school premise that true artists live on the edge with their lifestyle choices, which include the use of mind-altering substances like alcohol.
‘I thought all serious artists were self-destructive. That anyone worth their salt was going to be living on the edge,” the Brownsville, Texas, native said. People in 1998.
He would finally have a moment of clarity in the late 1970s, which inspired him to curb his partying habits, after seeing his death scene in the first remake of A Star is Born (1978), where he plays a character similar in itself. -Destructive Days, with his co-star Barbara Streisand.
Kris Kristofferson, who died at his home in Maui, Hawaii, on Sunday, September 29, revealed that he never thought he would live past the age of 30 in an interview with People in 1998; He is seen in Nashville, Tennessee in October 2017.
‘I thought all serious artists were self-destructive. That someone worth their salt was going to be there living on the edge,” said the Brownsville, Texas, native, referring to his partying habits in the late 1960s and early ’70s.
Kristofferson’s (born Kristoffer Kristofferson)’s heavy drinking habits are believed to have increased in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Around that time he began a relationship with blues rock icon Janis Joplin, who had already earned a reputation for her alcohol and drug use.
“I don’t know what you call a love story, but we were very close,” the To Beat The Devil star said of their romance. ‘I liked his sense of humor. I drank a lot then… And she was trying to quit (heroin).’
The Piece Of My Heart singer would lose her battle against drugs and alcohol when she died in October 1970 at just 27 years old.
Although he admitted that his death “destroyed me,” Kristofferson continued to drink heavily to the point of becoming a self-proclaimed “functional alcoholic.”
“For a couple of years, it was Jack Daniels, then it was tequila, then it was anything,” he said of his ever-changing drink of choice. “When I was acting, I couldn’t imagine getting up and doing it without drinking.”
As the years passed, Kristofferson eventually reached a crossroads where he could no longer tolerate his alcohol consumption after seeing his on-screen death in A Star is Born (1976), in which he played the self-destructive rock star John Norman Howard. .
During Kristofferson’s heavy drinking days in the late 1960s and 1970s, he hooked up with blues rock star Janis Joplin, whose substance abuse cost him his life in October 1970; The Pice Of My Heart star is shown performing in New York in 1968.
The Texas native began writing songs for himself and other artists after moving to Nashville in 1965, releasing 21 studio albums during his career.
In the heartbreaking scene, Streisand’s character Esther Hoffman Howard looms over Kristofferson as John in a field after dying in a car accident while driving drunk.
“I remember feeling like it could very easily be my wife and kids crying for me,” he said of Streisand’s scene as rising star Esther Hoffman Howard. ‘I stopped drinking because of that. I didn’t want to die before my daughter grew up.
And like so many other stories of people seeing their lives skyrocket after getting sober, the country singer began to see the positive effects of his life changes when he met his future wife, Lisa Meyers, in 1982.
They became a couple shortly after putting down the bottle and welcomed five children together, making eight children in total for the Heaven’s Gate actor, after having three from previous marriages.
Kristofferson was inspired to quit drinking alcohol after watching his character’s death scene in A Star is Born, in which he played a hard-drinking rock star who dies in a car accident while drinking and driving.
“I remember feeling like it could very easily be my wife and kids crying for me,” he said of Streisand’s scene as rising star Esther Hoffman Howard. ‘I stopped drinking because of that. I didn’t want to die before my daughter grew up.’
After A Star is Born became a hit in 1976, the country star began to become better known for her acting roles over the years and into the 1980s.
After leaving the military in 1965, Kristofferson moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music.
He would get one of his big breaks when he gave June Carter a tape of his music to give to her husband, Johnny Cash, which ultimately led to the legendary Man In Black recording his song Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down.
That led to Kristofferson winning Songwriter of the Year for the tune at the Country Music Association Awards in 1970.
The musician ended up writing songs for both himself and other artists over the years and eventually began to be better known for his acting roles after A Star Is Born.
Some of his most notable films include Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid (1973), Blume in Love (1973), Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974), A Star is Born (1976), Convoy (1978), Heaven’s Gate. (1980), Stage Coach (1986), Lonestar (1996) and the Blade trilogy (1998-2004).
The four-time Grammy Award winner was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004.
Country star Tanya Tucker and her boyfriend Craig Dillingham spent time with Kristofferson in his adopted home state of Hawaii last April: ‘Spending a little time on the island with a very special friend!!! Aloha!
As he reflected on how he finally found a peaceful family life in Maui, Hawaii, the Blade actor seemed surprised and grateful for how it all played out.
‘I could never have imagined this. I sit here and think how it could have been so different. I never thought I would live more than 30 years. I could have ended up dead.’
A representative for Kristofferson confirmed that he was surrounded by his family when he died on Saturday.
‘It is with great sadness that we share the news that our husband/father/grandfather, Kris Kristofferson, passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 28 at his home. We are all very blessed by our time with him. Thank you for loving him all these years, and when you see a rainbow, you’ll know he’s smiling down on us all.’ – Kris Kristofferson’s family shared when confirming his passing over the weekend.