Kris Kristofferson, country music legend, dead at 88

Kris Kristofferson “passed away peacefully in his home” in Maui, Hawaii, on Saturday, Sept. 28, Fox News Digital confirmed. 

In addition to roles in the “Blade” trilogy and “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid,” Kristofferson earned a Golden Globe award for best actor for his role in “A Star is Born.”

The country music legend was part of the Highwaymen with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. 

The supergroup revolutionized the outlaw country music genre in the ’80s.

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“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news our husband/father/grandfather, Kris Kristofferson, passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 28 at home,” his family said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.

COUNTRY MUSIC STAR KRIS KRISTOFFERSON RETIRES

“We’re all so blessed for our time with him. Thank you for loving him all these many years, and when you see a rainbow, know he’s smiling down at us all.”

While music was part of his soul, Kristofferson earned critical acclaim in “A Star is Born.” 

“The first time I saw Kris performing at the Troubadour club in L.A. I knew he was something special,” his co-star, Barbra Streisand, shared on Instagram. “Barefoot and strumming his guitar, he seemed like the perfect choice for a script I was developing, which eventually became A Star Is Born. In the movie, Kris and I sang the song I’d written for the film’s main love theme, ‘Evergreen.’”

Kris earned a Golden Globe for “A Star is Born,” where he worked alongside Barbra Streisand. (Getty Images)

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She added, “For my latest concert in 2019 at London’s Hyde Park, I asked Kris to join me on-stage to sing our other A Star Is Born duet, ‘Lost Inside Of You.’ He was as charming as ever, and the audience showered him with applause. It was a joy seeing him receive the recognition and love he so richly deserved.

“My thoughts go to Kris’ wife, Lisa who I know supported him in every way possible.”

“He was as charming as ever, and the audience showered him with applause. It was a joy seeing him receive the recognition and love he so richly deserved.”

— Barbra Streisand

Kristofferson earned multiple Grammy awards throughout his decades-long career in the music industry, which began long before his first studio album, “Kristofferson,” was released in 1970.

Country musician John Rich paid his respects to the “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” songwriter on X. 

Kristofferson received the Country Music Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. (Rick Diamond/Getty Images)

“So sad to hear Kris Kristofferson has passed. He and I became friends over the years, and it was a distinct honor every time I got to work or hang out with him,” Rich wrote. “He was one of the greatest lyricists to ever live, and a true class act. He set the bar so very high. Miss ya brother.”

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Travis Tritt wrote, “Sad to hear of Kris Kristofferson’s passing. He was an inspiration to me and I was fortunate to get to know him on the set of ‘Outlaw Justice’ that we filmed in Spain in 1998. My heartfelt condolences go out to Kris’s wife Lisa and all of his family, friends and fans.”

Leann Rimes shared, “An epic human with the biggest heart. You will be so, so missed. Rest easy, my friend. #kriskristofferson.”

Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kristofferson formed the Highwaymen in 1985. (Getty Images)

Born Kristoffer Kristofferson in Brownsville, Texas on June 22, 1936, Kristofferson “changed the language of country music, with extraordinary internal rhymes, Shakespearean iambic pentameter, and socially progressive subject matter that found the personal within the political,” his representative shared. 

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“He was a Rhodes Scholar in Oxford, a defensive back, a bartender, a Golden Gloves boxer, a gandy dancer, a forest firefighter, a road crew member, and an Army Ranger who flew helicopters.”

In addition to writing and performing hits, Kristofferson reached sex symbol status back in the 1970s, and in 1971, he began a side career as an actor.

Kristofferson turned to acting in the ‘70s, and worked on more than 100 films, including “Blade,” “Payback,” “Heaven’s Gate.” (Bettman/Getty Images)

His acting resume featured more than 100 acting credits, including the films “Semi-Tough,” “Songwriter,” “Lone Star,” and “The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea.”

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Kristofferson is survived by his wife, Lisa; eight children, Tracy, Kris Jr., Casey, Jesse, Jody, John, Kelly, and Blake; and seven grandchildren.