36 Facts About Kris Kristofferson

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.

Kristoffer Kristofferson was born in Brownsville, Texas, to Mary Ann and Lars Henry Kristofferson, a U S Army Air Corps officer .

Kris Kristofferson's early writing included prize-winning essays, and "The Rock" and "Gone Are the Days" were published in The Atlantic Monthly.

At the age of 17, Kristofferson took a summer job with a dredging contractor on Wake Island in the western Pacific Ocean.

In 1973, Kristofferson received an honorary doctorate in fine arts from Pomona College during Alumni Weekend, while accompanied by fellow performers Johnny Cash and Rita Coolidge.

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Kris Kristofferson's award was presented to him by one of his Pomona mentors, Professor Fred Sontag.

In 1958 Kristofferson won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, studying at Merton College.

Kris Kristofferson became a helicopter pilot after receiving flight training at Fort Rucker, Alabama.

In 1965, after his tour in Germany ended, Kristofferson was given an assignment to teach English literature at West Point.

Kris Kristofferson's family disowned him because of his career decision; sources are unclear on whether they reconciled.

Kris Kristofferson worked odd jobs while struggling for success in music while burdened with medical expenses resulting from his son's defective esophagus.

Kris Kristofferson got a job sweeping floors at Columbia Recording Studios in Nashville.

Weeks after giving Carter his tapes, Kristofferson landed a helicopter in Cash's front yard, gaining his full attention.

Kris Kristofferson was successful as a performer following Johnny Cash's introduction of him at the Newport Folk Festival.

In 1972, Kristofferson appeared with Rita Coolidge on British TV on BBC's The Old Grey Whistle Test, performing a physically intimate version of "Help Me Make It Through the Night".

At the peak of his box office power, Kristofferson turned down William Friedkin's Sorcerer and the romantic war film Hanover Street .

In 1987, Kristofferson starred in the seven-episode TV series Amerika with Robert Urich and Christine Lahti.

Kris Kristofferson reprised the role in Blade II and again in Blade: Trinity .

Kris Kristofferson was then in the 2001 Tim Burton version of Planet of the Apes.

Kris Kristofferson has played the title character "Yohan" as an old man in the Norwegian film Yohan—the Children Wanderer.

Kris Kristofferson co-starred in the 2011 film Dolphin Tale and its 2014 sequel, Dolphin Tale 2.

In 2012, Kristofferson was in Joyful Noise with longtime friend Dolly Parton.

In 2013, Kristofferson co-starred in The Motel Life, as well as Angels Sing with Willie Nelson and Lyle Lovett.

In 2006, Kristofferson starred with Genevieve Bujold in the film Disappearances about whiskey running from Quebec to the US during the Great Depression.

Kris Kristofferson's performance is captured on Ernesto Juan Castellanos's documentary Havana Jam '79.

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In 1982, Kristofferson joined Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and Brenda Lee on The Winning Hand, a double album consisting of remastered and updated performances of recordings the four artists had made for the Monument label during the mid-1960s; the album reached the top ten on the U S country album charts.

Kris Kristofferson married again, to Lisa Meyers, and concentrated on films for a time, appearing in the 1984 releases The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck, Flashpoint and Songwriter.

Nelson and Kristofferson both appeared in Songwriter, and Kristofferson was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.

Nelson and Kristofferson continued their partnership, and added Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash to form the supergroup The Highwaymen.

In 1985, Kristofferson starred in Trouble in Mind and released Repossessed, a politically aware album that was a country success, particularly "They Killed Him", a tribute to his heroes, including Martin Luther King Jr.

In 1999, The Austin Sessions, was released, an album on which Kristofferson reworked some of his favorite songs with the help of artists such as Mark Knopfler, Steve Earle, and Jackson Browne.

In July 2007, Kristofferson was featured on CMT's Studio 330 Sessions where he played many of his hits.

In December 2009, it was announced that Kristofferson would be portraying Joe on the upcoming album Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, a collaboration between rock singer John Mellencamp and novelist Stephen King.

In early 2013, Kristofferson released a new album of original songs called Feeling Mortal.

In June 2019, Kristofferson was announced as being one of the supporting artists for a Barbra Streisand "exclusive European concert" on July 7 in London's Hyde Park as part of the Barclay's Summertime Concert series.

Kris Kristofferson had successful bypass surgery in 1999, but from 2004 to 2015 suffered from what was finally diagnosed as Lyme disease, although it was initially and incorrectly thought to be early-stage Alzheimer's disease.