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Kris Kristofferson as Whistler in Blade II
Photo: 2002 New Line Productions, Inc
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The acting and music world has paid tribute to country music and screen star Kris Kristofferson, who has died at 88.
Barbra Streisand, who co-starred with Kristofferson in the 1976 remake of A Star Is Born, sent her condolences to his family and wrote on X: "The first time I saw Kris performing at the Troubadour club in L.A. I knew he was something special. Barefoot and strumming his guitar, he seemed like the perfect choice for a script I was developing, which eventually became A Star Is Born."
The film went on to win the Best Oscar for their duet Evergreen and Kristofferson also won a Golden Globe for his performance.
Dolly Parton, who has also straddled the music and acting worlds, wrote: "What a great loss. What a great writer. What a great actor. What a great friend."
Streisand also asked him to appear on stage with her in London's Hyde Park in 2019, recalling: "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."
A representative for the star said he passed away "peacefully" at his home in Hawaii on Saturday, surrounded by family.
In a statement they described him as "a peacenik, a revolutionary, an actor, a superstar, a sex symbol, and a family man."
Texas-born Kristofferson was a Rhodes scholar who earned a Masters from Oxford. He quickly became a leading light in country music, winning three Grammys for best country song, including Help Me Make It Through The Night.
After his acting debut in A Star Is Born, he went on to forge a distinguished career on screen too, in films as diversee as Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid and the Blade franchise.
He received an Oscar nomination in 1985 for best original score for Songwriter, a film that he also starred in along with Willie Nelson.
Kristofferson's family added: "Thank you for loving him all these many years, and when you see a rainbow, know he’s smiling down at us all."
He is survived by his wife Lisa, eight children, and seven grandchildren.
