LOS ANGELES — Kris Kristofferson, the award-winning country singer and actor who worked with Johnny Cash and Martin Scorsese, has died aged 88. A representative said he passed away "peacefully" at his home in Hawaii on Saturday, surrounded by family. The statement described Kristofferson as "a peacenik, a revolutionary, an actor, a superstar, a sex symbol, and a family man.
" The multi-award winner was known for his songwriting, notably credited for Me and Bobby McGee, and Help Me Make It Through the Night, among others. He also acted in the hit movie A Star Is Born. A message from his family said they were all "so blessed" for the time they had 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,” said the message, quoted by CBS News, the BBC's US partner. Born in Brownsville, Texas, on 22 June, 1936, Kristofferson became a leading figure in country music. “When I got started, I was one of the people hoping to bring respect to country music,” he said, according to the family message.
“Some of the songs I had that got to be hits did that. I imagine that’s why somebody might vote me into a Hall of Fame. I know it’s not because of my golden throat.
” Kristofferson studied writing at Pomona College in California and later went to Oxford as a Rhodes scholar. He earned his masters from Oxford in 1960, then returned to the US and joined the army. He was assigned by the military to teach literature, w.