NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Lifestyle

Whatever happened to... Kris Kristofferson

By by James McNair
26 Dec, 2004 08:04 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson

The breakthrough:

Kristofferson began songwriting in 1965. In 1970, Johnny Cash recorded Kristofferson's Sunday Morning Coming Down, which was voted Song of the Year by the Country Music Association.

In 1971, film director Dennis Hopper offered him a bit part in The Last Movie, and so began his acting career. In 1973, Kristofferson and his second wife, singer-songwriter Rita Coolidge, won a Grammy for their duet on From the Bottle to the Bottom. In 1976, he achieved worldwide fame acting with Barbra Streisand in A Star is Born.

Kristofferson had 60 movie roles and wrote country classics such as Help Me Make It Through the Night and For the Good Times. More than 500 artists have covered his gritty, gospel-influenced tunes.

The background:

Kristofferson, the eldest of three children, was born in Brownsville, Texas. His father was an Air Force officer whose itinerant lifestyle took the family to San Mateo, California. There, Kris was a Golden Gloves boxer and studied creative writing.

When he won a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford to study for a master's degree in English literature, his life bloomed. Before Oxford, Kristofferson was in the US Army in Germany. There he heard Cash when he entertained the troops.

Kristofferson opted to try Nashville rather than teach at the West Point military academy. It was a great schooling, as was his time as janitor at Nashville's Columbia Studios. While there, Kristofferson finally met Cash and the pair bonded. "He told Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell that my buddy Mickey Newbury and I were the best songwriters in Nashville. It was a great endorsement."

At 68, Kristofferson looks like an unreconstructed version of his younger, wilder self, but his alcoholism, and the triple heart bypass five years ago have left their mark.

Why is he back? "I'd been off the road a while, and didn't miss it much," he says. "But then I did a solo gig in Nashville after Johnny Cash's funeral and the songs seemed to take on a new resonance."

Kristofferson says the loss of Cash still "weighs heavy". It was Cash who introduced him at a gig at the Newport Folk Festival in 1969. "That performance is forever etched on my memory because it was the night of the first moon landing. After that, John kept a lyric of mine, The Golden Idol, in his wallet. He never recorded it, but just the fact that he was carrying it around was big for me."

Of A Star is Born, he says: "It was a box-office smash, but the critics panned it. They had in it for Barbra. It changed everything for me, too. Suddenly, my band and I were playing stadiums."

Kristofferson has always been politically outspoken and albums such as Repossessed (1986) and Third World Warrior (1990) left him "pretty much unmarketable. Because of the stances I was taking on human rights, for example, country radio wouldn't touch me." Cash intervened, helping to launch a renaissance Kristofferson is still enjoying.

Politically, Kristofferson continues to wade in. Of George Bush's foreign policy, he says: "I think it's the worst thing that's happened in my time on the planet."

Last seen and heard:

Kristofferson, who has been with his wife, Lisa, for 21 years, is still giving concerts. His last was this month in Birmingham, England.

He continues to write music, including scores for film and television, most recently for Sam Peckinpah's Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade. Later acting work includes Blade: Trinity (2004), Silver City (2004), Blade II (2002), Planet of the Apes (2001) The Joyriders (1999) and Blade (1998).

So where's the autobiography? "I'm too busy living life to pull up and start writing."

- INDEPENDENT

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Lifestyle

Premium
Lifestyle

Eclipse founder Debbs Murray: How coercive control shattered my world

01 Jun 02:00 AM
Business

From foster care to own boss: How a teen mum defied the odds

01 Jun 12:44 AM
Lifestyle

Queenstown man runs length of Japan to support Palestinians

01 Jun 12:24 AM

Sponsored: Cosy up to colour all year

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Recommended for you
Watch: Australian sprinter breaks 10-second barrier in 100m
Sport

Watch: Australian sprinter breaks 10-second barrier in 100m

01 Jun 02:06 AM
Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design
Sponsored Stories

Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design

01 Jun 02:00 AM
Woman stole stranger's identity to create a fictitious carer and claim benefits
New Zealand

Woman stole stranger's identity to create a fictitious carer and claim benefits

01 Jun 02:00 AM
Holiday road toll at four after Port Waikato crash
New Zealand

Holiday road toll at four after Port Waikato crash

01 Jun 01:30 AM
From foster care to own boss: How a teen mum defied the odds
Business

From foster care to own boss: How a teen mum defied the odds

01 Jun 12:44 AM

Latest from Lifestyle

Premium
Eclipse founder Debbs Murray: How coercive control shattered my world

Eclipse founder Debbs Murray: How coercive control shattered my world

01 Jun 02:00 AM

Her memoir One Soul, One Survivor shares her experiences with abuse.

From foster care to own boss: How a teen mum defied the odds

From foster care to own boss: How a teen mum defied the odds

01 Jun 12:44 AM
Queenstown man runs length of Japan to support Palestinians

Queenstown man runs length of Japan to support Palestinians

01 Jun 12:24 AM
Quick, easy and creamy tomato and bacon fettuccine

Quick, easy and creamy tomato and bacon fettuccine

01 Jun 12:00 AM
Sponsored: Into the woods - the new biophilic design
sponsored

Sponsored: Into the woods - the new biophilic design

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search