Kris Kristofferson's father was an Air Force general who pushed his son to a military career. Kris was a Golden Gloves boxer and went to Pomona College in California. From there, he earned a Rhodes scholarship to study literature at Oxford. He ultimately joined the army and achieved the rank of captain. He became a helicopter pilot, which served him well later. In 1965 he resigned his commission to pursue songwriting. He had just been assigned to become a teacher at West Point. He got a job sweeping floors in Nashville studios. There he met Johnny Cash, who initially took some of his songs but ignored them. He was also working as a commercial 'copter pilot at the time. He got Cash's attention when he landed his helicopter in Cash's yard and gave him some more tapes. Cash then recorded Kristofferson's "Sunday Morning Coming Down", which went was voted 1970's Song Of The Year by the Country Music Association. Kris was noted for his heavy boozing. He lost his helicopter pilot job when he passed out at the controls, and his drinking ruined his marriage to singer Rita Coolidge, when he was reaching a bottle and half of Jack Daniels daily. He gave up alcohol in 1976. His acting career nose-dived after making Heaven's Gate in 1980. In recent years he has made a comeback with his musical and acting careers. He does say that he prefers his music, but says his children are his true legacy.


In June of 1999 Kristofferson underwent elective heart bypass Rhodes Scholar Special guest at Roger Ebert's 4th annual Overlooked Film Festival in Champaign, Illinois in March 2002 where his film A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998) was one of 14 neglected movies screened. He wrote the song "Me and Bobbie (later Bobby) McGee" which Janis Joplin recorded. The song was a hit for Roger Miller in 1969, who started recording it even before Kristofferson was done writing it. A young Kris Kristofferson can be seen on one of of his album covers in Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976). Brother of Karen Kirschenbauer. Was a member of The Highwaymen with fellow country music stars Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985. Inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame on March 10, 2006 in Austin, Texas. The other inductees were Matthew McConaughey, JoBeth Williams, Cybill Shepherd and Lyle Lovett. He was going to star as the lead in Hanover Street (1979), but dropped out to mount a concert tour instead. Harrison Ford got the part. Among his personal heroes are Martin Luther King, Jr., Jesus Christ, and Mohandas Gandhi. Used to work as a commercial helicopter pilot. Was a skilled boxer, rugby and football player until a string of serious injuries forced him to quit. Cameron Crowe posed as a student at Clairemont High School to get material for the screenplay for Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). The principal of Clairemont was not thrilled with the idea, but when he asked Crowe about musicians that he had met, he mentioned Kris Kristofferson. The principal was a big fan of Kristofferson and agreed to let Crowe on campus. He was the first choice for the role of "The Driver" in Two-Lane Blacktop (1971). First grew a beard during a hospital stay. He kept it because it made him look older. Became good friends with the late James Coburn. They worked together on Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973), Convoy (1978) and Payback (1999/I). Coburn also sang some backup vocals on Kristofferson's album "Who's to Bless and Who's to Blame". It is speculated that either Kristofferson, Warren Beatty, Cat Stevens or Mick Jagger "inspired" the famous song "You're so Vain" by Carly Simon. Kristofferson doesn't think so himself, and said the following when an interviewer asked him about it: "It couldn't have been me, 'cause I've never flown in a Lear jet like that guy in the song.". Played football with Burt Reynolds in preparation for Semi-Tough (1977). Both men had been outstanding footballers in college - Reynolds almost turned pro. He was one of many names tossed around for the potential role of 'John Rambo' in _First Blood (1981)_. Some producers hoped it would kindle the interest of Kristofferson's friend Sam Peckinpah. One of the few male celebrities to have appeared as a model in both Playgirl and Playboy. The Playboy piece was especially daring, with Kristofferson posing with co-star Sarah Miles as a promo for "The Sailor who fell from Grace with the Sea". Kristofferson regretted it, and admitted he had been drunk and couldn't even remember doing it. He posed in Playgirl as a favor to his good friend Jane Fonda, who was interviewed about their movie "Rollover". When Kristofferson hosted the season finale of "Saturday Night Live" (1975) in 1976, the cast and crew reported that he was drunk, and were worried that he wouldn't be able to do it. Still, Kristofferson proved himself to be quite the functioning drunk, and the show went pretty well. Kristofferson has remarked on numerous occasions that his drinking was often a way to survive when performing, because he is pretty shy and does not have a great deal of confidence in himself. He was set to become a Major when he decided to quit the US Army Rangers after almost five years. A fitness fanatic for most of his life, he worked out rigorously up to the mid-1990s, running seven miles daily, worked out on a punching bag and rowing machine and swimming up to 50 miles daily.