1- An estimated 450 artists (and counting) have recorded Kristofferson’s compositions.
2- Kris Kristofferson (Kristoffer Kristofferson) born June 22, 1936, Brownsville, Texas, U.S
3- To convince musical hero Johnny Cash to perform one of his songs, the trained pilot landed a helicopter in Cash’s yard in an attempt to give him a tape.
4- When Kristofferson graduated from college in 1958, he had earned his bachelor’s degree with honors and also won a Rhodes scholarship to study at Oxford University.
5- In 1985, Kristofferson joined fellow country artists Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash in forming the country music supergroup The Highwaymen
6- Together with Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Brenda Lee, he released the double album, ‘The Winning Hand’, in 1982, which peaked at No. 4 on U.S. Billboard Top Country Album.
7- He Worked as a janitor at Nashville’s Columbia Studios while trying to get his career going.
8- He attended Pomoma College and was featured in Sports Illustrated for his college sports exploits.
9- His mother was terribly disappointed when he left the military to take up a career as a country singer
10- As a teenager, Kristofferson was an accomplished writer and athlete
11- In 2004, Kristofferson was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame
12- By 1965, Kristofferson had achieved the rank of captain and was offered a position as an English instructor at the West Point military academy
13- In the Martin Scorsese comedy film of 1974, ‘Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore’, he starred opposite Academy Award winning actress, Ellen Burstyn. The film was critically appreciated and won many Oscars and BAFTAs.
14- Kris Kristofferson was misdiagnosed with Alzheimer’s in his late 70s. He experienced a complete reversal of symptoms when he was treated in 2016 for the tick-borne illness Lyme Disease.
15- This singer-songwriter-actor auditioned for the role of Superman in the film, ‘Superman’ and considered for playing Rambo in the film, ‘First Blood’.
16- He co-starred with Wesley Snipes in the1998 Vampire-action film, ‘Blade’. He went on to reprise his role as Blade’s mentor Abraham Whistler in the sequels ‘Blade II’, and ‘Blade: Trinity’.
17- Kris Kristofferson Was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004.
18- Kris Kristofferson Turned down a job as an English teacher at West Point to go to Nashville to sell his songs.
19- Between 2001 and 2008, he acted in ‘Planet of the Apes’, ‘Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story’, ‘The Wendell Baker Story’ and ‘Beer for My Horses’ and released his music album, ‘This Old Road’.
20- Kristofferson has eight children from three marriages