Kris Kristofferson passed away a couple days ago. I'm not familiar with most of his music though I do often listen to Janis Joplin's rendition of "Me and Bobby McGee". It's primarily as an actor I know him. I admired his work in Peckinpah films, Convoy and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. I remember seeing Millennium as a kid and being freaked out by it.
Even when he was young, he seemed to convey a sense of world-weariness and empathetic sturdiness. It was easy to see why Ellen Burstyn went for him in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. It seems he was something like that in real life. I see a lot of people on Facebook to-day talking about the moment he offered encouragement to Sinead O'Connor when the crowd was against her at a Bob Dylan anniversary concert. Bob Dylan wrote the music for Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, including the line, "Billy they don't like you to be so free." Kristofferson exhibited a particularly attractive image of American freedom as it manifested in the '70s. He had a presence that made you feel better about humanity.
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