Country singer, songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson, who spent time in the Morgan City area as a helicopter pilot in the early days of his music career, passed away Saturday at the age of 88 in Maui, Hawaii.
Kristofferson, known for writing hits for other artists such as “Me and Bobby McGee”, For the Good Times”, Sunday Morning Comin’ Down” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night”, worked three years as a pilot for Petroleum Helicopters International. Those years were spent in South Louisiana, much of it in Morgan City, as he worked to launch his career in Nashville on his weeks off. Kristofferson said he finished writing his biggest hit, “Me and Bobby McGee”, while traveling one evening between Morgan City and New Orleans.
In 1985, Kristofferson joined fellow country artists Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash in the country music supergroup the Highwaymen, which was a key creative force in the outlaw country music movement that eschewed the traditional Nashville country music machine in favor of independent songwriting and producing.
As an actor, Kristofferson was known for his roles in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), Blume in Love (1973), Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore(1974), A Star Is Born (1976) (which earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor), Convoy (1978), Heaven’s Gate (1980), Stagecoach(1986), Lone Star (1996), and the Blade film trilogy (1998–2004). Kristofferson was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004.