Kris Kristofferson retired
Kris Kristofferson stands in the United Nations Security Council for the taping of a public service announcement on behalf of the U.N.'s peace keeping force, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 1987. The actor-singer is the star of a 14 ? -hour mini series, "Amerika," that will be broadcast by ABC this month. The program has come under U.N. fire for it depiction on soviet troops posing as U.N. peacekeepers occupying the United States. (AP Photo/Paul Burnett)

Kris Kristofferson Quietly Retired From Music and Movies in 2020

Per a press release about his estate's new deal with Morris Higham Management, Kris Kristofferson retired from stage and screen in 2020.

The Brownsville, Texas native's music career dates back to his 1960's arrival in Nashville. His success as the singer-songwriter behind "Me and Bobby McGee," "Why Me," "Help Me Make It Through the Night," "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" and other classics positioned him to join peers Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings in '80s supergroup the Highwaymen. Those and other accomplishments earned him multiple Grammy awards and a spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

He also excelled in such movies as Sam Peckinpah's Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (which also starred Bob Dylan), the Barbra Streisand version of A Star is Born and even a pre-Iron Man series of Marvel movies, the Blade trilogy.

If being a peer and equal to both Roger Miller and Martin Scorsese wasn't enough to make him the great American renaissance man, Kristofferson's also a recipient of Oxford University's Rhodes Scholarship and a former helicopter pilot for the Army. His military experience and creative brilliance found him choosing songwriting (and a stint as a janitor for Columbia Records) over an opportunity to teach English at West Point.

His son John Kristofferson now leads the family business, with longtime friend and Guy Clark biographer Tamara Saviano remaining onboard as public relations director.

"It's been amazing to dig in to my dad's catalog and history with this seasoned group of professionals. MHM and Tamara are experts on everything from old Nashville to the up and comers, and I can't imagine a better partnership to bring the full depth of his songwriting to a new generation. The name has always been synonymous with songwriting as an art, and we're excited to reintroduce his work to new and old fans alike," John Kristofferson says (as quoted by Music Row). "We have many exciting projects in the works and I look forward to getting them out into the world."

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Kristofferson's eight children follow his songwriting and acting legacies in their own way, whether they're performing on stage (his daughter with Rita Coolidge, Casey), in front of a camera (Jesse), in a wrestling ring (Jody) or in the legal sphere (John).

Now Watch: The Story Behind the Kris Kristofferson-Penned Janis Joplin Classic, "Me and Bobby McGee"