Scott Douglas Jacobsen: We can wrap it up or check for any new Trump news on the AP wire: Kris Kristofferson has died. Any reflections? Yes, he was a great guy in my mind. He passed at 88, so at least he lived a long life.
Rick Rosner: He was a true hero in many ways. He started as an all-American guy and was incredibly accomplished in many areas. He was a high school and college football quarterback, became a Rhodes Scholar, earned a degree from Oxford University, and became a helicopter pilot in the military—if I remember correctly, for the Army. He even got an appointment to teach at West Point. Still, he turned it down and enraged his family because he wanted to pursue a rock and roll and country music career.
Eventually, he became one of the greatest singer-songwriters of the 1970s. He wrote Me and Bobby McGee, Janis Joplin’s biggest hit. He had a career as a singer and guitarist that lasted for decades and stood up for liberal causes. Though it might be apocalyptic, I saw a story on Twitter about Willie Nelson’s birthday concert.
Supposedly, backstage at the concert, Toby Keith told Kris Kristofferson, “None of your lefty stuff out there.” Kristofferson was like, “What?” And then Keith got in his face and asked, “Did you ever serve your country? Did you ever take a paycheck for killing someone in defence of it?” And Kristofferson responded, “No, you didn’t.” But this story feels a bit suspect because Kristofferson never served in Vietnam. However, he was in the military as an instructor stateside.
Regardless, Kristofferson was a talented guy who stood up for his beliefs. He was in one of my wife’s favourite movies, the 1970s version of A Star is Born, which starred Barbra Streisand. That movie’s been made four times—once in the 1920s as a silent film, in the 1950s with Judy Garland, in the 1970s with Streisand, and more recently with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Each version has been pretty good.
So, rest in power—are we allowed to say that for white guys?
Jacobsen: You can. It’s up to you.
Rosner: Yeah, it’s a mutual outlook. What do you think of Kristofferson?
Jacobsen: I didn’t know a lot about him. He’s way before my time. Wasn’t he in Blade?
Rosner: Yes, he was in Blade. He was in dozens of movies, actually, and he had a great look. He would’ve been perfect for playing a vampire hunter in Blade—he kept his hair and stayed in good shape.
Jacobsen: I remember watching Blade in 1998. Great movie.
Rosner: Yeah, he had a great look. He kept all his hair, stayed fit, and never got fat. Carol and I watched Wolves withBrad Pitt and George Clooney last night. Pitt is 60, Clooney is 63, and they still look great. If you keep your hair and are good-looking in your forties, you’ll still look good in your sixties. Michael Keaton hasn’t kept his hair, but he still looks great because he’s got a good face and has been in excellent movies.
Kristofferson would’ve made a great vampire fighter in black leather because he kept his hair and stayed lean.
Rosner: The end?
Jacobsen: The end.
Rick Rosner, American Comedy Writer, www.rickrosner.org
Scott Douglas Jacobsen, Independent Journalist, www.in-sightpublishing.com
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Rick Rosner 