Barbra Streisand is mourning the death of her “A Star is Born” co-star Kris Kristofferson.
“The first time I saw Kris performing at the Troubadour club in L.A. I knew he was something special,” Streisand, 82, posted on Instagram Sunday night. “Barefoot and strumming his guitar, he seemed like the perfect choice for a script I was developing, which eventually became ‘A Star Is Born.’”
Kristofferson’s publicist announced over the weekend the 88-year-old actor and Grammy-winning songwriter had died. He won a 1976 Golden Globe award for his performance alongside Streisand in their remake of the 1937 film about two musicians whose careers are headed in opposite directions. In “A Star is Born,” they performed the popular duet “Evergreen,” which Streisand recalled in her online tribute.
“For my latest concert in 2019 at London’s Hyde Park, I asked Kris to join me on-stage to sing our other A Star Is Born duet, “‘Lost Inside Of You,’” she wrote. “He was as charming as ever, and the audience showered him with applause. It was a joy seeing him receive the recognition and love he so richly deserved.”
Kristofferson retired from performing in 2021. Songs he wrote included “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” and “Me and Bobby McGee,” which singer Janis Joplin turned into a 1971 hit.
Streisand also expressed her condolences to Kristofferson’s wife Lisa (née Meyers), to whom he’d been married for more than 40 years.
