Actor and country music star Kris Kristofferson dies

MAUI - Kris Kristofferson, the actor, musician and long-haired activist who embodied the countercultural spirit of postwar America, died at his home in Maui, Hawaii, on Saturday, a representative confirmed.

He was 88.

Born in Brownsville, Texas, Kristofferson played high school football in San Mateo, California, and ended up at Pomona College before he headed to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, according to his biography.

He returned, joined the Army, where he is said to have flown helicopters, and was tapped by a superior to teach English at West Point, but instead he turned to songwriting.

Kristofferson is survived by his wife, Lisa; eight children and seven grandchildren.