The death of legendary singer-songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson has many Orillia residents recalling fond memories of his time in the Sunshine City more than 30 years ago.
Kristofferson, along with stars Brian Keith, JoBeth Williams and Sam Waterston, was in Orillia to shoot a movie titled Welcome Home about a Vietnam veteran who returns to his family and tries to readjust to life after a nearly 20-year absence. The movie was released in 1989.
The house at 68 Tecumseth St., known as the Bartlett House, was featured prominently in the movie, which had an $11-million budget. At the time, the home was owned by Reid Asselstine.
Former city councillor Pat Hehn lives a few houses up the street and recalls the hoopla of the time that included her son, David, being tapped as an actor for the movie.
“They were looking for a paper boy, and he had a route on Tecumseth,” Hehn recalled. “He was to throw the paper under the bushes.
"They must have shot that scene at least 10 times with him riding up and down the street. It’s got quite an incline there. He was one tired kid,” she said with a laugh.
In that scene, Kristofferson was across the street, where his character was spying on the home of his former wife.
Carmen Novosky, who met Kristofferson when he was in town for the movie 35 years ago, also had fond memories of the charismatic star’s time in Orillia.
“My friend, Luba Paolucci, wanted to meet him, so I was holding her two children while she went up to where they were filming,” she recalled.
“I was standing near a trailer and he comes right across and starts talking to me. He was asking about the children. He was just charming.”
She said the movie shoot was the talk of the town.
“The crew at some point started down towards us, as well as” a reporter from the Orillia Packet & Times, Novosky said.
“They grabbed a shot of him and I was directly behind, making it look like he was holding the two children,” she said of the image that appeared on the front page of the daily newspaper the next day. “All you could see was my ear.”
Novosky recalled the cast and crew were staying at the old Sundial Inn during the shooting.
“Locals would see him jogging down what is now Burnside Line, and they let him have his privacy,” she said.
Local historian Marcel Rousseau shared a story about Kristofferson’s time in Orillia on his Orillia Past and Present Facebook page.
“I remember when he was in town. I knew a friend who was going to (Alcoholics Anonymous) meetings at that time,” wrote Rousseau.
“He told me he was at one of the meetings when a new fellow showed up and when asked to speak, he stood up in front and said, ‘Hello, my name is Kris and I am an alcoholic.’
“He sure impressed a lot of the AA members at that time. His influence would have helped a lot people,” concluded Rousseau.
Paolucci and Novosky had another brush with Kristofferson when he was performing at Casino Rama in 2017.
“We had front-row tickets, and I looked over and saw Gordon Lightfoot in the wings. Gordon came out, and the second song was Me and Bobby McGee,” Novosky recalled fondly.
Born in Texas, Kristofferson was a Golden Gloves boxer, a Rhodes Scholar and a U.S. Army helicopter pilot.
In 1965, he resigned his commission to pursue his love of music. He started sweeping floors in a Nashville studio, where he met Johnny Cash. He finally got Cash’s attention and his big musical break when he landed his chopper in Cash’s yard to try to get him to listen to his songs.
He was a three-time Grammy winner. As well as singing and songwriting, he was an actor.
The Internet Movie Database states he had acting roles in 118 productions.
Kristofferson died Saturday at the age of 88.
