You’re the last hero we’ve got - by Shaun Usher
The recent death of Kris Kristofferson has pushed this letter to the front of the queue. Enormous thanks to Vincent for alerting me to it.
In 1977, Kris Kristofferson was flying high. In January, he won a Golden Globe for A Star Is Born, cementing his status as both a musical and cinematic star; months later, he met his personal hero, Muhammad Ali, a boxing legend he had admired since his own days as a keen amateur boxer at Oxford. The meeting left him so inspired that he felt compelled to write a rare fan letter to Ali, whose grace under pressure and larger-than-life presence had always captivated him. A bond quickly formed, and in 1979 the pair even shared the screen in Freedom Road, a collaboration that further solidified a friendship that would endure until Ali’s death in 2016.
I honest-to-God can’t remember the last time I wrote somebody a letter; especially a fan letter. But after meeting you today there was no way I couldn’t (write, that is). So here goes.
