Watch Kris Kristofferson star as Han Solo in a corny ‘Star Wars’ tribute
The 1970s was a decade filled with various seemingly unimaginable events that shaped popular culture as we know it today. It was a peculiar time, with music experiencing a particularly eventful ten-year period. Everything from disco to punk materialised in the mainstream, with the structure erected on the foundations of the 1960s different to what anyone had expected. From The Rolling Stones to Bob Dylan, a number of prominent artists had storied the 1970s, with Kris Kristofferson owning a particularly intriguing stint in the public eye.
Kristofferson was at the top of his game during the ’70s, from briefly dating Janis Joplin to playing Billy the Kid in 1973’s revisionist western Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid alongside Bob Dylan. In addition, he also starred in the original A Star is Born. These almost constant artistic flourishes saw Kristofferson cement his standing as a driving force in outlaw country and an actor of commendable talent. However, as expected, the 1970s also brought stranger moments for the Texan, with the corniest coming when he appeared in a ridiculous Star Wars tribute on the Donny and Marie Show.
Donny and Marie Osmond formed two parts of the familial pop phenomenon, The Osmonds, in the early-mid 1970s, with their successes earning them their televised variety show. Airing Friday nights on ABC between 1976 and 1979, it made sense that the pair should converge on Star Wars, the decade’s most ubiquitous pop culture phenomenon.
Only four months after the first Star Wars movie was released in September 1977, Kristofferson made his debut appearance on Donny and Marie. Welcomed into the studio alongside other guests Redd Foxx and Paul Lynde, Kristofferson also brought his then-wife Rita Coolidge and young daughter Casey on the set. Much to the audience’s delight, he performed his hit ‘Legend’ and dueted with Marie on the Lou Rawls track ‘You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine’.
However, the showpiece was yet to come. This arrived in the form of a bizarre 12-minute production at the end of the episode, where The Osmonds, Kristofferson, Foxx and Lynde were joined by the actual Star Wars characters C-3PO and R2-D2. Interestingly, the menacing Darth Vader was also on hand, but this time he was not voiced by James Earl Jones. Instead, the role went to Thurl Ravenscroft, the voice behind Tony the Tiger and ‘You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch’.
Whilst there are many cringe-inducing moments in this 12-minute bonanza, none are as spine-tingling as Kristofferson playing Han Solo, singing a much-sunken version of Sly and the Family Stone’s ‘I Want to Take You Higher’. Compounding this ill will is the duet between Donny and Marie that occurs only moments prior to Kristofferson’s song, which is one of the worst things the decade produced. It’s unnecessarily sweet.
Watch the clip below.
