Locals remember Kris Kristofferson being “charmed” while filming a film in the area

The death of legendary singer-songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson brings back fond memories for many Orillia residents of his time in the Sunshine City more than 30 years ago.

Kristofferson was in Orillia with stars Brian Keith, JoBeth Williams and Sam Waterston to film a film titled Welcome Home about a Vietnam veteran who returns to his family after being away for almost 20 years and tries to readjust to life. The film was released in 1989.

The home at 68 Tecumseth St., known as the Bartlett House, featured prominently in the film, which had a budget of $11 million. At that time the house belonged to Reid Asselstine.

Former city councilwoman Pat Hehn lives a few doors up the street and remembers the hustle and bustle of the time her son David was cast as an actor in the film.

“They were looking for a paperboy, and he had a route through Tecumseth,” Hehn recalled Tuesday.

“He should throw the paper under the bushes. They must have shot that scene where he’s driving up and down the street at least ten times. It’s pretty steep there. He was a tired kid,” she said, laughing.

In this scene, Kristofferson was across the street where his character was spying on his former wife’s house.

Carmen Novosky, who met Kristofferson 35 years ago when he was in town for the film, also had fond memories of the charismatic star’s time in Orillia.

“My friend Luba Paolucci wanted to meet him, so I held her two children while she walked to the location where they were filming,” she remembers.

“I was standing near a trailer and he came straight up to me and started talking to me. He asked about the children. He was just charming.”

She said the film shoot was on everyone’s lips.

“The crew came toward us at some point,” a reporter told the Orillia Packet & TimesNovosky said.

“They took a photo of him and I was right behind it so it looked like he was holding the two kids,” she recalled of the image that appeared on the magazine’s cover package The next day. “All you could see was my ear.”

Novosky recalled that the cast and crew stayed at the old Sundial Inn during filming.

“The locals saw him jogging along what is now the Burnside Line and gave him 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 the time,” Rousseau wrote.

“He told me that he was at one of the meetings when a new colleague showed up, and when he was asked to speak, he stood up at the front and said, ‘Hello, my name is Kris and I’m an alcoholic.’

“He certainly impressed a lot of AA members at the time. His influence would have helped many people,” Rousseau concluded.

Paolucci and Novosky had another contact with Kristofferson when he performed at Casino Rama in 2017.

“We had front row tickets and when I looked over I saw Gordon Lightfoot in the wings. Gordon came out and the second song was Me and Bobby McGee“Novosky remembered 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 position to pursue his love of music. He began sweeping floors at a studio in Nashville, where he met Johnny Cash. He finally caught Cash’s attention and his big musical break when he landed his helicopter in Cash’s garden to get him to listen to his songs.

He was a three-time Grammy winner. In addition to singing and songwriting, he was also an actor. The Internet Movie Database states that he had acting roles in 118 productions.

Kristofferson died on Saturday at the age of 88.