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It's Been 40 Years Since the Last A Star Is Born Remake — Here's Where the Cast Is Now

27/09/2018 - 06:50 PM

There's a reason no one can stop talking about the forthcoming remake [1] of A Star Is Born, starring Lady Gaga [2] and Bradley Cooper [3] — seriously, just watch the trailer [4] — but we can't forget the epic 1976 remake with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson that preceded it. The movie tells the story of a struggling young singer who falls in love with a famous rock star, but their relationship becomes strained when her star rises while his starts to dim. Though the 1976 movie was the third time the film had been made, it was given its own rock-and-roll (and incredibly sexy) twist — and bonus: it's available on Netflix [5]! It's been over 40 years since the last remake was made, and here's what the 1976 cast has been up to since then.

Barbra Streisand as Esther Hoffman

Barbra Streisand Now

The now-76-year-old Barbra Streisand focussed more on her music than her acting career after A Star Is Born. By the end of the 1970s, Sts treisand was named the most successful female singer in the U.S., only surpassed in album sales by The Beatles and Elvis. In 1980, she released Guilty, her bestselling album to date, and then in 1985, she returned to musical theatre with The Broadway Album, which went certified quadruple platinum. She has produced several albums since then, with her 35th studio album released in 2016.

As well as producing, directing, and starring in Yentl, The Prince of Tides, and The Mirror Has Two Faces, Streisand appeared in Meet the Fockers and Little Fockers alongside Dustin Hoffman [7] in the Meet the Parents triology. In 1998, Streisand married actor, producer, and director James Brolin, to whom she is still married.

Kris Kristofferson as John Norman Howard

Kris Kristofferson Now

Singer-songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson, now 82, continued to focus on acting after starring in A Star Is Born, appearing in films such as Flashpoint, Heaven's Gate, The Last Days of of Frank and Jesse James, and Millennium, among many others. Rather than continuing his solo music career, Kristofferson formed the country music group The Highwaymen with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash in 1985, touring until Jennings died in 2002 and Cash died in 2003. In 2004, Kristofferson was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Though Kristofferson divorced from Rita Coolidge, his second wife of seven years, in 1980, he was remarried in 1983 to his third wife, Lisa Meyers, to whom he is still married. Kristofferson has eight children from his three marriages, sharing five of those children with Meyers.

Paul Mazursky as Brian Wexler

Paul Mazursky in 2012

After appearing as Brian Wexler in A Star is Born, Paul Mazursky continued to play supporting roles in several films, including Into the Night, Man Trouble, Carlito's Way, and Love Affair, among others. His focus, however, was on writing and directing, and he produced films such as An Unmarried Woman, Moscow on the Hudson, and Down and Out in Beverly Hills, and during that time, he was nominated for five Academy Awards.

Mazursky was married to his wife, Betsy (Purdy) Mazursky, in 1953, and the two remained together until his death in 2014, which was a result of cardiac arrest.

Gary Busey in the '70s

Busey played Bobbie Ritchie, but there are no official photos of him in the film.

Gary Busey Now

During his prolific career, 74-year-old Gary Busey has appeared in over 150 films, including Lethal Weapon, Point Break, The Firm, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, among countless others. He also made guest appearances on TV shows such as Law & Order, Scrubs, and Entourage. After portraying the title character in 1978's The Buddy Holly Story, Busey was even nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor.

In 1988, Busey was severely injured in a motorcycle accident, and after a stint on the second season of Celebrity Rehab in 2008, it was determined that Busey had suffered permanent brain damage from his accident. However, he still went on to compete in the 21st season of Dancing with the Stars [8] in 2015. Busey was divorced from his second wife in 2001, and he has three children from his previous relationships.

Joanne Linville in 2014

Though now retired, the now 90-year-old Joanne Linville went on after playing Freddie Lowenstein to appear in the 1982 thriller The Seduction. Linville also made multiple TV appearances, with recurring roles in Barnaby Jones and Dynasty. Along with actress Irene Gilbert, Linville founded the Stella Adler Academy, an acting school, in Los Angeles in 1985.

Linville divorced from her husband of eleven years, Mark Rydell, in 1973 and never remarried. With Rydell, she shares two children.


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