After years as a struggling songwriter, he found his voice with a direct, evocative style that launched his decades-long career as a musician, actor and activist.
Starting this year, a series of musical weekends in Chantilly, north of Paris, is teaming up with a gardening festival for a program with bucolic themes.
He wrote songs for hundreds of other artists, including “Me and Bobby McGee” for Janis Joplin and “Sunday Morning Coming Down” for Johnny Cash, before a second act in film.