John Denver

He was posthumously awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 7065 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on October 24, 2014.

Biography in: "American National Biography." Supplement 1, pp. 155-156. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Inducted into the American Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1996.

John Denver and William Katt were to star in the film "The Higher Ground" produced and directed by Bruce Reisman. It was inspired by Denver's song of the same title and was scheduled to film in San Jose, California, in February 1993, delayed to fall 1993. The project was never completed.

Uncle of the twin babies who played "Oscar" in the film Ghostbusters 2 (1989), William T. Deutschendorf and Henry J. Deutschendorf II. It could be reasonably assumed that Henry was named after him, although his father was also named Henry John Deutschendorf and his paternal -grandfather was John Henry Deutschendorf.

Was offered the lead role of Zack Mayo in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), which he turned down saying he felt the script "read like a 1950s movie". The role was instead given to Richard Gere.

His most memorable role came in 1977 when he starred opposite George Burns in the hit comedy, Oh, God! (1977). Following this, his record sales began to decline, and he made fewer movies and television specials. He became something of a political activist, with his main focus being on environmental issues.

His peak year was 1975, during which he was awarded the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year in addition to being selected as the American Guild of Variety Artists' Singing Star of the Year.

During this period, he tried his hand at acting, appearing as Deputy Dewey Cobb in a 1973 episode of McCloud (1970) and hosting Day of the Bighorn (1974), an ecologically-minded television special.

From 1969 through 1975, Denver was the top-selling recording artist, appearing on both country and pop charts alike.

He remained with that organization until 1968 when he struck out on his own.

His birth occurred on Friday, December 31st, 1943, as the son of an Air Force officer, Denver was constantly moved from state to state and country to country. It was in Tucson, Arizona, that his grandmother gave him his first acoustic guitar, a gift that would prove an icebreaker when meeting other students at the many new schools in which he was placed. After settling with his family in Fort Worth, Texas, Denver ran away to California for a short time. He returned to Texas and graduated from high school, but soon returned to California on a more permanent basis. He began performing at Leadbetter's night club in West Los Angeles but had a major career breakthrough when he was selected to replace the departing Chad Mitchell of The Chad Mitchell Trio.