At the age of 81 Hollywood star Udo Kier has died
German actor Udo Kier ("Frankenstein") has died at the age of 81. His partner confirms his death. The cause of death is still unclear.
German actor Udo Kier has died at the age of 81 in his adopted home of Palm Springs, California, according to several media reports. His partner, the artist Delbert McBride, confirmed his death.
Kier embodied Frankenstein, Dracula, Hitler - and seemingly every character, as long as they were weird enough.
Now the German actor has died in his adopted home of Palm Springs in the US state of California. This was reported by the US magazine "Variety ", citing his partner, the artist Delbert McBride, and the British "Guardian". Kier was 81 years old. The cause of death is still unclear.
Born in Cologne, he was one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood - even if he was mainly known to film fans in this country. In the industry, Kier was regarded as an exceptional figure who shone above all in supporting roles. He worked with numerous big names in arthouse and independent cinema - with directors who stood for sophisticated auteur cinema.
Bomb hit his birth hospital in Germany
In a career spanning almost six decades, Udo Kier has starred in more than 200 films - and worked with some of the most influential names in European cinema. He stood in front of the camera for Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Werner Herzog and Christoph Schlingensief.
His collaboration with Danish director Lars von Trier was particularly close. The co-founder of "Dogma" cinema cast Kier again and again, for example in "Breaking the Waves", "Dogville", "Melancholia" and "Ghosts".
Kier grew up in humble circumstances in Cologne-Mülheim. "I only went to elementary school and we had no money. I was born into the war. There was only soup without meat. That's why I'm so healthy," he once said in an interview with "GQ". He also often talked about the dramatic circumstances of his birth in October 1944: while the Allies were bombing Cologne, a bomb hit the hospital - at the exact moment his mother gave birth to him.
