Legendary German actor and cult icon Udo Kier has died. He was 81.
The scene-stealing character actor, with his distinct eyes and raspy voice, reportedly passed away on Sunday morning. The news was announced by his partner artist Delbert McBride, no word at present as to the cause of his death.
The Cologne-born and Palm Springs-residing actor has appeared in over 220 movies across nearly six decades, the actor was well known for his striking screen presence that allowed him to play memorable villains, oddballs and sympathetic eccentrics usually with just a few minutes of screentime.
After various early German films like “Mark of the Devil,” Kier broke through with lead roles in Andy Warhol’s “Flesh for Frankenstein” in 1973 followed by “Blood for Dracula” in 1974 and the erotic “The Story of O” in 1975.
In 1977, he made an uncredited appearance in Dario Argento’s masterpiece “Suspiria” followed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 1979 film “The Third Generation” and multiple collaborations with Lars von Trier on movies like “Europa,” “Breaking the Waves,” “Dancer in the Dark,” “Dogville,” “Melancholia” and “Nymphomaniac”.0
To non-Europeans, he broke through for his work as Hans in Gus Van Sant’s “My Own Private Idaho” in 1991 and hasn’t really been out of work since – just some film roles have included “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” “Johnny Mnemonic,” “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues,” “Barb Wire,” “Armageddon,” “Blade,” “The End of Violence,” “End of Days,” “Shadow of the Vampire,” “Surviving Christmas,” “BloodRayne,” “Grindhouse,” “Iron Sky,” “Downsizing,” “Brawl in Cell Block 99,” “American Animals,” “Dragged Across Concrete,” “Bacurau,” “Swan Song” and his final film “The Secret Agent”.
He appeared in multiple TV series as well including a regular role on “Kingdom Hospital,” as Hitler in Amazon’s “Hunters,” and voice work on DC animated series like “Justice League” and “The Batman”. He also lent his voice to video games including the “Command & Conquer” series, “Call of Duty: WWII,” “Martha is Dead,” and Kojima’s upcoming “OD”.
Our sincerest condolences go out to his friends, family and fans.
