“Over the course of the vast sweep of his unpredictable career, Kier has earned a reputation as a “decadent icon in … arty sex and / or horror features”, although many of these films are as hard to classify or pigeon-hole as Kier’s own performances. He’s the consummate maverick, and many of the directors with whom he’s worked can similarly be labelled thus.”
/ From the essay “The Other Face of Love: Udo Kier’s Career in the Erotic Genre” by Tons May in the book Fleshpot: Cinema’s Sexual Myth Makers and Taboo Breakers (2000) edited by Jack Stevenson /
Auf Wiedersehen to flamboyant German actor, filth elder and flaming creature Udo Kier (Udo Kierspe, 14 October 1944 – 23 November 2025), who has died aged 81 in his adopted home of Palm Springs. The man was a kinky, anarchic and perverse titan in the realms of cult, European art and exploitation cinema. Kier was good value in absolutely everything (and he apparently featured in about 280 films!), but off the top of my head, I’ve particularly loved his performances in the Andy Warhol-produced, Paul Morrissey-directed horror flicks Flesh for Frankenstein (1973) and Blood for Dracula (1974), his collaborations with Rainer Werner Fassbinder (like The Stationmaster’s Wife (1977) and Lili Marleen (1981)), 1976 British exploitation “video nasty” Exposé (aka House on Straw Hill aka Trauma), Dario Argento’s classic giallo Suspiria (1977), Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho (1991) and Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac (2013). Oh, and his memorable guest star appearances in Madonna’s SEX book (1992) and her “Erotica” and “Deeper and Deeper” videos! Pictured: portrait of Kier by Ronald Siemoneit, 1996.
