āOver the course of the vast sweep of his unpredictable career, Kier has earned a reputation as a ādecadent icon in ā¦ arty sex and / or horror featuresā, although many of these films are as hard to classify or pigeon-hole as Kierās own performances. Heās the consummate maverick, and many of the directors with whom heās worked can similarly be labelled thus.ā
Auf Wiedersehen to flamboyant German actor, filth elder and flaming creature Udo Kier (Udo Kierspe, 14 October 1944 ā 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, Iāve 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 Stationmasterās Wife (1977) and Lili Marleen (1981)), 1976 British exploitation āvideo nastyā ExposĆ©Ā (akaĀ House on Straw HillĀ akaĀ Trauma), Dario Argentoās classic giallo Suspiria (1977), Gus Van Santās My Own Private Idaho (1991) and Lars von Trierās Nymphomaniac (2013). Oh, and his memorable guest star appearances in Madonnaās SEX book (1992) and her āEroticaā and āDeeper and Deeperā videos! Pictured: portrait of Kier by Ronald Siemoneit, 1996.
