Helmut Berger (German pronunciation:[ˈhɛlmuːtˈbɛʁɡɐ]ⓘ; néSteinberger; 29 May 1944 – 18 May 2023) was an Austrian actor, known for his portrayal of narcissistic and sexually ambiguous characters. He was one of the stars of European cinema in the late 1960s and 1970s, and is regarded as a sex symbol and pop icon of that period.[1]
Berger was born in Bad Ischl, Austria (then part of Nazi Germany), into a family of hoteliers. After receiving his Matura, Berger trained and worked in this field, though he had no interest in gastronomy or the hospitality industry. At age eighteen, he moved to London where he did odd jobs while taking acting classes.[2] After studying languages at the Università per Stranieri di Perugia in Italy,[3] Berger moved to Rome.
Career
1964 to 1976
Berger in 1973Berger at his home in Rome in 1974
He met the film director Luchino Visconti in 1964. Visconti gave him his first acting role in the film Le streghe (The Witches, 1967) (in the episode "La Strega Bruciata Viva"). He gained international prominence as Martin von Essenbeck in Visconti's The Damned (1969). In that film, in what is perhaps his best-known scene, he pretends to be Marlene Dietrich as she appeared in the film The Blue Angel (1930). He then performed the title role in the Oscar Wilde adaption Dorian Gray (1970) and a leading role in the Oscar-winning Italian drama film The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1970). In Visconti's Ludwig (1972), Berger portrays Ludwig II of Bavaria from his youth to his dissolute final years. Romy Schneider starred alongside him. This performance earned him a David di Donatello award. In 1974, Berger starred with Burt Lancaster in Visconti's Conversation Piece. The story of Conversation Piece is often considered an allegory of the personal relationship between Berger and Visconti. On several occasions Berger mentioned this film as his favorite.
The death of Luchino Visconti in 1976 plunged him into a personal crisis. Exactly one year after Visconti died, Berger tried to commit suicide but was found in time to be saved.[5] Drug and alcohol abuse began to shadow his acting career. In 1980 Berger was cast by Claude Chabrol as Fantômas before he went to the United States to work in television in the role of Peter De Vilbis in nine episodes (1983–1984) of the U.S. prime time soap operaDynasty, which he said he did only for money. He later said he was "crying on the way to the set but laughing on the way to the bank".[citation needed] This was his last appearance in a long-running television series. He continued working in the U.S. on various projects, most notably starring in Code Name: Emerald in 1985. In Europe, he acted in the TV-miniseries The Betrothed in 1989.
In 1990, Berger appeared in The Godfather Part III as corrupt banker Frederick Keinszig. He later appeared in the music video of Madonna's song "Erotica" in 1992 and appeared in Madonna's book Sex.[6] In 1993, Berger reprised his role as King Ludwig II in the critically acclaimed film Ludwig 1881. Throughout the second half of the 1990s, he concentrated mainly on European productions, acting in films directed by Christoph Schlingensief, Yves Boisset, and many others.
Berger (right) and Alexander Tuschinski on the set of Timeless (2015)
From the early 2000s to 2009, Berger largely withdrew from the acting world, moving to Salzburg to care for his mother, who died in 2009.[7][8] He then returned to acting in bigger production films.
In 2012, Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf Verlag published Helmut Berger – A Life in Pictures, a coffee table book about his life, featuring many previously unreleased photographs plus essays in German, English, Italian, and French. The book was well received by the reviewers.[9]
In 2015, Austrian filmmaker Andreas Horvath released a feature-length documentary about Berger called Helmut Berger, Actor. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival. In the magazine Artforum, American film director John Waters chose Helmut Berger, Actor as the 'Best Motion Picture of the year 2015'.[11] Berger later filed a lawsuit against Horvath.
On 22 February 2018, the premiere of Albert Serra's play, Liberté, starring Berger and Ingrid Caven was performed at the Volksbühne theatre in Berlin. It was the first stage role in Berger's career.[12][13][14] In 2019, another documentary film Helmut Berger, meine Mutter und ich was released, dealing with his personality and an attempted comeback.[15]
After suffering several bouts of pneumonia, Berger announced his retirement from acting in November 2019 and stated that he wanted to spend his remaining years away from the public eye.[16]
Personal life
Berger was openly bisexual.[17] He was in relationships with his director and mentor Luchino Visconti and actress Marisa Berenson. Berger married Italian writer and model Francesca Guidato on 19 November 1994. After 2010 they lived separately.[18] Berger lived for many years in Rome, but returned to Salzburg in the 2000s to take care of his elderly mother.[17]
From the 1980s on, Berger's private life was also in the news for his struggles with alcohol and drugs, which sometimes resulted in eccentric and controversial television appearances.[20][21][22] In 2013, Berger appeared on Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus!, the German version of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. He had to leave for health reasons after only two days.[23]
In 1969, Berger was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his role in The Damned, and in 1973 he won a David di Donatello – the Italian equivalent of an Academy Award – for his performance in Ludwig.
Helmut Berger is what I consider a perfect artist – very serious in his craft, intelligent in his thoughts, without any time or patience for "bullshit" or empty phrases that litter many people's everyday lives, conversations and relationships.
^Bosé, M. (2021). El hijo del Capitán Trueno [Captain Trueno's Son]. Barcelona/Mexico: Planeta. pp. 371-394. ISBN 978-84-670-6424-7 ISBN 978-607-07-8069-1
