Helmut Berger

Helmut Berger (; born Helmut Steinberger; 29 May 1944) is an Austrian actor, known for his portrayal of narcissistic and sexually-ambiguous characters. He was one of the stars of the European cinema in the late 1960s and 1970s, and is regarded as a sex symbol and pop icon of the period.

He is most famous for his work with Luchino Visconti, particularly in his performance as King Ludwig II of Bavaria in '' Ludwig'', for which he received a special David di Donatello award, and his performance in '' The Damned'' for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Early life and education

Berger was born in Bad Ischl, Austria, into a family of hoteliers. After receiving his Matura, Berger initially trained and worked in this field, even though he had no interest in gastronomy or the hospitality industry. At age eighteen, he moved to London, England, where he did odd jobs while taking acting classes. After studying languages at University of Perugia in Italy, Berger moved to Rome.

Career

1964 to 1976

He first 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"), but he gained international prominence as the amoral 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 in the film ''The Blue Angel'' (1930). It was followed by 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 in the film. This performance earned him a David di Donatello award. In 1974, Berger starred with Burt Lancaster in Visconti's ''Conversation Piece'' (1973) alongside Elizabeth Taylor and Henry Fonda. Another film was ''The Romantic Englishwoman'' (1975) alongside Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson. He also appeared in Tinto Brass's controversial film, ''Salon Kitty'' with Ingrid Thulin in 1976. Well-known photographers including Helmut Newton, Mary Ellen Mark, and David Bailey published series of pictures of him. Andy Warhol made polaroids of him and produced serigraphs. Berger was also, in 1970, alongside his then-girlfriend Marisa Berenson, the first man on the cover of ''Vogue''.

1976 to 1999

The death of his partner 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. In the following time the abuse of drugs and alcohol shadowed his acting career. In 1980 Berger was cast by Claude Chabrol as Fantômas before he went to America to work in television in the role of Peter De Vilbis in nine episodes (1983–1984) of the American prime time soap opera ''Dynasty'', which he said he did only for money. He would later say he was "crying on the way to the set but laughing on the way to the bank". This was his last appearance in a television series. He continued working in the US on various projects, most notably starring in '' Code Name: Emerald'' in 1985. In Europe, he acted 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 to Madonna's song "Erotica" in 1992, and also appeared in Madonna's book ''Sex''. 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.

In 1997, Quentin Tarantino included some archive footage of the film ''Beast with a Gun'' in his film ''Jackie Brown'' and thanked Berger in the closing credits for his performance.

2000s to present

From the early 2000s to 2009, Berger largely withdrew from the acting world, moving to Salzburg to his mother who was in need of care. She died in 2009. Since then, he has acted in bigger film productions again.

In 2012, Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf Verlag published ''Helmut Berger – A Life in Pictures'', a coffee table book about his life, featuring many previously unreleased photographs of his life and films plus essays in German, English, Italian and French. The book was well received by the press.

In the thriller film ''Iron Cross'' (2009), Berger played Shrager, an aging character believed to be an old SS commander responsible for murdering Jews during World War II. In the early 2010s, Berger starred in two films directed by Peter Kern – ''Blutsfreundschaft'' (shown at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival (2010)), and ''Mörderschwestern'' (2011). In 2014, Berger appeared in '' Saint Laurent'' as old Yves Saint Laurent for which he was "celebrated" at Cannes Film Festival. The short film ''Art!'', in which Berger had a starring role, had its world premiere at Paris Independent Film Festival 2015. He starred in the role of Professor Martin in the 2016 film '' Timeless'' directed by Alexander Tuschinski.

In 2015, Austrian filmmaker Andreas Horvath released a feature-length documentary about Helmut 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''. Berger later filed a lawsuit against Horvath.

On February 22, 2018, the premiere of Albert Serra's play, ''Liberté'', starring Helmut Berger and Ingrid Caven was performed at the Volksbühne theatre in Berlin. It was the first stage role in Berger's career. In 2019, another documentary film ''Helmut Berger, meine Mutter und ich'' was released, dealing with his personality and an attempted comeback.

After suffering several bouts of pneumonia, Berger announced his retirement from acting in November 2019 and that he wanted to spend his remaining years away from the public.

Awards and honours

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''.

In 2007, he received a special Teddy Award at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival (2007) for his overall professional achievements.

In 2010, Berger received two Prix Lumières at the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon and also the "golden key" of the city.

In 2011, he received a Kristián Award, awarded at the Czech film festival Febiofest "for Contributions to World Cinema".

Personal life

Berger is openly bisexual. 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. As of 2010, they live separately. Berger lived for many years in Rome, but returned to Salzburg in the 2000s to take care of his elderly mother.

In the late 1960s and 1970s, Berger was seen as the "it boy of the European jet set". According to his 1998 autobiography ''Ich. Die Autobiographie'', affairs reportedly included Rudolf Nureyev, Britt Ekland, Ursula Andress, Nathalie Delon, Tab Hunter, Florinda Bolkan, Linda Blair, Marisa Mell, Anita Pallenberg, Marilù Tolo, Jerry Hall, and both Bianca and Mick Jagger. Miguel Bosé writes about his affair in his autobiography.

Since the 1980s, Berger's private life was also in the news for his struggles with alcohol and drugs, sometimes resulting in eccentric and controversial television appearances. 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.

Reception

Filmography

''(director in parentheses; all films except as noted)''

* 1967: ''Le streghe'' (''The Witches'') (Luchino Visconti) as Young man at Hotel (segment "La Strega Bruciata Viva")
* 1968: ' (Antonio Leonviola) as Dario
* 1969: ' ( Maurizio Liverani) as Aldo
* 1969: '' The Damned'' (Luchino Visconti) as Martin Von Essenbeck
* 1970: ''Dorian Gray'' (Massimo Dallamano) as Dorian Gray
* 1970: ''The Garden of the Finzi-Continis'' (Vittorio De Sica) as Alberto
* 1971: ''Un beau monstre'' (Sergio Gobbi