Ulli Lommel (21 December 1944 – 2 December 2017) was a German

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and director, noted for his many collaborations with

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker, dramatist and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema moveme ...

and his association with the

New German Cinema New German Cinema () is a period in Cinema of Germany, West German cinema which lasted from 1962 to 1982, in which a new generation of directors emerged who, working with low budgets, and influenced by the French New Wave and Italian Neorealism, ...

movement. Lommel spent time at

The Factory The Factory was Andy Warhol's art studio in Manhattan, New York City, which had four locations between 1963 and 1987. The Factory became famous for its parties in the 1960s. It was the hip hangout spot for artists, musicians, celebrities, and ...

and was a creative associate of

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

, with whom he made several films and works of art. He moved to the United States in 1977, where he wrote, directed and starred in over 50 films.

Early life

Born in Zielenzig in 1944, a few weeks before the arrival of the Red Army, Lommel's family fled the city, wrapping the infant Ulli in a roll of carpet. His father, Ludwig, was a popular radio personality. His mother was the actress Karla van Cleef. While living in Bad Nauheim as a teenager, Lommel performed with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

Career

Lommel started his cinematic career as an actor in the early 1960s. One of his first film roles was in

Russ Meyer Russell Albion Meyer (March 21, 1922 – September 18, 2004) was an American filmmaker. He was primarily known for writing and directing a successful series of sexploitation films featuring campy humor, sly satire and large-breasted women, wh ...

's ''

Fanny Hill ''Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure'' – popularly known as ''Fanny Hill'' – is an erotic novel by the English novelist John Cleland first published in London in 1748 and 1749. Written while the author was in debtors' prison in London,Wagne ...

'', in which he starred alongside Italian actress Letícia Román. In 1969, he appeared in

's directorial debut '' Love Is Colder Than Death''. The movie, an

existentialist Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and value ...

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

, received a shocked and confused response at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

in 1969, but the cast as an ensemble would go on to win an award at the German Film Awards in 1970. In 1971, Fassbinder's

surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

'' Whity'', which Lommel produced and starred in the leading role, won several German Film Awards (the German Oscars). Shot in

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...

, Spain, in the summer of 1970, the shoot was so tumultuous and grueling that it became the source of inspiration for the subsequent Fassbinder film, '' Beware of a Holy Whore''. Beware of a Holy Whore was a postmodern analysis of Fassbinder's career. in which he used

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance dramatic convention, convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. ...

methods to poke fun at the trials and tribulations of filmmaking. He starred in Fassbinder's '' The American Soldier'' (1970), '' World on a Wire'' (1973) and '' Chinese Roulette'' (1976) among others. Lommel's second film as director, '' The Tenderness of Wolves'', which was produced by Fassbinder, was a drama about the murders of Fritz Haarmann. Haarmann was also the inspiration behind

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), better known as Fritz Lang (), was an Austrian-born film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety Obituari ...

's M. This was the feature which brought him to the attention of Andy Warhol, after the film was screened at a Chicago Film Festival. A very enthusiastic review was written by the renowned critic

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...

in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' which stated:

"It is beautifully and enthusiastically performed and it doesn't contain a single superfluous or redundant camera movement. Like Mr. Fassbinder's own early films, 'Tenderness of the Wolves' is cryptic, tough-talking and swaggering in the manner of someone who means to shock his elders. Like the early Warhol work, "Tenderness of the Wolves" seems to be sending up everyone and everything, but, unlike the Warhol movies, it takes filmmaking—the possibilities of the discipline—with complete seriousness."

The film was nominated at the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival for the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...

. Lommel moved to the United States in 1977 and started working with

. He became fascinated with Warhol's artistic style. Lommel owned an array of Warhol's polaroid photographs and pop art pieces. Their friendship led to Warhol becoming involved with several of Lommel's films. He produced '' Cocaine Cowboys,'' a rock and roll western which starred Jack Palance. Warhol appeared in Lommel's '' Blank Generation'' (1980), a film which focused on the

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

scene in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It starred the punk icon

Richard Hell Richard Lester Meyers (born October 2, 1949), better known by his stage name Richard Hell, is an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and writer. Hell was in several important early punk rock bands, including Neon Boys, Television (band), ...

and his band

Richard Hell and the Voidoids Richard Hell and the Voidoids were an American punk rock band, formed in New York City in 1976 and fronted by Richard Hell, a former member of the Neon Boys, Television (band), Television and the Heartbreakers. History Kentucky-born Richard H ...

. Several scenes were filmed in

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

and offer an insight into the frenetic madness of the scene at the time. In 1980, Lommel directed '' The Boogeyman'', which became a worldwide hit. The film gained notoriety in the UK, when it was added to the DPP ' Video Nasties' list. After the success of Boogeyman, Lommel made several more genre features, including ' (1983), starring

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor with a career that spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 films, in roles co ...

and Vera Miles, '' The Devonsville Terror'' (1983) with Donald Pleasence, and '' Revenge of the Stolen Stars'' (1985) with

Klaus Kinski Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor. Equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality, he appeared in over 130 film roles in a ...

. For a period of four years, Lommel made a series of

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

movies based on the lives of serial killers, most of which were released through Lionsgate. In 2002, Lommel participated in the documentary ''Fassbinder in Hollywood'', which is available as part of the Arrow Films and Video Fassbinder Collection (Vol 2). The documentary contains an interview with

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker and photographer, who is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among the honors he has received are prizes from the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, Venice International Film ...

. In 2012 and early 2013, Lommel produced the feature "The 4 Senses", A Metropole Film production with a $3 million budget, which shot in Venice and Verona, Italy and Savannah, Georgia. (USA). Rudiger von Spies was the writer and director. In the summer of 2013 Lommel went for nine months to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

to work on several projects. He completed his bio-epic documentary '' Mondo Americana'' and wrote a book. Ulli Lommel: CAMPO BAHIA and made a film about Campo Bahia, the official camp for the

Germany national football team The Germany national football team () represents Germany in men's international Association football, football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football Association (''Deutscher Fußball-Bund''), founded ...

in Brazil. In 2016, Hollywood Action House began developing ''Boogeyman Chronicles'', a series of eight 45-minute episodes. Inspired by Lommel's 1980 cult hit ''The Boogeyman'', the first episode was planned to begin airing worldwide on Halloween 2018. The new story line was developed after test audiences in the U.S. and Europe saw various cuts of a series of plot-possibilities and characters titled "Boogeyman Reincarnation". The writing team headed by Colin McCracken worked on episodes 2–8 with the plan to create a total of up to 64 episodes. Lommel indicated that, even though he directed episode 1, most of the remaining episodes would be directed by a series of young directors from the U.S, Europe and Asia. Lommel was celebrated as part of the Yes! Yes! Yes! Warholmania event at the 2015 Munich Film Festival. Several screenings of his works with Warhol took place alongside a series of special interviews.

Filmography

As director

Andy Warhol and Ulli Lommel on set of Cocaine Cowboys

*''Haytabo'' (1971) *'' The Tenderness of Wolves'' (1973) *''Jodeln is ka Sünd'' (1974) *''Wachtmeister Rahn'' (1974) *' (1975) *''Adolf and Marlene'' (1977) *''Ausgerechnet Bananen'' (1978) *'' Cocaine Cowboys'' (1979) *'' Blank Generation'' (1980) *'' The Boogeyman'' (1980) *'' BrainWaves'' (1982) *'' The Devonsville Terror'' (1983) *'' Olivia'', also known as ''Double Jeopardy'' and ''Prozzie'' (1983) *''

Strangers in Paradise ''Strangers in Paradise'' is a creator-owned comic book series, written and drawn by Terry Moore, which debuted in 1993. Principally the story of a love triangle between two women and one man, ''Strangers in Paradise'' began as a slice-of-li ...

'' (1984) *'' Revenge of the Stolen Stars'' (1985) *''I.F.O.: Identified Flying Object'' (1987) *''Heaven and Earth'' (1987) *''Overkill'' (1987) *''Cold Heat'' (1989) *''WarBirds'' (1989) *''The Big Sweat'' (1991) *''Marilyn, My Love'' (1994) *''

Daniel – Der Zauberer ''Daniel – Der Zauberer'' (translated: ''Daniel – The Wizard'') is a German Biographical film, biographical Musical film, musical Drama Film, drama film written and directed by Ulli Lommel, starring pop singer Daniel Küblböck as himself. The ...

'' (2004) *'' Zombie Nation'' (2005) *'' Zodiac Killer'' (2005) *''B.T.K. Killer'' (2005) *'' Green River Killer'' (2005) *'' Killer Pickton'' (2005) *'' Diary of a Cannibal'' (2006) *''

The Raven "The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a visit ...

'' (2006) *''

Black Dahlia Elizabeth Short (July 29, 1924 – , 1947), posthumously known as the Black Dahlia, was an American woman found murdered in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on January 15, 1947. Her case became highly publicized owin ...

'' (2006) *'' Curse of the Zodiac'' (2007) *'' The Tomb'' (2007) *''Borderline Cult'' (2007) *''Killer Nurse'' (aka: ''Angel of Death'' 2007) *''Baseline Killer'' (2008) *''Son of Sam'' (2008) *''Dungeon Girl'' (2008) (aka: ''Blood Dungeon'', 2012) *'' Absolute Evil'' (2008) *''Nightstalker'' (2009) *'' D.C. Sniper'' (2009) *'' Mondo Americana'' (2017) *'' America: Land of the Freeks'' (2017) *''Factory Cowboys: Working with Warhol'' (2018) *''Queen of Rio'' (2018) *''Genus X'' (2018)

As actor

*'' Only a Woman'' (1962) *' (1963) – junger Mann (uncredited) *' (1963) *''

'' (1964) – Charles *'' Old Surehand'' (1965) – Surehand's Scout (voice, uncredited) *'' Maigret and His Greatest Case'' (1966) – René Delfosse *''Final PMP'' (1968) *'' Detectives'' (1969) – Sebastian West *'' Love Is Colder Than Death'' (1969) – Bruno *' (1969) – Stefan / Brother *'' The American Soldier'' (1970) – Tony le Gitano *''Der gelbe Koffer'' (1970) – The Composer *''Anglia'' (1970) *'' Rio das Mortes'' (1971, TV Movie) – Autohändler *'' Whity'' (1971) – Frank Nicholson *'' Beware of a Holy Whore'' (1971) – Korbinian, Aufnahmeleiter *''Haytabo'' (1971) – (uncredited) *'' The Italian Connection'' (1972) – Dancer *'' The Sensuous Three'' (1972) – Raymond *''Adolf und Marlene'' (1973) – Hans Grans (voice, uncredited) *'' World on a Wire'' (1973, TV Mini-Series) – Rupp, Journalist *'' Effi Briest'' (1974) – Major Crampas *''Con la música a otra parte'' (1974) – The Composer *'' Shadow of Angels'' (1976) – Der kleine Prinz / Little Prince *'' Satan's Brew'' (1976) – Lauf *'' Chinese Roulette'' (1976) – Kolbe *''Adolf und Marlene'' (1977) – Joseph Goebbels *''Ausgerechnet Bananen'' (1978) – Max *'' Blank Generation'' (1980) – Hoffritz *''Olivia'' (1983) – The Detective *'' Boogeyman II'' (1983) – Mickey Lombard *''Strangers in Paradise'' (1984) – Jonathan Sage / Hitler *'' Revenge of the Stolen Stars'' (1986) – Max Stern *'' Hors Saison'' (1992) – Prof. Malini *''Sex Crimes'' (1992) – Davis *''Every Minute Is Goodbye'' (1996) – Teddy *''Bloodsuckers'' (1997) – Angelo / Santano *''September Song'' (2001) – Valentin Reiner *''

'' (2004) – Johnny *''Zombie Nation'' (2004) – Dr. Melnitz *'' Absolute Evil'' (2009) – Rick *'' Melancholie der Engel'' (2009) – Katze als Engel (voice) *''Shpion'' (2012) – Josef 'Sepp' Dietrich *''Carcinoma'' (2014) – Krankenpfleger *''Mondo Americana'' (2015) – Ulli *''Julia 17 -'' (2017) – Mysterious Director *''Factory Cowboys: Working with Warhol'' (2018) – Himself *''Queen of Rio'' (2018) – Rick *''Genus X'' (2018) – Chief Commander

As producer

*''Anglia'' (1970) *'' Whity'' (1971) *''Con la música a otra parte'' (1975) *''The Boogeyman'' (1980) *''Fassbinder in Hollywood'' (2002) *''

'' (2004)

References

Bibliography

* " Video Watchdog" (USA) April 1998, Iss. 42, pg. 26+, by: Jeff Frentzen, "The Weird World of Ulli Lommel." * "The Globe and Mail" (Canada) 19 September 2006. by: Robert Matas,
I'm okay with being attacked.
An interview with Ulli Lommel about the controversy surrounding his movie ''Killer Pickton''. *
Release Print
(USA), Jan./Feb. 2007, by: Elina Shatkin, "Wolf Among Wolves: The Voluptuous Horror of Ulli Lommel." * ''Dark Side Magazine'' (UK) Issue 113. February. March 2005. by: Christopher O'Neill. Meet The Boogeyman. * ''Dark Side Magazine'' (UK) Issue 125. February. March 2007. by: Calum Waddell. Return of the Boogeyman.

External links

* *
Fucking Liberty! review by Bill Krohn

Fucking Liberty! review (German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lommel, Ulli 1944 births 2017 deaths People from Sulęcin German film directors People from Bad Nauheim German horror film directors German male film actors People associated with The Factory People from the Province of Brandenburg Male actors from Hesse