German Actor Udo Kier Dies at 81

German actor Udo Kier, renowned for his distinctive presence in over 200 films spanning cult classics and Hollywood blockbusters, died on Sunday morning at the age of 81.

His partner, artist Delbert McBride, announced the news. No cause of death was immediately reported. Kier, born Udo Kierspe in Cologne, Germany, on October 14, 1944, during an Allied bombing raid, built a career marked by versatility and collaboration with some of cinema's most innovative directors.

Kier's entry into acting was serendipitous. At 18, he moved to London after a chance encounter with filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder in a bar. He soon appeared in early roles, including as a gigolo in the 1967 film Road to Saint-Tropez. His breakthrough came in the early 1970s through a meeting with director Paul Morrissey on a flight, leading to lead roles in the Andy Warhol-produced Flesh for Frankenstein (1973) and Blood for Dracula (1974). In these subversive horror films, Kier portrayed the flamboyant yet comically inept counts, roles that defined his early reputation for eccentric villains and oddballs.

The 1970s and 1980s saw Kier thrive in European cinema. He collaborated extensively with Fassbinder on...