The Austrian actor became a style icon of high society in the 1960s and 1970s. His relationship with the Italian star director Lucino Visconti, whose muse he was, was accompanied by great media interest. In this collaboration, Helmut Berger, with his elegant beauty, rose to become an artistically outstanding character actor and a star of European cinema. However, with his portrayal of narcissistic and bisexual characters, he became the personification of breaking sexual taboos in cinema. As Ludwig II, Berger plays the eccentric monarch in a unique manner. His ability to portray both subtlety and paranoia inspired audiences and critics alike. His most successful films also include “The Damned”, “Violence and Passion” and “Saint Laurent”…
Helmut Berger was born as Helmut Steinberger on May 29, 1944 in Bad Ischl, Austria.
Helmut Berger was raised by his mother alone for the first few years of his life. His father was a prisoner of war in Russia and only returned home when Helmut was already three years old. Berger spent his childhood and youth in Salzburg. He attended the Franciscan school in Feldkirch. The desire to become an actor was expressed early on. After graduating from high school, Berger wanted to attend the Reinhardt seminar, but his parents refused to do so. As the only child in the family, he was supposed to learn a respected profession with future prospects, so they sent him to a hotel management school. Berger never lost sight of his goal of acting. With waiter jobs he finally financed the drama school and he appeared at smaller theaters. His path led him to London, where he was discovered by a photographer and hired for commercials and fashion shoots. In order to improve his knowledge of Italian, Helmut Berger went to Perugia. It was there that he first met director Lucino Visconti in 1964.
At that time Visconti was shooting the film “Vaghe Stelle Dell ”Orsa”. Visconti was fascinated and taken with the young and attractive Helmut Berger from the very first moment and invited him to his house the very next day. This encounter had a profound impact on Berger’s life, both personally and professionally. Visconti felt inspired by the young blonde and planned major productions with him. Berger received his first minor role in the satirical episode “Witches are burnt alive” from the film “Hexen von heute” from 1966. Berger initially did not want to reveal to the public that Berger and Visconti were also lovers. Not because of the confession to his bisexuality, but rather to refute the rumors that he was only in a relationship with Visconti because of the roles. Helmut Berger celebrated his international breakthrough as a recognized actor with his role as Martin Essenbeck in Visconti’s “The Damned” from 1969.
The family saga, which is not entirely unintentionally reminiscent of the history of the Krupp family of industrialists, focuses on the relationship between sexuality and politics. Berger’s impressive performance made him an overnight star. The fame and the acquaintance of some big stars like Romy Schneider opened Berger access to the international jet set life. It was considered a style icon of the 1960s and 1970s, admired and coveted by men and women alike. His parties were also legendary, and he made no secret of his drug experiences. His best film, he says himself, was “Ludwig II” from 1972. Berger plays the eccentric King Ludwig in a unique manner. His ability to portray both subtlety and paranoia inspired audiences and critics alike. Two years later, in 1974, Berger starred alongside Burt Lancaster in Visconti’s Violence and Passion. The film was also his last production under Visconti’s direction.
In 1976 Lucino Visconti died suddenly, which plunged Helmut Berger into a deep hole. Exactly one year to the day after the death of his partner, he attempted suicide. Coincidentally, he was found by his cleaning lady and was just about saved. In the 1980s, Berger played mainly TV roles, including some episodes of the “Denver Clan”. After that, he largely withdrew from the film business and the public. His autobiography entitled “Helmut Berger – Ich, die Autobiografie” was published in 2000. In August 2004, after a long break, Helmut Berger was again a guest on the ARD talk show “Beckmann” on German television. In 2014 he played the aging fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent in the biopic Saint Laurent, directed by Bertrand Bonello.
Filmography
1969 – The Damned
1970 – The Picture of Dorian Gray
1972 – Ludwig II
1974 – Violence and Passion
1977 – The Rabid One
1997 – Fantomas – 4 dividers
1983 – The Denver Clan
1990 – The Godfather III
1993 – Ludwig 1881
1997 – 120 days of Bottrop
2003 – Honey Baby
2005 – You were quiet then
What happened to Helmut Berger?
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.
How old is Helmut Berger?
78 years
May 29, 1944
How tall is Helmut Berger?
1.82 m
