Udo Kier

Udo Kier was a German actor with one of the most distinctive careers in cinema -- known for Blood for Dracula (1974), Flesh for Frankenstein (1973), Flash Gordon (1980), Barb Wire (1996), and for collaborations with directors including Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Lars von Trier, Gus Van Sant, Dario Argento, and Paul Morrissey. He was openly gay throughout his career and was associated with the queer underground cinema of the European and American art film world of the 1970s and 1980s. His face appeared in more than 220 films, making him one of the most prolific character actors in world cinema. Kier died on November 23, 2025, at age 81, at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California; his partner, artist Delbert McBride, confirmed the news.