Actor Helmut Berger at an award ceremony in 2013. © Tobias Hase/dpa
The Austrian actor Helmut Berger ("The Damned") is dead. He died on Thursday at the age of 78 in Salzburg, his agency announced.
Salzburg - Austrian actor Helmut Berger ("The Damned") has died. He died on Thursday at the age of 78 in Salzburg, his agency announced.
"Helmut Berger passed away today, May 18, 2023 at 4:00 a.m., peacefully, but unexpectedly, in his hometown of Salzburg, shortly before his 79th birthday! We thank you for all the many years of friendship and cooperation," it said on the agency's website.
Helmuit Berger is dead: Acting legend dies in Salzburg
In 1964, Berger worked as a film extra in Rome before he was discovered by the famous director Visconti, who was 38 years his senior. In 1966 he gave Berger his first small part, and soon afterwards the Austrian played his most haunting roles under Visconti's direction.
In "The Damned" Berger shines, in "Ludwig II" he plays the insane Bavarian king. In "Violence and Passion" he plays a provocative, beautiful young man alongside Hollywood legend Burt Lancaster.
In the years that followed, Berger increasingly drew on his past, making a name for himself more with appearances on talk shows than with acting performances.
His agency's website now states: "Many years ago, Helmut Berger told me: "I have lived three lives. And that in 4 languages! Je ne regrette rien!""
