Austrian actor Helmut Berger has died at the age of 78. It is reported by RBC with reference to ORF.
According to the actor’s agent Helmut Werner, Berger died early on Thursday morning, May 18, in Salzburg. The cause of death was not specified.
Berger was born in Bad Ischl (Upper Austria) on May 29, 1944. He spent his childhood and youth in Salzburg, and later worked in Paris and London. He studied at the Central School of Speech and Dramatic Art in London, but did not graduate.
In 1964, Berger met the Italian director Luchino Visconti. Later, he gave the actor his first role in the film The Witches, a collection of five short stories filmed by directors from Italy and France.
Berger’s most famous film work was the role of Martin von Essenbeck, the son of the head of a metallurgical concern, in the Visconti film “The Death of the Gods” about the events in Nazi Germany. The film was released in 1960. Film critics called the role of von Essenbeck “role of the year”, and Berger was nominated for a Golden Globe.
Visconti’s collaboration with Berger continued with Ludwig (1972) and Family Portrait in an Interior (1974).
Berger played roles in such films as Finzi Contini’s Garden by Vittorio de Sica (1970) and in The Picture of Dorian Gray by Massimo Dallamano; he played with Romy Schneider, Elizabeth Taylor and Henry Fonda.
Due to health issues, Berger announced his retirement from acting in November 2019.
Source: Rosbalt
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