Klaus Kinski
Encyclopedia
Klaus Kinski, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski (18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991), was a German
actor. He appeared in more than 130 films, and is perhaps best-remembered as a leading role actor in Werner Herzog
films: Aguirre, the Wrath of God
(1972), Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), Woyzeck
(1979), Fitzcarraldo
(1982) and Cobra Verde
(1987).
, in the Free City of Danzig
(now Sopot, Poland
). He was the son of a German father of Polish
descent, Bruno Nakszynski, a pharmacist
and a failed opera singer, and a German mother Susanne (née Lutze), a nurse and a daughter of a local pastor. He had three older siblings: Inge, Arne and Hans-Joachim. Because of the Great Depression
, the family was unable to make a living in Danzig and was forced to move to Berlin
in 1931. They settled in a flat in the Wartburgstraße 3, in the suburb of Schöneberg
, and took German citizenship. From 1936 on, Kinski attended the Prinz-Heinrich-Gymnasium in Schöneberg.
sometime in 1943, serving in the army. He saw no action until the winter of 1944, when his unit was transferred to the Netherlands
. His obituary in Variety Magazine states that there he was wounded and captured by the British
on the second day of combat, but Kinski's autobiography claims he made a conscious decision to desert
. He further claims that after being captured by the Germans, court-martial
ed as a deserter and sentenced to death, Kinski subsequently escaped, hid in the woods and finally surrendered to a British patrol which first had wounded him on the arm.
After being treated for his injuries and interrogated, Kinski was transferred to the prisoner of war
"Camp 186" in Berechurch
Hall in Colchester
, Essex
. The ship transporting him to England was torpedoed by a German U-Boat
, but managed to arrive safely to its destination.
At the POW camp Kinski played his first theatre roles on stage, taking part in shows intended to maintain morale among the prisoners. Following the end of the war in Europe
in May 1945, the German POWs were anxious to return home. Kinski had heard that sick prisoners were to be returned first, and tried to qualify to this category by standing outside naked during the nights, drinking urine and eating cigarettes. He, however, remained healthy and was finally allowed to return to Germany in 1946, after spending a year and four months in captivity. Arriving in Berlin, he saw how the once modern city had been reduced to ruins and was now occupied by Allied troops. Kinski learned his father had died during the war and his mother had been killed in an Allied air attack.
that Kinski was self-taught), Kinski started out as an actor, first at a small touring company in Offenburg
and already using his new name Klaus Kinski. In 1946, he was hired by the renowned Schlosspark-Theater in Berlin, but was fired by the manager in 1947 due to his unpredictable behavior.
Other companies followed, but his already wild and unconventional behavior regularly got him into trouble. In 1950, Kinski stayed in a psychiatric hospital
for three days; medical records from the period listed a preliminary diagnosis of schizophrenia
. Around this time he became unable to secure film roles, and in 1955 Kinski twice tried to commit suicide
. In March 1956 he made one single guest appearance at Vienna
's Burgtheater
in Goethe's Torquato Tasso
. Although respected by his colleagues, among them Judith Holzmeister
, and cheered by the audience, Kinski's hope to get a permanent contract was not fulfilled, as the Burgtheater's management ultimately became aware of the actor's earlier difficulties in Germany. He unsuccessfully tried to sue the company.
Living jobless in Vienna, and without any prospects for his future, Kinski reinvented himself as a monologist
and spoken word
artist. He presented the prose and verse of François Villon
, William Shakespeare
and Oscar Wilde
among others. Thus he managed to establish himself as a well-known actor touring Austria
, Germany, and Switzerland
with his shows.
. He appeared in several German Edgar Wallace
movies, and had bit parts in the American war films Decision Before Dawn
(1951) and A Time to Love and a Time to Die
(1958). In Alfred Vohrer
's Die toten Augen von London
(1961), his character refused any personal guilt for his evil deeds and claimed to have only followed the orders given to him; Kinski's performance reflected the post-war Germans' reluctance to take responsibility for what had happened during World War II.
During the 1960s and 70s, Kinski appeared in various European exploitation film
genres, as well as more acclaimed works such as Doctor Zhivago (1965), in which he played an Anarchist prisoner on his way to the Gulag
. He relocated to Italy during the late 1960s, and had roles in numerous spaghetti western
s, including For a Few Dollars More
(1965), A Bullet for the General
(1966), The Great Silence
(1968), and A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe
(1975). He turned down a role in Raiders of the Lost Ark
, describing the script as "moronically shitty".
Eventually, his collaborations with director Werner Herzog
brought him to international recognition. In all, they made five films together: Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972), Woyzeck
(1978), Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), Fitzcarraldo
(1982), and finally Cobra Verde
(1987). In 1977 he starred as terrorist Wilfried Böse
in the Israel
i movie Operation Thunderbolt
, based on the events of the 1976 Operation Entebbe
. He co-starred as a violently evil killer from the future in a 1987 Sci-Fi based TV film Timestalkers
, with William Devane
and Lauren Hutton
. His last film (which he also wrote and directed) was Kinski Paganini
(1989), in which he played the legendary violin
ist Niccolò Paganini
.
Kinski reinforced his image as a wild-eyed, sex-crazed maniac in the 1988 autobiography, All I Need Is Love
(rereleased in 1996 as Kinski Uncut). The book infuriated many, and prompted his daughter Nastassja
to file a libel suit against him, which was soon withdrawn. Werner Herzog, in his retrospective film on Kinski, My Best Fiend
(1999), would later say that much of the autobiography was fabricated to generate sales; the two even collaborated on the insults about the director. For many years to come, Kinski's own writings were the only source for facts about his life and were not questioned or doubted by independent analysts. With My Best Fiend, in which the director also showed lighter and humorous aspects of Kinski's personality, this changed somewhat. In 2006 Christian David published the first comprehensive biography based on newly discovered archived material, personal letters and interviews with Kinski's friends and colleagues. This was followed by a paperback book by Peter Geyer
containing essays on Kinski's life and work.
in Lagunitas, California
at age 65. His ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean
. He was survived by his daughters, Nastassja
and Pola
, and his son, Nikolai
.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
actor. He appeared in more than 130 films, and is perhaps best-remembered as a leading role actor in Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog Stipetić , known as Werner Herzog, is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.He is often considered as one of the greatest figures of the New German Cinema, along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner...
films: Aguirre, the Wrath of God
Aguirre, the Wrath of God
Aguirre, the Wrath of God is a 1972 West German adventure film written and directed by Werner Herzog. Klaus Kinski stars in the title role. The soundtrack was composed and performed by German progressive/Krautrock band Popol Vuh...
(1972), Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), Woyzeck
Woyzeck (1979 film)
Woyzeck is a 1979 film by the German director Werner Herzog that stars Klaus Kinski and Eva Mattes. It is an adaptation of the play of the same name by German dramatist Georg Büchner.-Plot:...
(1979), Fitzcarraldo
Fitzcarraldo
Fitzcarraldo is a 1982 film written and directed by Werner Herzog and starring Klaus Kinski as the title character. It portrays would-be rubber baron Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an Irishman known as Fitzcarraldo in Peru, who has to pull a steamship over a steep hill in order to access a rich rubber...
(1982) and Cobra Verde
Cobra Verde
Cobra Verde is a 1987 German drama film based upon Bruce Chatwin's 1980 novel, The Viceroy of Ouidah. The film depicts the life of a fictional slave trader named Francisco Manoel da Silva who is played by the prolific German actor Klaus Kinski...
(1987).
Early life
Klaus Kinski was born in ZoppotSopot
Sopot is a seaside town in Eastern Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000....
, in the Free City of Danzig
Free City of Danzig
The Free City of Danzig was a semi-autonomous city-state that existed between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig and surrounding areas....
(now Sopot, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
). He was the son of a German father of Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
descent, Bruno Nakszynski, a pharmacist
Pharmacist
Pharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...
and a failed opera singer, and a German mother Susanne (née Lutze), a nurse and a daughter of a local pastor. He had three older siblings: Inge, Arne and Hans-Joachim. Because of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, the family was unable to make a living in Danzig and was forced to move to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1931. They settled in a flat in the Wartburgstraße 3, in the suburb of Schöneberg
Schöneberg
Schöneberg is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg....
, and took German citizenship. From 1936 on, Kinski attended the Prinz-Heinrich-Gymnasium in Schöneberg.
Military service during World War II
Kinski was conscripted into the German WehrmachtWehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
sometime in 1943, serving in the army. He saw no action until the winter of 1944, when his unit was transferred to the Netherlands
Reichskommissariat Niederlande
The Reichskommissariat Niederlande, literally "Reich Commissariat of the Netherlands", was the civilian occupation regime set up by Nazi Germany in the German-occupied Netherlands during World War II. Its full title in German was the Reichskommissariat für die besetzten niederländischen Gebiete...
. His obituary in Variety Magazine states that there he was wounded and captured by the British
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
on the second day of combat, but Kinski's autobiography claims he made a conscious decision to desert
Desertion
In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning...
. He further claims that after being captured by the Germans, court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
ed as a deserter and sentenced to death, Kinski subsequently escaped, hid in the woods and finally surrendered to a British patrol which first had wounded him on the arm.
After being treated for his injuries and interrogated, Kinski was transferred to the prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
"Camp 186" in Berechurch
Berechurch
Berechurch is a village in Essex, England....
Hall in Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. The ship transporting him to England was torpedoed by a German U-Boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
, but managed to arrive safely to its destination.
At the POW camp Kinski played his first theatre roles on stage, taking part in shows intended to maintain morale among the prisoners. Following the end of the war in Europe
Victory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day commemorates 8 May 1945 , the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in the Channel Islands was not...
in May 1945, the German POWs were anxious to return home. Kinski had heard that sick prisoners were to be returned first, and tried to qualify to this category by standing outside naked during the nights, drinking urine and eating cigarettes. He, however, remained healthy and was finally allowed to return to Germany in 1946, after spending a year and four months in captivity. Arriving in Berlin, he saw how the once modern city had been reduced to ruins and was now occupied by Allied troops. Kinski learned his father had died during the war and his mother had been killed in an Allied air attack.
Theatrical career
Returning to Germany, and without having ever attended any professional training (Herzog noted in My Best FiendMy Best Fiend
My Best Fiend is a 1999 documentary film by Werner Herzog about his tumultuous yet productive relationship with German actor Klaus Kinski. It was released on DVD in 2000 by Anchor Bay.-Summary:...
that Kinski was self-taught), Kinski started out as an actor, first at a small touring company in Offenburg
Offenburg
Offenburg is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With about 60,000 inhabitants, it is the largest city and the capital of the Ortenaukreis.Offenburg also houses University of Applied Sciences Offenburg...
and already using his new name Klaus Kinski. In 1946, he was hired by the renowned Schlosspark-Theater in Berlin, but was fired by the manager in 1947 due to his unpredictable behavior.
Other companies followed, but his already wild and unconventional behavior regularly got him into trouble. In 1950, Kinski stayed in a psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
for three days; medical records from the period listed a preliminary diagnosis of schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
. Around this time he became unable to secure film roles, and in 1955 Kinski twice tried to commit suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. In March 1956 he made one single guest appearance at Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
's Burgtheater
Burgtheater
The Burgtheater , originally known as K.K. Theater an der Burg, then until 1918 as the K.K. Hofburgtheater, is the Austrian National Theatre in Vienna and one of the most important German language theatres in the world.The Burgtheater was created in 1741 and has become known as "die Burg" by the...
in Goethe's Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso (play)
Torquato Tasso is a play by the German dramatist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe about the sixteenth-century Italian poet, Torquato Tasso. The play was first conceived in Weimar in 1780 but most of it was written during his two years in Italy, between 1786 and 1788. He completed the play in...
. Although respected by his colleagues, among them Judith Holzmeister
Judith Holzmeister
Judith Maria Holzmeister was an Austrian actress. Her performances included Kunigunde opposite Ewald Balser in Franz Grillparzer's König Ottokars Glück und Ende at the reopening of the famed Vienna Burgtheater in 1955....
, and cheered by the audience, Kinski's hope to get a permanent contract was not fulfilled, as the Burgtheater's management ultimately became aware of the actor's earlier difficulties in Germany. He unsuccessfully tried to sue the company.
Living jobless in Vienna, and without any prospects for his future, Kinski reinvented himself as a monologist
Monologist
-Monologist:A monologist is a solo artist who recites or gives dramatic readings from a monologue, soliloquy, poetry or work of literature for the entertainment of an audience...
and spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
artist. He presented the prose and verse of François Villon
François Villon
François Villon was a French poet, thief, and vagabond. He is perhaps best known for his Testaments and his Ballade des Pendus, written while in prison...
, William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
and Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
among others. Thus he managed to establish himself as a well-known actor touring Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Germany, and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
with his shows.
Film work and later life
Kinski's first film role was a small part in the 1948 film MorituriMorituri (1948 film)
Morituri is a 1948 German drama film directed by Eugen York and starring Lotte Koch. It features the onscreen debut of German actor Klaus Kinski. The title comes from the Latin expression Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant.-Cast:* Lotte Koch - Lydia...
. He appeared in several German Edgar Wallace
Edgar Wallace
Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was an English crime writer, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and numerous articles in newspapers and journals....
movies, and had bit parts in the American war films Decision Before Dawn
Decision Before Dawn
Decision Before Dawn is a 1951 American war film directed by Anatole Litvak, starring Richard Basehart, Oskar Werner, and Hans Christian Blech. It tells the story of the American Army using potentially unreliable German prisoners of war to gather intelligence in the closing days of World War II...
(1951) and A Time to Love and a Time to Die
A Time to Love and a Time to Die
A Time to Love and a Time to Die is a 1958 CinemaScope drama film directed by Douglas Sirk and starring John Gavin. It is based on the book by the German author, Erich Maria Remarque, set on the Eastern Front , and in Nazi Germany.-Cast:...
(1958). In Alfred Vohrer
Alfred Vohrer
Alfred Vohrer was a German film director and actor. He directed 48 films between 1958 and 1984.He was born in Stuttgart, Germany and died in Munich, Germany.-Selected filmography:...
's Die toten Augen von London
The Dead Eyes of London
The Dead Eyes of London is a 1961 German crime film directed by Alfred Vohrer and starring Joachim Fuchsberger, based on a novel by Edgar Wallace...
(1961), his character refused any personal guilt for his evil deeds and claimed to have only followed the orders given to him; Kinski's performance reflected the post-war Germans' reluctance to take responsibility for what had happened during World War II.
During the 1960s and 70s, Kinski appeared in various European exploitation film
Exploitation film
Exploitation film is a type of film that is promoted by "exploiting" often lurid subject matter. The term "exploitation" is common in film marketing, used for all types of films to mean promotion or advertising. These films then need something to exploit, such as a big star, special effects, sex,...
genres, as well as more acclaimed works such as Doctor Zhivago (1965), in which he played an Anarchist prisoner on his way to the Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
. He relocated to Italy during the late 1960s, and had roles in numerous spaghetti western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
s, including For a Few Dollars More
For a Few Dollars More
For a Few Dollars More is a 1965 Italian spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Gian Maria Volonté. German actor Klaus Kinski also plays a supporting role as a secondary villain...
(1965), A Bullet for the General
A Bullet for the General
A Bullet for the General , is a 1966 film which stars Gian Maria Volonté, Klaus Kinski, Lou Castel and Martine Beswick. Originally entitled El Chucho, quién sabe?, it is the story of El Chucho, the bandit, and Bill Tate who is a counter-revolutionary in Mexico...
(1966), The Great Silence
The Great Silence
The Great Silence , or The Big Silence, is an Italian spaghetti western. It is widely considered by critics as the masterpiece of director Sergio Corbucci and is one of his better known movies, along with Django...
(1968), and A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe
A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe
A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe is a 1975 spaghetti western comedy film directed by Damiano Damiani and, in the opening scene, Sergio Leone. It is notable for being the last western that Leone worked on.-Plot:...
(1975). He turned down a role in Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford. It is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise...
, describing the script as "moronically shitty".
Eventually, his collaborations with director Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog Stipetić , known as Werner Herzog, is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.He is often considered as one of the greatest figures of the New German Cinema, along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner...
brought him to international recognition. In all, they made five films together: Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972), Woyzeck
Woyzeck (1979 film)
Woyzeck is a 1979 film by the German director Werner Herzog that stars Klaus Kinski and Eva Mattes. It is an adaptation of the play of the same name by German dramatist Georg Büchner.-Plot:...
(1978), Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), Fitzcarraldo
Fitzcarraldo
Fitzcarraldo is a 1982 film written and directed by Werner Herzog and starring Klaus Kinski as the title character. It portrays would-be rubber baron Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an Irishman known as Fitzcarraldo in Peru, who has to pull a steamship over a steep hill in order to access a rich rubber...
(1982), and finally Cobra Verde
Cobra Verde
Cobra Verde is a 1987 German drama film based upon Bruce Chatwin's 1980 novel, The Viceroy of Ouidah. The film depicts the life of a fictional slave trader named Francisco Manoel da Silva who is played by the prolific German actor Klaus Kinski...
(1987). In 1977 he starred as terrorist Wilfried Böse
Wilfried Böse
Wilfried Böse was a founding member of the left-wing German militant group Revolutionary Cells. He led the 1976 hijacking of Air France Flight 139 to Entebbe, Uganda, where he famously told a Jewish passenger who showed him his Auschwitz tattoo "I'm no Nazi! .....
in the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i movie Operation Thunderbolt
Mivtsa Yonatan (film)
Operation Thunderbolt, known in Israel as Mivtsa Yonatan , is an Academy Award–nominated Israeli film from 1977 based on an actual event; Operation Entebbe and the freeing of hostages at Entebbe Airport in Kampala, Uganda, on July 4, 1976...
, based on the events of the 1976 Operation Entebbe
Operation Entebbe
Operation Entebbe was a counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission carried out by the Special Forces of the Israel Defense Forces at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on 4 July 1976. A week earlier, on 27 June, an Air France plane with 248 passengers was hijacked by Palestinian and German terrorists and...
. He co-starred as a violently evil killer from the future in a 1987 Sci-Fi based TV film Timestalkers
Timestalkers
Timestalkers is a 1987 made for TV adventure film directed by Michael Schultz and starring William Devane. The film is based on Ray Brown's novel The Tintype.-Plot:...
, with William Devane
William Devane
William Joseph Devane is an American film, television and theater actor.-Life and career:Devane was born in Albany, New York in 1937 or 1939 , the son of Joseph Devane, who was Franklin D. Roosevelt's chauffeur when he was Governor of New York...
and Lauren Hutton
Lauren Hutton
Lauren Hutton is an American model and actress. She is best-known for her starring roles in the movies American Gigolo and Lassiter, and also for her fashion modeling career.-Personal life:...
. His last film (which he also wrote and directed) was Kinski Paganini
Kinski Paganini
Kinski Paganini is a 1989 film based on the life and career of composer and virtuoso violinist Niccolò Paganini. The movie was written and directed by Klaus Kinski, who also performs the lead role. It was to be Kinski's final film before his death in 1991....
(1989), in which he played the legendary violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique...
.
Kinski reinforced his image as a wild-eyed, sex-crazed maniac in the 1988 autobiography, All I Need Is Love
All I Need Is Love
All I Need Is Love: A Memoir is the autobiography of the German actor Klaus Kinski first published in 1988. It was withdrawn from publication then, after the author's death, retranslated, retitled, and republished in 1996 as Kinski Uncut: The Autobiography of Klaus Kinski.- Reception :When the 1988...
(rereleased in 1996 as Kinski Uncut). The book infuriated many, and prompted his daughter Nastassja
Nastassja Kinski
Nastassja Kinski is a German-born American-based actress who has appeared in more than 60 films. Her starring roles include her Golden Globe Award-winning portrayal of the title character in Tess and her roles in two erotic films , as well as parts in Wim Wenders' films The Wrong Move; Paris,...
to file a libel suit against him, which was soon withdrawn. Werner Herzog, in his retrospective film on Kinski, My Best Fiend
My Best Fiend
My Best Fiend is a 1999 documentary film by Werner Herzog about his tumultuous yet productive relationship with German actor Klaus Kinski. It was released on DVD in 2000 by Anchor Bay.-Summary:...
(1999), would later say that much of the autobiography was fabricated to generate sales; the two even collaborated on the insults about the director. For many years to come, Kinski's own writings were the only source for facts about his life and were not questioned or doubted by independent analysts. With My Best Fiend, in which the director also showed lighter and humorous aspects of Kinski's personality, this changed somewhat. In 2006 Christian David published the first comprehensive biography based on newly discovered archived material, personal letters and interviews with Kinski's friends and colleagues. This was followed by a paperback book by Peter Geyer
Peter Geyer
Peter Geyer is a retired German football player. He spent 9 seasons in the Bundesliga with Tennis Borussia Berlin, Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Braunschweig. The best league result he achieved was 6th place....
containing essays on Kinski's life and work.
Death
Kinski died 23 November 1991 of a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in Lagunitas, California
Lagunitas-Forest Knolls, California
Lagunitas-Forest Knolls is a census-designated place, composed of two unincorporated areas in the western half of the San Geronimo Valley in Marin County, California, United States. The population was 1,819 at the 2010 census....
at age 65. His ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. He was survived by his daughters, Nastassja
Nastassja Kinski
Nastassja Kinski is a German-born American-based actress who has appeared in more than 60 films. Her starring roles include her Golden Globe Award-winning portrayal of the title character in Tess and her roles in two erotic films , as well as parts in Wim Wenders' films The Wrong Move; Paris,...
and Pola
Pola Kinski
-Early life:Pola Kinski is the daughter of Klaus Kinski and his first wife, the singer Gislinde Kühlbeck, making Pola the half sister of Nastassja Kinski and Nikolai Kinski. After her parents' divorce in 1955, Pola spent her childhood with both of them.-Career:...
, and his son, Nikolai
Nikolai Kinski
Nanhoï Nikolai Kinski is a film actor, and the only acknowledged son of the prolific actor Klaus Kinski and his third wife, Minhoi Geneviève Loanic. He is the half-brother of actresses Nastassja Kinski and Pola Kinski. Nikolai was born in France, but was raised in California, United States...
.
External links
- Video clips and interviews with Klaus Kinski
- a segment of Guido Bãhm's 2001 Multimedia Analysis and Design project at the Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute, University of Glasgow
- Kinski's final interview
- Kinski Fanpage in German
- Guide to Kinski
- The Kinski Files blogsite
- Kinski Uncut review
- Klaus Kinski - Actor, Director and Fruitcake With Extra Nuts (TCM Movie Morlocks)