Peter Berlin
Encyclopedia
Armin Hagen Freiherr von Hoyningen-Huene (born in 1942) is a photographer, artist, filmmaker, clothing designer/sewer, model and gay sex symbol
best know by his stage name Peter Berlin. In the early to mid-1970s, Berlin created some of the most recognizable gay male erotic imagery of his time. Serving as his own photographer, model, and fashion designer, Berlin redefined self-portraiture and became an international sensation.
His two films, Nights in Black Leather
(1973) and That Boy
(1974) (credited in the latter as Peter Burian), played to packed houses for years and, along with other pioneering erotic filmmakers such as Wakefield Poole
and Jack Deveau, helped bring gay male erotic films artistic legitimacy.
, and grew up in Berlin, Germany
. The extended family included the American fashion photographer George Hoyningen-Huene
.
He received post-secondary education in Germany as a photo-technician. In his early 20s, he worked as a photographer for an interview program on German television, photographing some of Europe
's biggest celebrities and film stars.
Berlin designs and sews all of his clothing without a pattern. He also is a skilled painter and illustrator. He began photographing himself in erotic poses and making skin-tight clothes to wear as he cruised the parks and train stations of Berlin, the streets of Rome, Paris, New York and San Francisco.
(1973) in which he played the lead role. Berlin's poster for the film was a sensation and helped make Nights in Black Leather an enormous underground hit.
As a follow-up, Berlin directed, produced, wrote, and starred in That Boy (1974), another wildly successful film. He also made four short films in the mid- to late-1970s, which were primarily sold as 8 mm "loops" by mail order. His self-portraits were widely published and sold, making Berlin a gay household name and an international celebrity. He was also the subject of several Robert Mapplethorpe
photographs, five drawings by Tom of Finland
, and at least one photograph by Andy Warhol
. Two rarely seen Robert Mapplethorpe polaroid images of Berlin can be seen in the 2008 book, Mapplethorpe: Polaroids and the Whitney Museum of American Art exhibition of the same name. Some of his famous friends were Salvador and Gala Dali, Warhol, New York fashion designer Koos, Famed painter of flowers Jochen Labriola. He was well acquainted with famed ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev
, whose advances he rejected.
in New York.
Although he retreated from the limelight in the 1980s, he continues to make videos of himself and lives quietly in San Francisco, where he is still frequently recognized on the streets by his adoring fans.
He was trained in Germany as a phototechnician in the 1960s.
That Man: Peter Berlin
, which began a resurgence of interest in Berlin's works. The documentary premiered at the 2005 Berlin Film Festival and garnered several awards at film festivals worldwide, reconnecting Berlin with his older fans and introducing him to a new generation. The film is quoted as sexy and informative — an extremely rare combination. In 2006, Berlin launched a web site devoted to his work.
Documentary
Shorts
Sex symbol
A sex symbol is a celebrity of either gender, typically an actor, musician, supermodel, teen idol, or sports star, noted for their sex appeal. The term was first used in the mid 1950s in relation to the popularity of certain Hollywood stars, especially Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte...
best know by his stage name Peter Berlin. In the early to mid-1970s, Berlin created some of the most recognizable gay male erotic imagery of his time. Serving as his own photographer, model, and fashion designer, Berlin redefined self-portraiture and became an international sensation.
His two films, Nights in Black Leather
Nights in Black Leather
Nights in Black Leather is a 1973 gay porn film directed by Richard Abel under the pseudonym Ignatio Rutkowski. The film's original title was Post Haste Hustle, but was changed by the distributor to Nights in Black Leather....
(1973) and That Boy
That Boy
That Boy is a 1974 gay porn film written, produced and directed by Peter Berlin, his first and only long pornographic feature film. It is also his second and last long feature in which he appeared as an actor following the huge success of Nights in Black Leather...
(1974) (credited in the latter as Peter Burian), played to packed houses for years and, along with other pioneering erotic filmmakers such as Wakefield Poole
Wakefield Poole
Wakefield Poole is an American dancer, choreographer, theatrical director, and pioneering film director in the gay pornography industry from the 1970s and 1980s....
and Jack Deveau, helped bring gay male erotic films artistic legitimacy.
Early life in Germany
He was the second of the three children (a sister Mirna and a brother Reinhold who died in 1970 in a car crash) of Eduard Baron von Hoyningen-Huene and his wife Marion, 20 years old at the time of his birth. He was born in Łódź, PolandPoland
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...
, and grew up in Berlin, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The extended family included the American fashion photographer George Hoyningen-Huene
George Hoyningen-Huene
Baron George Hoyningen-Huene was a seminal fashion photographer of the 1920s and 1930s. He was born in Russia to Baltic German and American parents and spent his working life in France, England and the United States.-Europe:...
.
He received post-secondary education in Germany as a photo-technician. In his early 20s, he worked as a photographer for an interview program on German television, photographing some of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
's biggest celebrities and film stars.
Berlin designs and sews all of his clothing without a pattern. He also is a skilled painter and illustrator. He began photographing himself in erotic poses and making skin-tight clothes to wear as he cruised the parks and train stations of Berlin, the streets of Rome, Paris, New York and San Francisco.
Filmmaking and celebrity
In the early 1970s, Berlin moved to San Francisco and became a fixture on the streets, famous for his highly suggestive clothing and constant cruising. He collaborated with friend Richard Abel on a 16 mm hard-core porn film entitled Nights in Black LeatherNights in Black Leather
Nights in Black Leather is a 1973 gay porn film directed by Richard Abel under the pseudonym Ignatio Rutkowski. The film's original title was Post Haste Hustle, but was changed by the distributor to Nights in Black Leather....
(1973) in which he played the lead role. Berlin's poster for the film was a sensation and helped make Nights in Black Leather an enormous underground hit.
As a follow-up, Berlin directed, produced, wrote, and starred in That Boy (1974), another wildly successful film. He also made four short films in the mid- to late-1970s, which were primarily sold as 8 mm "loops" by mail order. His self-portraits were widely published and sold, making Berlin a gay household name and an international celebrity. He was also the subject of several Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer, known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and nude men...
photographs, five drawings by Tom of Finland
Tom of Finland
Touko Laaksonen, best known by his pseudonym Tom of Finland was a Finnish artist notable for his stylized androerotic and fetish art and his influence on late twentieth century gay culture. He has been called the "most influential creator of gay pornographic images" by cultural historian Joseph W...
, and at least one photograph by Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
. Two rarely seen Robert Mapplethorpe polaroid images of Berlin can be seen in the 2008 book, Mapplethorpe: Polaroids and the Whitney Museum of American Art exhibition of the same name. Some of his famous friends were Salvador and Gala Dali, Warhol, New York fashion designer Koos, Famed painter of flowers Jochen Labriola. He was well acquainted with famed ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev was a Russian dancer, considered one of the most celebrated ballet dancers of the 20th century. Nureyev's artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance, providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as support to the women.In 1961 he...
, whose advances he rejected.
Photography
Berlin's photographs and artwork have been exhibited around the world, most notably in the exhibition "Split/Vision" (New York, 1986) curated by Mapplethorpe, and in the exhibition "Berlin on Berlin" (2006) at the Leslie Lohman GalleryLeslie Lohman Gay Art Foundation
The Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation is a nonprofit foundation for the collection and preservation of visual arts by LGBT artists or art about LGBT themes, issues, and people. LLGAF is located in the SoHo district of New York City...
in New York.
Although he retreated from the limelight in the 1980s, he continues to make videos of himself and lives quietly in San Francisco, where he is still frequently recognized on the streets by his adoring fans.
He was trained in Germany as a phototechnician in the 1960s.
Comeback
In 2005, filmmaker and writer Jim Tushinski directed and co-produced (with Lawrence Helman), the feature-length documentaryDocumentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
That Man: Peter Berlin
That Man: Peter Berlin
That Man: Peter Berlin, secondary title Artist, Model, Porn Star, Legend; He Was His Own Work of Art is a 2005 documentary directed by Jim Tushinski about the popular gay icon Peter Berlin....
, which began a resurgence of interest in Berlin's works. The documentary premiered at the 2005 Berlin Film Festival and garnered several awards at film festivals worldwide, reconnecting Berlin with his older fans and introducing him to a new generation. The film is quoted as sexy and informative — an extremely rare combination. In 2006, Berlin launched a web site devoted to his work.
Filmography
Long features- 1973: Nights in Black LeatherNights in Black LeatherNights in Black Leather is a 1973 gay porn film directed by Richard Abel under the pseudonym Ignatio Rutkowski. The film's original title was Post Haste Hustle, but was changed by the distributor to Nights in Black Leather....
(actor) - 1974: That BoyThat BoyThat Boy is a 1974 gay porn film written, produced and directed by Peter Berlin, his first and only long pornographic feature film. It is also his second and last long feature in which he appeared as an actor following the huge success of Nights in Black Leather...
(director, producer, writer, actor) (credited as Peter Burian)
Documentary
- 2005: That Man: Peter BerlinThat Man: Peter BerlinThat Man: Peter Berlin, secondary title Artist, Model, Porn Star, Legend; He Was His Own Work of Art is a 2005 documentary directed by Jim Tushinski about the popular gay icon Peter Berlin....
Shorts
- 1973: Waldeslust
- 1974-6: Search
- 1974-6: Ciro and Peter
- 1976-7: Blueboys
See also
- List of pornographic movie studios
- List of male performers in gay porn films
Further reading
- Website of the Hoyningen-Huene family
- "Creating Peter Berlin", text and photos by Dennis Forbes--article in After Dark (magazine)After Dark (magazine)After Dark was an entertainment magazine that covered theatre, cinema, stage plays, ballet, performance art, and various artists, including singers, actors and actresses, and dancers, among others. First published in May 1968, the magazine succeeded Ballroom Dance Magazine...
February 1975, pages 44–51, with photographic portfolio of Peter Berlin
Sources
- "Berlin on Berlin" interview by Robert W. Richards (dead link)
- ManNet Review: "That Man: SE" (dead link)
- That Man: Peter Berlin reviews by "Dom79" and "TheCygnet" (dead link)