Udo Kier’s Final Provocation: The Leading Man


In 1966, a mouth-watering Udo Kier made his movie debut in a moving short film called “Road to Saint Tropez,” which plays a gigolo flirting with an older woman. A day in Baie des Anges is a romp, but it breaks her heart when they arrive in the beach town named after the movie.

This summer, Kier is in a movie shot by the water again. But he’s nowhere near the French Riviera, and he’s not a murderer of women.

In “The Swan Song,” In a new movie from writer-director Todd Stephens, Kier plays Mr. Pat, a flamboyant former hairdresser rotting in a dreary retirement home outside Sandusky, Ohio, a working-class town on the shores of Lake Erie. With the promise of money, she hitchhikes into town to fulfill the wish of her recently deceased former client Rita (Linda Evans): to style her corpse’s hair and makeup for her open coffin funeral.

While wandering around Sandusky, Mr. Pat crosses paths with a protégée, his rival Dee Dee (Jennifer Coolidge) and Rita’s gay grandson Dustin (Michael Urie). But here’s the thing: Rita, as Mr. Pat says, is “a compelling Republic monster” and is indecisive about “making a dead bitch look like a human”.

When it came to the role, Kier said he “feared nothing”, a tombstone way of defining his own career, and it was characters for renegade directors defined by boundless performances.

“I was looking forward to making the movie because I never want to say: I can’t do that,” he said. “I would go so far as to say it was like a dream project for me.”

“Swan Song” is now in theaters and on demand Complements Stephens’ standalone Ohio Trilogy that began with authorship, starting August 13 “The Edge of Seventeen” (1998) and co-writing and directing “Gypsy 83” (2001), the trilogy with Mr. X. Pat, who is eager to go from Sandusky to New York, shifts their attention to an old gay man who has made a life in Ohio.

Stephens said he spent more than a year trying to choose the right actor to play a Stonewall generation peacock who prefers fancy fedora hats and mint green fun suits. Then a casting director brought up Kier.

Basing the character on hairstylist and drag artist Pat Pitsenbarger, whom Sandusky met in the ’80s as a teenager discovering his own sexuality in gay circles, Stephens said, “I hadn’t thought of him because he’s German. “I always thought of him in villain roles. But on the other hand, she’s incredibly gorgeous. Mr. Pat had big blue eyes like Udo. As soon as I met him, I knew it was Mr. Pat.”

For over fifty years as an actor, Kier has put those icy blue eyes to provocative use as a vampire for Paul Morrissey (“Blood for Dracula” in 1974), psychiatrist of Dario Argento (“Suspiria” 1977), a john for Gus Van Sant (“My Own Private Idaho” in 1991) and a demon and A doll for Lars von Trier (“Kingdom” series in the 90s). He was Madonna’s dungeon mate 1992 book “Sex.”

Black comedy still coming for the prolific actor “My Neighbor Adolf,” He played a man suspected of being Hitler and a recurring role It’s about Nazi hunters in the second season of the Amazon Prime series “Hunters.”

Kier had a rare feat for a 76-year-old actor with “Swan Song”: a juicy lead. On the phone from his home in Palm Springs, California, Kier took the conversation very versatile. These are edited excerpts.

How does it feel to be in the lead role?

In all the movies I’ve made, “Knife Blade” with “Shadow of the Vampire” I always had – I hate to support that word – I had smaller roles. This is the first time after “Dracula” and “[Flesh for] Frankenstein” which I played the leading role. I always wanted to play the villain in a James Bond movie, but somehow it just didn’t happen.

Tell me about shooting with Linda Evans.

In Germany, “Dallas” and “Dynasty” were called street cleaners because there was no one on the street when they were on TV. [Laughs] I met him at a restaurant the night before we went to shoot, and it was perfectly normal. I was surprised because he wanted to rehearse, rehearse and rehearse. I like it.

We were real while filming. There was no acting. I’ve learned over the years that good actors are the best people. The only ones who complain constantly are the insecure ones. Linda is one of the prettiest.

How much did Sandusky influence you to make the movie?

Everything was great, easy. Main Street has been like a studio at Paramount to me. I wanted to make the movie as chronological as possible. Ever since we started the nursing home, I’ve slept there alone without a camera, and I’ve had a feeling for the hallways and bathrooms. Then I had an apartment in Sandusky.

Was there a gay person from your past who inspired your performance?

There were too many. There were still friends of the real Pat around and they told me how to hold a cigarette. There were also little things I’ve seen all my life in clubs or in private, how people put one leg on the other when they sit down. just for that reason. But I also wanted to get away from clichés. I didn’t mean to say “yes girl”.

Do you describe any place under the LGBTQ umbrella?

When I was younger in Germany, if two men lived together and the neighbors heard erotic noises, they would call the police and people would be arrested. I think what’s achieved everywhere, especially in America, is great.

You’ve worked with some real gay writers, including Fassbinder. What is your favorite memory of him?

I met Fassbinder when he was 15 and I was 16 at a working-class bar in Cologne with truck drivers and secretaries. I went to London to work and learn English. One day I picked up a magazine that said he was a genius and an alcoholic, and I thought, Rainer from this bar.

When I returned to Germany, he offered me a role. “The Station Master’s Wife” and this was our first time working together. We made a lot of movies together. We also lived together. Somewhere it says we’re in a relationship, but that’s a lie. He was the only director to capture what Germany was like after the war.

Do you have a movie that people don’t know about but you want them to discover?

I did “Men’s House,A very important movie for the gay community. set [in 1984] in a nightclub in Amsterdam directed by my character. The boys are doing striptease there and I’m dating like Marlene Dietrich. The movie is important because AIDS was approaching and nobody knew what AIDS was. I think it’s something people should see.

In “Swan Song” and in real life, there is a generation gap between older gay men who remember the worst years of AIDS and younger men who don’t.

Cookie Mueller, my good friend, died of AIDS. I lost many friends in Germany too. This is what I had in mind in front of the camera.

Have you thought about how you want to look when you die?

[Laughs] I do not care. I think if someone told me I had seven hours to live, I’d throw a party with great drinks. Seven hours later I would jump into my pool and not move anymore. People were like, “He’s so good! Look how long you can hold your breath!”

The problem would be if I were 85 and no longer had hair. I’d find someone to polish the top of my head.



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