Klaus Kinski

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Klaus Kinski

Klaus Kinski
Born Nikolaus Karl Günther Nakszynski
October 18, 1926
Zoppot, Free City of Danzig
Died November 23, 1991 (aged 65)
Lagunitas, California, United States
Years active 1948–1989

Klaus Kinski (18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor, famous for his ability to project onscreen intensity, and for his explosive temperament. He acted in over 130 films.

Contents

[edit] Early life

In 1950, Kinski had a three-day stay in a psychiatric hospital; medical records from the period listed a preliminary diagnosis of schizophrenia.[1]

[edit] Career

Kinski appeared in several German Edgar Wallace movies. His collaborations with director Werner Herzog brought him 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 Israeli movie Operation Thunderbolt, based on the events of the 1976 Operation Entebbe. His last film (which he also wrote and directed) was Kinski Paganini (1989), in which he played the legendary violinist Niccolò Paganini.

[edit] Personal life

Kinski chronicled his exploits in the autobiography—Kinski: All I Need Is Love, which was largely fabricated to generate sales, according to Werner Herzog's documentary film My Best Fiend.

He is the father of actress Nastassja Kinski, although he had little contact with her following the divorce from her mother, Ruth Brigitte Tocki, in 1968.

[edit] Reputation

Herzog's retrospective on his work with Kinski was released in the United States as My Best Fiend (1999).

The American antifolk music group Elastic No-No Band created a song called "I Am Klaus Kinski (And This Is My Song)", which is an imaginary response by Kinski to Herzog's film My Best Fiend.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Documentaries

  • Burden of Dreams (1982)
  • Location Africa (1987)
  • My Best Fiend (TV) (1999)
  • Please Kill Mr. Kinski (1999) online
  • Jesus Christus Erlöser (2008)

[edit] Discography

Kinski released nearly 25 spoken word records, some of them were re-released on CDs[3].

[edit] External links

Sister project Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Klaus Kinski

[edit] References

  1. ^ Psycho-Akte von Klaus Kinski entdeckt, Bild, 22 July 2008. (German)
  2. ^ Album Details for Kinski on Folkways
  3. ^ Information on spoken word releases

[edit] Further reading

  • Klaus Kinski: All I Need Is Love (1988), ISBN 0-394-54916-3, re-titled Kinski Uncut: The Autobiography of Klaus Kinski (1997), ISBN 0-14-025536-2.
  • Christian David: Kinski. Die Biographie. (2006), Berlin: Aufbau-Verlag 2006. ISBN 3-351-02647-1
  • Peter Geyer: Klaus Kinski: Leben, Werk, Wirkung (2006), Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp 2006. ISBN 351818220X


Persondata
NAME Kinski, Klaus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Nakszyński, Nikolaus Karl Günther
SHORT DESCRIPTION German actor
DATE OF BIRTH October 18, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Sopot, Free City of Gdańsk
DATE OF DEATH November 23, 1991
PLACE OF DEATH Lagunitas, California, United States
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Kinski"
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