Klaus Kinski

Personal Information

• Birth Name: Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski
• Born: October 18, 1926, in Zoppot, Free City of Danzig (now Sopot, Poland)
• Died: November 23, 1991, in Lagunitas, California, U.S.
• Nationality: German
• Occupation: Actor
• Years Active: 1948-1989
• Children: Pola Kinski, Nastassja Kinski, Nikolai Kinski
• Spouses:
  • Gislinde Kühlbeck (m.1952; div.1955)
  • Brigitte Ruth Tocki (m.1960; div.1971)
  • Minhoi Geneviève Loanic (m.1971; div.1979)

Career Highlights

• Klaus Kinski was known for his intense performances and volatile personality.
• Appeared in over 130 films during a career spanning 40 years.
• Best known for his collaboration with director Werner Herzog:
  • Films with Herzog:
    • Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
    • Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
    • Woyzeck (1979)
    • Fitzcarraldo (1982)
    • Cobra Verde (1987)
  • Their tumultuous relationship was chronicled in Herzog's documentary My Best Fiend.
• Worked in various genres including Spaghetti Westerns, horror, and dramas.
• Known for eccentric projects like a one-man show on Jesus Christ, a self-directed biopic on Niccolò Paganini, and numerous spoken word albums.

Personal and Controversial Aspects

• Kinski had a history of mental illness and emotional outbursts.
• Herzog described Kinski as both a great actor and a troublesome person.
• Posthumously accused of physically and sexually abusing his daughter Pola.
• Known for a cult following and controversial reputation.
• Published autobiography All I Need Is Love (later reprinted as Kinski Uncut).
• Briefly admitted to a psychiatric hospital with initial schizophrenia diagnosis, later deemed psychopathy.

Early Life

• Born in a Polish-German family, moved to Berlin during the Great Depression.
• Conscripted into the Wehrmacht in 1943, captured by the British in 1944.
• Fabricated parts of his autobiography according to Herzog.
• Stage debut in POW camp morale shows.

Later Career and Life

• First film role in Morituri (1948).
• Involved in several European exploitation films and acclaimed works like Doctor Zhivago (1965).
• Declined role in Raiders of the Lost Ark, later appeared in The Little Drummer Girl (1984).
• Last film was Paganini (1989), which he wrote, directed, and starred in.
• Died of a heart attack in 1991, cremated, and ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean.
• Known for contentious relationships on and off-set.

Sexual Abuse Allegations

• Allegations surfaced in 2013 by his daughter Pola claiming sexual abuse from age 5 to 19.
• Supported by daughter Nastassja who described Kinski as an unpredictable tyrant.
• Additional accusations of attempted rape by actress Maria Lamor during filming.

Legacy

• Kinski's life and career remain subjects of fascination and controversy, inspiring various documentaries and essays.
• Considered a cult icon in cinema despite his troubled personal life.