Ulli Lommel turns 70
On 21 December the actor and director Ulli Lommel turns 70. When Rainer Werner Fassbinder made his first feature film, LOVE IS COLDER THAN DEATH, Lommel was already a known quantity in Germany, having played opposite such cinema greats as Maria Schell, Heinz Rühmann and Hildegard Knef in the 1960s. In 1969 he began a productive collaboration with Fassbinder, playing roles in films such as THE AMERICAN SOLDIER, BEWARE OF A HOLY WHORE and CHINESE ROULETTE. 1973 saw Lommel debut as a director with THE TENDERNESS OF WOLVES – a film about the serial killer Fritz Haarmann. Since then, Lommel has directed around fifty films, switching easily and playfully between genres – from Bavarian porn to action films. His most well-known films as a director include the horror classic THE BOOGEY MAN and the music film BLANK GENERATION, featuring the punk icon Richard Hell and including an appearance by Andy Warhol. In 1977, Lommel moved to the USA, where he still lives and predominantly works. Currently he is working on a remake of THE BOOGEY MAN. The Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation congratulates Ulli Lommel on his birthday and wishes him every success with his future projects.
More information
Ulli Lommel’s website
Information on Fassbinder’s LOVE IS COLDER THAN DEATH
Information on Fassbinder’s THE AMERICAN SOLDIER
Information on Fassbinder’s BEWARE OF A HOLY WHORE
Information on Fassbinder’s CHINESE ROULETTE
Kulturradio
Photos: LOVE IS COLDER THAN DEATH, © RWFF