William Berger, also known as Bill Berger and Wilhelm Berger, born Wilhelm Thomas Berger (June 20, 1928 – October 2, 1993) was an American actor, mostly associated with Euro and

spaghetti Western The spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's filmmaking style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

Biography

Career

A former roommate of

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

, his earliest work was in

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...

, but while visiting Italy, he was cast in his first

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, ''Break Up'', in 1965. A series of Westerns followed, including '' Faccia a faccia'' (1967), '' Today We Kill, Tomorrow We Die!'' (1968), '' If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death'' (1968), '' Sabata'' (1969), and '' Keoma'' (1975). He also starred in the horror films '' Five Dolls for an August Moon'', '' My Dear Killer'', '' Monster Shark'', and ''

The Murder Clinic ''The Murder Clinic'' () is a 1966 Slasher film, slasher giallo film directed by Lionello De Felice and Elio Scardamaglia. It was produced by Elio Scardamaglia, Francesco Scardamaglia and Luciano Martino. The screenplay was written by Martino and ...

''. Berger was heavily into drug experimentation, which frequent co-star Brett Halsey said sometimes interfered with filming, recounting one incident where they were shooting a scene on horseback and without warning Berger leant forwards and slid off his horse. In the early 1970s, Berger spent some time in an Italian prison, having been wrongly accused of possession of

hashish Hashish (; ), usually abbreviated as hash, is a Compression (physics), compressed form of resin (trichomes) derived from the cannabis flowers. European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, As a Psychoactive drug, psychoactive ...

and

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

, but resumed his acting career after his release. His later fare included '' Super Fly T.N.T.'' (1973), ''

Oil! ''Oil!'' is a novel by Upton Sinclair, first published in 1926–27 and told as a third-person narrative, with only the opening pages written in the first person. The book was written in the context of the Warren Harding, Harding administration ...

'' (1977), ''

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

'' (1983), and '' The King's Whore'' (1990). His 1985 memoirs, ''Half Way Home'', recount his life to that point. Berger collaborated with his good friend, famed Spanish horror film director Jesus Franco, appearing in seven of his films: ''The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff'', ''Night of the Killers'', ''Faceless'', ''Golden Temple Amazons'', ''Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun'', ''Dirty Game in Casablanca'', and ''A Captain of 15 Years''.

Personal life

Berger was married five times and was father to five children (and adopted a sixth). He had three children with his first wife Marjorie Berger: daughters Carin Berger (born in 1952) and actress Debra Berger (born March 17, 1957), and son Wendell Nelson Berger (born December 28, 1972). After his marriage to Marjorie ended, he married actress Carolyn Lobravico. While Berger was busy in Italy with the filming of ''The Murder Clinic'', Carolyn was arrested for drug possession. She died in prison from peritonitis. Charged with illegal drug possession, Berger stayed in jail until he was released in March 1971. His third marriage was to singer and actress Hanja Kochansky. They had one child together, a son Kasimir Berger (born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on October 7, 1974). Berger was also stepfather to actress Katya Berger, the daughter of Hanja Kochansky from a previous relationship. Berger starred with his son Kasimir in the TV

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

'' and '' Tuareg – The Desert Warrior''. After his divorce from Kochansky, he married his fourth wife, Dörte Völz. With her, he had a son named Alexander Völz. His fifth and last marriage was to Linda Berger. William Berger died on October 2, 1993, in Los Angeles, California, of cancer. Director Jesus Franco was particularly upset by his passing, speaking of his grief in various interviews. Franco mentioned in a DVD interview (an extra feature on the DVD ''The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff'') that Berger died from some type of brittle bone disease.

Selected filmography

*'' Back Street'' (1961) - Airport Attendant (uncredited) *'' Von Ryan's Express'' (1965) - Man from the Gestapo (uncredited) *'' Break Up'' (1965) - Benny (segment "L'uomo dei 5 palloni") (uncredited) *'' Ringo's Big Night'' (1966) - Jack Balman / Ringo *''

'' (1966) - Dr. Robert Vance *''Cisco'' (1966) - El Cisco *'' A Bullet for the General'' (1967) - Bill 'Niño' Tate (English version, voice, uncredited) *'' Her Harem'' (1967) - Mario *''

The Day the Fish Came Out ''The Day the Fish Came Out'' (Greece: Όταν τα ψάρια βγήκαν στη στεριά ''Ótan ta psária vgíkan sti steriá'') is a 1967 DeLuxe Color Greek–British comedy film directed and written by Michael Cacoyannis, who also ...

'' (1967) - Man in Bed *'' Face to Face'' (1967) - Charley 'Chas' A. Siringo *'' Today We Kill, Tomorrow We Die!'' (1968) - Francis 'Colt' Moran *'' Every Bastard a King'' (1968) - Roy Hemmings *''Il suo nome gridava vendetta'' (1968) - Sam Kellogg *'' If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death'' (1968) - Lasky *' (1968) - Velte *'' A Noose for Django'' (1969) - Everett 'Bible' Murdock *' (1969) - Grüner, Filmproduzent *'' Sabata'' (1969) - Banjo *''Ombre roventi'' (1970) - Caleb *''La colomba non deve volare'' (1970) *'' Five Dolls for an August Moon'' (1970) - Prof. Gerry Farrell *'' Sartana in the Valley of Death'' (1970) - Lee Calloway aka Sartana *'' They Call Him Cemetery'' (1971) - Duke *'' My Dear Killer'' (1972) - Giorgio Canavese *'' The Big Bust Out'' (1972) - Bob Shaw *''La vita in gioco'' (1972) - Andrea *'' The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff'' (1973) - Dr. Orloff *''Una colt in mano al diavolo'' (1973) - Isaac McCorney *''Il giustiziere di Dio'' (1973) - Padre Tony Lang *'' Super Fly T.N.T.'' (1973) - Lefebre *''...E il terzo giorno arrivò il corvo'' (1973) - The Crow *'' Verflucht dies Amerika'' (1973) -

Doc Holliday John Henry Holliday (August 14, 1851 – November 8, 1887), better known as Doc Holliday, was an American dentistry, dentist, gambling, gambler, and gunfighter who was a close friend and associate of Sheriff, lawman Wyatt Earp. Holliday is b ...

*'' Fasthand'' (1973) - Machedo *'' Man with the Golden Winchester'' (1973) - Mathias Boyd *''…altrimenti vi ammucchiamo'' (1973) - Angelo Biondo *''Un capitán de quince años'' (1974) - Negoro *'' Three Tough Guys'' (1974) - Captain Ryan *''Situation'' (1974) - Ralf *''La noche de los asesinos'' (1974) - Baron Simon Tobias *''La merveilleuse visite'' (1974) *''Terminal'' (1974) - Rudolph Arnheim *'' Parapsycho – Spectrum of Fear'' (1975) - Professor *'' The Career of a Chambermaid'' (1976) - Franz *'' Nick the Sting'' (1976) - Roizman *''Il colpaccio'' (1976) *'' And Agnes Chose to Die'' (1976) - Clinto *'' Keoma'' (1976) - William Shannon *''

'' (1977) - Bill Mann *'' Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun'' (1977) - Father Vicente *''

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

'' (1977) - Mr. Preston *''Per questa notte'' (1977) *'' Wifemistress'' (1977) - Count Brandini *''Porco mondo'' (1978) - Senator Alberici *''Comincerà tutto un mattino: io donna tu donna'' (1978) - Luciano *''Die Totenschmecker'' (1979) - Felix *'' I viaggiatori della sera'' (1979) - Cocky Fontana *''Holocaust parte seconda: i ricordi, i deliri, la vendetta'' (1980) - Col. Hans *'' Day of the Cobra'' (1980) - Jack Goldsmith *''Ripacsok'' (1981) *''Bosco d'amore'' (1981) *'' The Girl from Trieste'' (1982) - Charly *''Diamond Connection'' (1982) - Inspector *''

Ironmaster An ironmaster is the manager, and usually owner, of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain. The ironmaster was usually a larg ...

'' (1983) - Mogo *''

'' (1983) - King Minos *''Il momento dell'avventura'' (1983) - Doyle *'' Hanna K.'' (1983) - German journalist *''El asesino llevaba medias negras'' (1984) *'' Monster Shark'' (1984) - Prof. Donald West *' (1984) - Phillip Marboe *'' Moving Targets'' (1984) - Broschat *''

'' (1985, TV Mini-Series) -

Francisco de Bobadilla Francisco de Bobadilla (c. 1448 – 11 July 1502) was an official under the Crown of Castile and a knight of the Order of Calatrava. He was also the nephew of Beatriz de Bobadilla, marchioness and of Peñalosa, a patron of Christopher Columbus ...

*'' The Adventures of Hercules'' (aka ''Hercules 2'') (1985) - King Minos *''Dirty Game in Casablanca'' (1985) - Dean Baker *'' Tex and the Lord of the Deep'' (1985) - Kit Carson *'' The Berlin Affair'' (1985) - The Professor *'' The Fifth Missile'' (1986, TV Movie) - Dr. Strickland *''

Tarot Tarot (, first known as ''trionfi (cards), trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a set of playing cards used in tarot games and in fortune-telling or divination. From at least the mid-15th century, the tarot was used to play t ...

'' (1986) - Mittler *''Les amazones du temple d'or'' (1986) - Uruck the Temple Guardian / Priest *'' The Death of Empedocles'' (1987) - Kritias *'' Control'' (1987) - Mr. Peterson *'' Strike Commando'' (1987) - Maj. Harriman (English version, voice, uncredited) *'' Distant Lights'' (1987) - Dr. Montanari *'' Django Strikes Again'' (1987) - Old Timer *''Hell Hunters'' (1988) - Karl *'' The Brother from Space'' (1988) - Colonel Grant *'' Alien Terminator'' (1988) - Alonso Quintero *''Il nido del ragno'' (1988) - Mysterious Man *'' Dial Help'' (1988) - Prof. Irving Klein *''Bachi da seta'' (1988) *''Maya'' (1989) - Salomon Slivak *'' I'm Dangerous Tonight'' (1990) - Penck *''Lex Minister'' (1990) *'' The King's Whore'' (1990) - Le Comte Longhi *''Un amore sconosciuto'' (1991) - Piero *''Buck ai confini del cielo'' (1991) - Grandpa Thomas *''Berlin '39'' (1993) - Ernest *''18000 giorni fa'' (1993) - Rosenbaud (uncredited)

References

External links

*
William Berger on a genealogical site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, William 1928 births 1993 deaths 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Innsbruck Austrian emigrants to the United States Male Spaghetti Western actors Deaths from cancer in California