Peter Berlin

Armin Hagen Freiherr von Hoyningen-Huene (born 28 December 1942) is a German-American photographer, artist, filmmaker, clothing designer/sewer, and model best known by his stage name Peter Berlin.

His two films, Nights in Black Leather (1973) and That Boy (1974) (credited in the latter as Peter Burian) helped bring gay male erotic films artistic legitimacy.

Early life Peter Berlin was born on December 28, 1942, in German-occupied Litzmannstadt (now Łódź), Poland, but he grew up in an aristocratic family in Berlin, Germany. He is the second of the three children. The extended family included the Russian American 1920s and 1930s fashion photographer George Hoyningen-Huene.

Photography He received post-secondary education in Germany as a photo-technician. In his early 20s, he worked as a photographer for an interview program on German television, photographing some of Europe's celebrities and film stars, including Alfred Hitchcock, Catherine Deneuve, Brigitte Bardot and Klaus Kinski

Fashions Berlin designed and sewed all of his clothing without a pattern. He also was a painter and illustrator. He began photographing himself in erotic poses and making skin-tight clothes to wear as he cruised the parks and train stations of Berlin, and the streets of Rome, Paris, New York and San Francisco. Many of his designs are now seen in the fashion works of such international designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier.

Filmmaking and celebrity

In the early 1970s, Berlin moved to San Francisco and became a fixture on the streets with his highly suggestive clothing and constant cruising. He collaborated with friend Richard Abel on a 16 mm hard-core porn film entitled Nights in Black Leather (1973) in which he played the lead role. Berlin's poster for the film helped make Nights in Black Leather an underground hit.

Filmography Long features 1973: Nights in Black Leather (actor) 1974: That Boy (director, producer, writer, actor) Documentary 2005: That Man: Peter Berlin Shorts 1973: Waldeslust 1974-6: Search 1974-6: Ciro and Peter 1976-7: Blueboys

Awards 2007: GayVN Awards, Category: "2007 GayVN Hall of Fame Inductees"