William Berger

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

Biography Career

A former roommate of Keith Richards, his earliest work was in Broadway theatre, but while visiting Italy, he was cast in his first Western, Break Up, in 1965. A series of Westerns followed, including Face to Face (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.

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 and cocaine, but resumed his acting career after his release. His later fare included Super Fly T.N.T. (1973), Oil! (1977), Hercules (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 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 Christopher Columbus 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 The Murder Clinic (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 (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 Beyond Control (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 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 Big Pot (1976) And Agnes Chose to Die (1976) - Clinto Keoma (1976) - William Shannon Oil! (1977) - Bill Mann Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun (1977) - Father Vicente California (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 (1983) - Mogo Hercules (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 Christopher Columbus (1985, TV Mini-Series) - Francisco de Bobadilla 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 (1986) - Mittler Golden Temple Amazons (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)