Der Moon Fuhrer ist Tot
When it comes to arthouse, low-budget, B-grade horror films, there is probably no more prolific actor than German-born Udo Kier, with 411 acting credits in IMDB.
Well, I guess I should say, “was” rather than is. He passed over the weekend, aged 81.
Born Udo Kierspe in Cologne in late 1944– the hospital was bombed and buried the baby and his mother in the rubble– he left West Germany at age 18 for England and appeared in his first of (so) many films in 1966.
To youth on this side of the pond, he is probably best known for his roles in numerous vampire movies, as the high-pressure Operation Paperclip-esque NASA flight psychologist in Armageddon (“Who is Jethro Tull?”), voiceover work in Call of Duty, and as “Moon Fuhrer” Wolfgang Kortzfleisch in 2012’s amazingly over-the-top Iron Sky.
Ironically, he never got to play a Bond villain, which seems strange.
Pour one out for ol Udo.
But for many he is best remembered as Yuri from the Red Alert series of computer games. Hail to the Great Yuri!