Peter Kern (actor)
A prolific and uncompromising force in Austrian cinema, both in front of the camera and behind it as a director of raw, visceral films.
1949–2015 (age 66)·Austrian actor·Birthday: February 13·Baby Boomers
Biography
Peter Kern appeared in over seventy films, his face conveying profound vulnerability or unsettling menace. He collaborated frequently with directors Walter Bockmayer and Rainer Werner Fassbinder, absorbing their confrontational styles. Kern directed more than twenty-five films, often writing and producing them himself. His works were deliberately rough-edged, politically charged, and focused on society's outsiders. His 1978 film 'Flaming Hearts' was selected for the Berlin International Film Festival. Uninterested in commercial polish, Kern explored themes of sexuality, violence, and alienation with a relentless, DIY spirit. He became a cult figure and an essential thread in Austrian underground cinema.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Peter was born in 1949, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Peter Was Born
The biggest hits of 1949
#1 Movie
Samson and Delilah
Best Picture
All the King's Men
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
Peter's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1949Born
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1954Started school
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1962Became a teenager
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1965Could drive
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1967Could vote
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1970Turned 21
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1979Turned 30
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1989Turned 40
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1999Turned 50
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 60
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2015Died at 66
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
Key Achievements
- Directed over 25 films and appeared as an actor in more than 70, a huge body of work in Austrian cinema.
- His film 'Flaming Hearts' (1978) was entered into the prestigious 28th Berlin International Film Festival.
- Served on the jury of the 30th Berlin International Film Festival in 1980.
Did You Know?
He was also a published author, writing novels and plays in addition to his film scripts.
Many of his later films were self-financed and produced on extremely low budgets.
He had a recurring role in the popular Austrian crime television series 'Kommissar Rex.'
“I am not a nice person, and I don't want to be one.”
