Pet Detective’ Actor Udo Kier Dead at 81

Actor Udo Kier — who landed famous roles in “My Own Private Idaho” and “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” has died.

His partner, Delbert McBride, confirmed to Variety that Kier passed away Sunday.  His close friend, Michael Childers, posted on Facebook Kier died in a hospital in Palm Springs, California. A cause of death was not released.

The German-born actor had a long and illustrious Hollywood career, spanning decades with over 250 credits from 1966 to 2025. His final role was as Hans in “The Secret Agent.”

He was best known for his role as John Camp alongside Jim Carrey in “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.” He also played another Hans in “My Private Idaho,” starring River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves.

In addition, Kier secured major parts in several vampire flicks, such as “Blade,” “Modern Vampires,” “Shadow of the Vampire,” and “Dracula 3000.” Some of his other notable roles included Curly in “Barb Wire,” Lorenzini in “The Adventures of Pinnocchio,” and a NASA psychologist in “Armageddon.”

Film wasn’t Kier’s only passion … He was also into pop songs, appearing in Madonna‘s music videos for “Erotica” and “Deeper and Deeper.” He also had cameos in other music videos, including Korn’s “Make Me Bad,” and Eve and Gwen Stefani‘s “Let Me Blow Ya Mind.”

Kier was 81.