Peter Berlin

Berlin was a frequent subject of Robert Mapplethorpe, and two Polaroid images of Berlin are contained in the 2008 book, "Mapplethorpe: Polaroids," which was part of Mapplethorpe's little known early period from 1970-1975, and the actual Polaroid shots were also in the Whitney Museum of American Art exhibition "Mapplethorpe: Polaroids," which ran from May 3 to September 7, 2008.

His paternal grandfather is George Hoyningen-Huene, whose full name is George de Hoyningen Huene, and whose photograph in black and white profile is shown in That Man: Peter Berlin (2005), and who was credited on screen as George Hoyningen-Huene (1900-1968).

Another virtuoso triple-X feature, That Boy (1974), was released; this time, Peter controlled the rights to the picture and was rewarded when the picture met considerable success (for its ultra-low budget).

Very little is known about Peter. Blonde, muscular, and enigmatic, he was truly his own invention. He cast himself in the real-life role of the mythic leather stud--gorgeous, desirable, untouchable. Dressed in revealing denim and motorcycle garb, he quickly became a fixture in international street scenes, his appearance inciting shock and delight from passers-by. His greatest social success came in San Francisco, where he became one of Polk Street's most beloved eccentrics. It was here that he took the name Burian from an acquaintance; his real surname (which he claimed was too difficult for Americans to pronounce) never came to light. Eventually, he teamed with photographer friend Ignatio Rutkowski, bringing his formidable sexual persona to the screen in Nights in Black Leather (1973). A visually arresting piece of hardcore male erotica, the film was a box-office success, but Peter was denied residuals thanks to a bad distribution deal. Around this time, he discovered another actor by the name of Peter Burian, and thereafter went by the name Peter Berlin.

In That Man: Peter Berlin (2005), the documentary about his life, he states on camera that the first sexual feelings that he had with another man was August 13, 1961, which he remembers because that was the day that construction of the Berlin Wall began, and the experience was with one of the East German soldiers building the wall.