- Born
- Birth nameArmin Hagen Freiherr von Hoyningen-Huene
- Nickname
- Saran
- Height5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
- 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. 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). Throughout the 1970s, Peter was a fixture at San Francisco's Gay Pride Parades. Still iconic and always mysterious, his whereabouts today remain unknown.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous
- Ultra-tight, "saran" wrapped white pants got him his nickname
- "Freiherr" was included in Berlin's original birth name as the son of a Freiherr, which is a German rank of nobility (no longer granted, but may be inherited), which is approximately translated to, and the approximate equivalent noble rank of Baron.
- 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.
- 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.
- Designed and sewed all of his own clothes and costumes used in all of his films and photo shoots.
- 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).
- Also, now for maybe ten years, I say with this Peter, 'Look, if I walk around the streets so outrageous, just the same you can be whomever or whatever you want.' Everyone has a secret fantasy life. I show you that it is possible, you know, to turn your sexual fantasy into reality, if you dare to.
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