Filmmaker and artistKenneth Angerhas passed away. Anger’s death was announced on theofficial websitefor Monika Sprüth and Philomene Magers, who operated his art gallery. While the cause of death and circumstances surrounding his passing were not disclosed, Sprüth and Magers say they must let everyone know about the news that they deliver with “deep sadness” along with the entire gallery team.
“Kenneth was a trailblazer. Hiscinematic geniusand influence will live on and continue to transform all those who encounter his films, words and vision,” the statement reads in part. “Anger considered cinematographic projection a psychosocial ritual capable of unleashing physical and emotional energies. The artist saw film as nothing less than a spiritual medium, a conveyer of spectacular alchemy that transforms the viewer.”
Anger was born Kenneth Wilbur Anglemyer on Jun 11, 2025. He is known to cinephiles for developing dozens of experimental short films throughout the decades, going back to the 1940s. Anger has been referred to as one of the first “openly gay filmmakers” in the United States, as his shorts featured elements of homoeroticism even in the years before homosexual activity between consenting adults was made legal in the country. He was also known to often work in themes of the occult, with films likePleasure Dome,Invocation of My Demon Brother, andLucifer Risingdelving heavily into that territory.
“Anger’s work fundamentally shaped the aesthetics of 1960s and 1970s subcultures, the visual lexicon of pop and music videos and queer iconography,” his team says of his work. “The artist considered his life an artwork in its own right and frequently wove elements of myth, fact and fiction into his biography. His works can be understood as an integrative part of this life-as-artwork.”
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Kenneth Anger Was an Inspiration to Many
One of Anger’s most known works was the 14-minute filmFireworks, released in 1947. Because of its homosexual content and sexual violence, the film had gotten Anger pulled into court for obscenity charges, though he was later acquitted. But that didn’t make Anger slow down with what he wanted to do with his movies. He went on to make other notable titles likeRabbit’s Moon,Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome,Mouse Heaven,My Surfing Lucifer,Green Death,Elliott’s Suicide, and more. His final short, running at two and a half minutes, was calledMissoniwand was released in 2010.
Along with his art and movies, Anger was also an accomplished author. He penned the 1959 bookHollywood Babylon, which details celebrity journalism and goes into the reported scandals involving the stars of the era. It was initially banned upon release until it was later re-released after a decade. Anger would pen a sequel book, released in 1984, along with the booksA History of Homoeroticism,Atlantis: The Lost Continent, andSuicide in the Entertainment Industry. He’d later claim to have finished a thirdHollywood Babylonbook, but it was never published. Anger said in a 2010 interview that its publication was canceleddue to a chapter about Tom Cruiseand Scientology.
Our thoughts go out to Anger’s loved ones at this time.Rest in peace, Kenneth Anger.
