Kenneth Anger, experimental filmmaker, artist, and author, has died at the age of 96. The art gallery that represented Anger, the Sprüth Magers Gallery, confirmed the news and said in a statement that “Kenneth was a trailblazer. His cinematic genius and influence will live on and continue to transform all those who encounter his films, words and vision.”
Spencer Glesby, Anger’s artist liaison, toldNPRthat Anger died on June 13, 2025, in Yucca Valley, California. Anger was born in 1927 in Santa Monica, California, and created over 30 short films between 1937 and 2013. He made his first film at 10 years old, an impressive feat for any filmmaker. He was known as one of America’s first openly gay filmmakers, another achievement considering the culturally hostile era in which he rose to prominence. His work often explored erotic themes and queerness, years before gay sex would even become legalized in the United States.
His 1947 filmFireworkseven landed him in court, facing obscenity charges. The film was produced in his parents' Beverly Hills home while they were away for the weekend. It is known as the first gay narrative film to be produced in the United States.And considering how long it has taken for queer films to find footing in the mainstream, his work should be seen as an accomplishment well beyond its time period.
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AfterFireworks, Angermoved to Franceand embraced the burgeoning avant-garde film scenes. The French avant-garde movement inspired his two filmsEaux d’ArtificeandRabbit’s Moon. He moved back to the United States in 1953. Upon his return to the United States, he created the two short filmsInauguration of the Pleasure DomeandScorpio Rising.
In 1959 Anger wrote the bookHollywood Babylon, which went over gossip and scandal surrounding the likes ofMarilyn Monroe,Judy Garland, andCharlie Chaplin. However, the book was, for the most part, discredited. This didn’t stop Anger from releasing a sequel book in 1984. The sequel book was created after his retirement from filmmaking in the 1980s. Anger returned to film in the 2000s.
Anger was an avowed Satanist, and his work and life were nothing if not controversial. His 1972 filmLucifer Risingcemented his status as a counter-culture icon. According toMonika SprüthandPhilomene Magers, Anger “…saw film as nothing less than a spiritual medium, a conveyor of spectacular alchemy that transforms the viewer.” And it is certainly true that the landscape of cinema has been irrevocably transformed by his work.
