Ulrike Butz saw the light of day in 1954, was raised in Miesbach, Bayern (Bavaria), and lived the greater part of her life in München (Munich).
Before she turned 18, she worked as an assistant in a drugstore. She soon got fed up and left home, traveling through Southern Europe. Though even her own parents didn't know her whereabouts, eventually her father - an actor himself - allegedly forgave her for running away and becoming an actress in nudie pics.
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| Ulrike and her dog |
She remembered her first time in front of a camera being an awkward experience, nervously keeping her clothes on until the very end of the shoot.
The director of her second feature saw more potential in Ulrike, and for an extra 80 Marks ($54) she was willing to do almost anything that was desired of her.
Around 1973 she received a total of 500 Marks ($340) a day for displaying her gorgeous naked curves before a lens, which she herself had no problems with. Her boyfriend at the time accompanied her to the sets to make sure everything was legit and she wasn't being taken advantage of. He also thought of her job as a profession like any other.
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| Behind the scenes of "Liebe In 3 Dimensionen" (1973) |
However, there was also a negative side to her success.
Like any other ambitious thespian, she took her work serious and dreamed of performing on stage and taking acting lessons, but was hampered by her reputation. Her friends even nicknamed her "Porno Wally".
Far worse, via the industry circle she frequented, Ulrike got in touch with drugs. At first she casually smoked marijuana and hashish, as everybody did at the time, but at the tender age of 19 she was introduced to parties thrown by high-profile businessmen where a lot more was going on.
Far worse, via the industry circle she frequented, Ulrike got in touch with drugs. At first she casually smoked marijuana and hashish, as everybody did at the time, but at the tender age of 19 she was introduced to parties thrown by high-profile businessmen where a lot more was going on.
Although she had promised herself never to get hooked or shoot needles up her arm, things took a turn for the worse.
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| Playboy shoot, February 1974 |
In 1974 The Rolling Stones were booked to play a gig in München.
Few rock stars went on stage clean and sober back then, and the authorities mostly turned a blind eye toward the goings on, so the Stones lived up to their reputation and threw a party in their Hilton suite before the show. Along with a couple of friends, Ulrike was invited as well. For many underage girls (groupies), this was the way they first encountered drugs, but Ulrike was over 18, certainly not naive and only recreationally smoked pot. Still, she couldn't have prepared for what she was about to experience there.
Cocaine was being handed out like pretzels and everybody was either snorting or blowing. Keith Richards then presented a couple of white pills he had concealed in a hair dryer, which he described as pure heroin. With these he made his own cocktail called a speedball (a mixture of coke and heroin, the same deadly brew that prematurely killed John Belushi, River Phoenix and Chris Farley). The guitarist injected the stuff into his left arm and passed the remainder around for the rest of the room to consume.
Cocaine was being handed out like pretzels and everybody was either snorting or blowing. Keith Richards then presented a couple of white pills he had concealed in a hair dryer, which he described as pure heroin. With these he made his own cocktail called a speedball (a mixture of coke and heroin, the same deadly brew that prematurely killed John Belushi, River Phoenix and Chris Farley). The guitarist injected the stuff into his left arm and passed the remainder around for the rest of the room to consume.
Maybe due to a combination of peer pressure, idolization and curiousness Ulrike partook and got so strung-out, she later exclaimed having no idea how she got home that night, disoriented and overwhelmed by anxiety attacks that made her believe she was about to die.
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| Bad-ass Ulrike |
Soon - now seriously addicted to cocaine and heroin - the 20.000 Marks ($13.600) a month she was earning didn't suffice to provide for her nasty habit. Unsurprisingly, she began stealing from friends and eventually selling her body on the streets for cash or blow. This went on for nearly six years, explaining the large void in her filmography, from 1974 to 1981.
After she was released from prison a second time in 1980, Ulrike decided to get sober, leave her past behind and turn her life around.
A couple of years later her lips unsealed as she candidly discussed her life in public, warning innocent youths about noble gents luring them to cocaine parties under false pretences in order to have their way with them. Since her revelations about abuse and an excess of illegal narcotics also involved lawyers, local council members and other high-profile citizens, her confessions apparently left West-Germany in an uproar.
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| Ulrike in 1982, a fresh start (?) |
In 1981 or 1982 she married a film director and had his child. It is said she was again offered a great number of roles, yet is seems she only featured as an extra in two films before completely vanishing from the industry, and with that, the globe.
Ulrike claimed she never saw herself as a victim of her surroundings.
NOTE:
After translating, cross-checking and puzzling together every bit of information I had in my possession, I still tried to choose my words carefully, as some details contained in those articles and interviews were clearly incorrect. So I can't be sure that everything I did use in my summary are actual facts.
SOURCES:
Nue Revue Nr.6, February 1973
Playboy (Germany) Nr.2, February 1974
Ritz Nr.17, May 1982
Ritz Nr.18, May 1982
Ritz Nr.19, May 1982
