Gunter Sachs, photographer and ex-husband of Brigitte Bardot, dies

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German-born photographer Gunter Sachs, best known for his playboy lifestyle and brief marriage to French actress Brigitte Bardot, has committed suicide. He was 78. In a statement released May 8 by his family at his request, Mr. Sachs said he chose to end his life after concluding that he was suffering from an incurable degenerative disease affecting his memory and ability to communicate. “I have always stood up to big challenges,” the statement said. It provided no details on the timing or circumstances of his death, but the German weekly news magazine Focus reported that Mr. Sachs died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound May 7 at his home in the exclusive Swiss Alpine resort of Gstaad. Mr. Sachs was born into a wealthy industrialist family in 1932 and used his inheritance and business acumen to fund a glamorous lifestyle that fascinated many in postwar Germany of the 1960s and ’70s. German tabloids reported extensively on his affairs with celebrities and friendships with artists such as Andy Warhol. Mr. Sachs also made a name for himself as a photographer, documentary filmmaker and art collector. Swiss business magazine Bilanz estimated his fortune at $340 million to $455 million. Survivors include his third wife, Mirja Larsson, and their sons, Christian and Alexander; and a son, Rolf, from his first marriage. — Associated Press

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Gunter Sachs, photographer and ex-husband of Brigitte Bardot, dies