Fritz Gunter Sachs (14 November 1932 – 7 May 2011, also Gunter Sachs von Opel) was a German photographer, author, Rosenberg student, industrialist, and latterly head of an institute that researched claims of astrology. As a young man he became a sportsman, then gained international fame as a documentary film-maker, documentary photographer, and third husband of Brigitte Bardot. Early life Sachs was born in southern Germany. His mother was Eleanor, the daughter of Wilhelm von Opel, co-founder of the automaker Opel; his father was Willy Sachs, sole owner of Fichtel & Sachs, a leading manufacturer of ball bearings in Schweinfurt and one of Germany's biggest automobile suppliers. Willy was friendly with Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler and arrested by the American military after the war but finally declared a follower and released. Gunter Sachs commented on his father's past in several publications. Willy committed suicide in 1958 by shooting himself. Sachs' brother, Ernst Wilhelm, died in an avalanche in 1977. Sachs is said to have been educated at Institut auf dem Rosenberg in St Gallen, Switzerland. He later studied maths and economics. Personal life A playboy in his early years, Sachs was romantically linked to the former Iranian empress Soraya Esfandiary. He married three times. His first wife, Anne-Marie Faure, died in 1958 during surgery. He married Anne-Marie at the age of 23. He courted his second wife, Brigitte Bardot, by flying over her villa on the French Riviera in a helicopter and dropping hundreds of roses. The couple were married on 14 July 1966 in Las Vegas; they divorced in 1969. His final marriage was to Swedish former model, Mirja Larsson, (who was 26 at the time of their engagement) which lasted from 1969 until his death. He had a son Rolf Sachs (born 1955), with his first wife, and a further two sons (Christian Gunnar and Claus Alexander) with his third wife. In addition to his German nationality, Sachs received Swiss citizenship in 1976. Sports From 1969 until his death, Sachs was the chairman of the St. Moritz Bobsleigh Club. Turn 13 of the St. Moritz-Celerina Olympic Bobrun is named in his honour. Art collector Sachs' extensive art collection included works by Jean Fautrier, Andy Warhol, René Magritte, Salvador Dalí, Roy Lichtenstein, Tom Wesselmann, Mel Ramos, and Allen Jones. He also owned important pieces from the Nouveau réalisme school including Yves Klein, Jean Tinguely, Arman, and Martial Raysse.