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IMDbPro

Elke Sommer(I)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeter
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Elke Sommer in A Shot in the Dark (1964)
Professors Vooshka and Crump decide to visit an archaeological site to study the artifacts there. Lo and behold, it's right next to a caravan site where all manner of people are staying. With a randy Major owning the site, a snobbish mother, and the two professors' constant innuendos, the film ends with a sinking caravan site and a striptease performance as a replacement for the cabaret night.
Play trailer2:30
Carry on Behind (1975)
11 Videos
99+ Photos
This gorgeous Teutonic temptress was one of Hollywood's most captivating imports of the 1960s. Blonde and beautiful, Berlin-born Elke Sommer, with her trademark pouty lips, high cheekbones and sky-high bouffant hairdos, proved irresistible to American audiences, whether adorned in lace or leather, or donning lingerie or lederhosen . She was born in Berlin-Spandau on November 5, 1940 with the unlikely name of Else Schletz-Ho to a Lutheran minister and his wife. The family was forced to evacuate to Erlangen, during World War II in 1942, a small university town in the southern region of Germany. It was here that her parents first introduced her to water colors and her lifelong passion for painting was ignited. Her father's death in 1955, when she was only 14, interrupted her education and she relocated to Great Britain, where she learned English and made ends meet as an au pair. She eventually attended college back in Germany and entertained plans to become a diplomatic translator but, instead, decided to try modeling.

After winning a beauty title ("Miss Viareggio Turistica") while on vacation in Italy, she caught the attention of renowned film actor/director Vittorio De Sica and began performing on screen. Her debut film was in the Italian feature, Uomini e nobiluomini (1959), which starred DeSica and was directed by Giorgio Bianchi. Following a few more Italian pictures, which included her first starring role in Love, the Italian Way (1960), also directed by Bianchi, Elke began making a name for herself in German films, as well, and gradually upgraded her status to European sex symbol. A pin-up favorite, she appeared fetchingly in both dramas and comedies, with such continental features as Daniella by Night (1961), Sweet Violence (1962) and her first English-speaking picture, Why Bother to Knock (1961), to her credit.

Hollywood naturally became intrigued and she moved there in the early 1960s to try and tap into the American market. Her sexy innocence made a vivid impression in the all-star, war-themed drama, The Victors (1963), the Hitchcock-like thriller, The Prize (1963), for which she won a "Best Newcomer" Golden Globe Award, and, especially, A Shot in the Dark (1964), the classic bumbling comedy where she proved a shady and sexy foil to Peter Sellers' Inspector Clousseau. She grew in celebrity, which was certainly helped after showing off her physical assets, posing for spreads in Playboy Magazine. In the meantime, she was appearing opposite the hunkiest of Hollywood actors including Paul Newman, James Garner, Glenn Ford and Stephen Boyd.

Always a diverting attraction in spy intrigue or breezy comedy, she was too often misused and setbacks began to occur when the quality of her films began to deteriorate. The tacky Hollywood entry, The Oscar (1966), the Bob Hope misfire, Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! (1966), the tired Dean Martin "Matt Helm" spy spoof, The Wrecking Crew (1968), and her title role in the tasteless Cold War comedy, The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz (1968), starring Hogan's Heroes (1965) alumnus, Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer and Leon Askin, proved her undoing.

The multilingual actress, whose career took her to scores of different countries over time and benefited from speaking seven languages fluently, resorted to a number of low-budget features in Europe, including two Italian horror movies directed by Mario Bava that have now gone on to become cult classics: Baron Blood (1972) and The Exorcist (1973) rip-off, Lisa and the Devil (1974). The latter movie actually was a guilty pleasure. "Lisa" was re-released in 1975 as "The House of Exorcism" and added more footage of a demonic Elke, Linda Blair style, spewing frogs, insects, green pea soup and a slew of cuss words! In England, she good-naturedly appeared in the "comedy" films, Percy (1971), and its equally cheeky sequel, It's Not the Size That Counts (1974), which starred Hywel Bennett (later Leigh Lawson) as the first man to have a penis transplant(!). She also showed up in one of the later "Carry On" farces, entitled Carry on Behind (1975).

Elke fared better on television, where she appeared in the television pilot, Probe (1972), opposite Hugh O'Brian, as well as the well-made 1980s miniseries, Inside the Third Reich (1982), Jenny's War (1985), Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna (1986) and Peter the Great (1986). In addition, she made a few TV guest appearances on such popular shows as "Fantasy Island," "The Love Boat" and "St. Elsewhere."

A delightful personality on the talk show circuit, the lovely Elke also made appearances as a cabaret singer and, in time, put out several albums. She found a creative outlet on stage too with such vehicles as "Irma la Douce", "Born Yesterday", "Cactus Flower", "Woman of the Year" and "Same Time, Next Year".

Dividing her time between here and in Germany in later years, she added her usual charm to films both here (Lily in Love (1984), Severed Ties (1992)), and in Germany (Himmelsheim (1988), Flashback (2000), Life Is Too Long (2010)).

The veteran actress has since focused more time on book writing and painting than she has on acting. Holding her first one-woman art show at the McKenzie Galleries in Beverly Hills in 1965, her artwork bears an exceptionally strong influence to Marc Chagall and she, at one point, hosted a mid-1980s PBS series ("Painting with Elke"), that centered on her artwork, which has now exhibited and sold for more than 40 years. Nevertheless, on occasion, she tackles an acting role, often in her native Germany. Divorced from writer and journalist Joe Hyams, whom she met when he interviewed her for a Hollywood article (he recently died in November 2008), she has been married since 1993 to hotelier Wolf Walther.
BornNovember 5, 1940
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BornNovember 5, 1940
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  • Awards

Photos199

Paul Newman and Elke Sommer in The Prize (1963)
Bob Crane, George Marshall, and Elke Sommer in The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz (1968)
Peter Sellers and Elke Sommer in A Shot in the Dark (1964)
Ortrud Beginnen and Elke Sommer in One or the Other (1974)
Elke Sommer in The Victors (1963)
Elke Sommer in The Wrecking Crew (1968)
Peter Sellers and Elke Sommer in A Shot in the Dark (1964)
Peter Sellers, George Sanders, Martin Benson, Vanda Godsell, Maurice Kaufmann, Moira Redmond, Elke Sommer, and Tracy Reed in A Shot in the Dark (1964)
Peter Sellers and Elke Sommer in A Shot in the Dark (1964)
Peter Sellers and Elke Sommer in A Shot in the Dark (1964)
Peter Sellers and Elke Sommer in A Shot in the Dark (1964)
Peter Sellers and Elke Sommer in A Shot in the Dark (1964)

Known for

Peter Sellers and Elke Sommer in A Shot in the Dark (1964)
A Shot in the Dark
7.4
  • Maria Gambrelli
  • 1964
Paul Newman, Diane Baker, and Elke Sommer in The Prize (1963)
The Prize
6.8
  • Inger Lisa Andersson
  • 1963
Ernest Borgnine, Stephen Boyd, Joseph Cotten, Jill St. John, Tony Bennett, Edie Adams, Eleanor Parker, and Elke Sommer in The Oscar (1966)
The Oscar
5.3
  • Kay Bergdahl
  • 1966
Dean Martin in The Wrecking Crew (1968)
The Wrecking Crew
5.4
  • Linka Karensky
  • 1968

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress

  • PhonY
    • In Production
  • A Thousand Kisses (2017)
    A Thousand Kisses
    • (voice)
  • Life Is Too Long (2010)
    Life Is Too Long
  • Ewig rauschen die Gelder
  • Reblaus
  • Für alle Fälle Stefanie (1995)
    Für alle Fälle Stefanie
  • Nicht mit uns
  • Flashback (2000)
    Flashback
  • Doppeltes Spiel mit Anne
  • Gisbert
  • Alles nur Tarnung (1996)
    Alles nur Tarnung
  • Florian III
  • Destiny Ridge
  • Happy Holiday
  • Christopher Plummer, Simon MacCorkindale, and James Purcell in Counterstrike (1990)
    Counterstrike
  • Severed Ties (1992)
    Severed Ties

Soundtrack

  • The Great Gonzo, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and Fozzie Bear in The Muppet Show (1976)
    The Muppet Show
    • (uncredited)
  • The Engelbert Humperdinck Show (1969)
    The Engelbert Humperdinck Show
  • Dean Martin on the "The Dean Martin Show" c. 1970
    The Dean Martin Show
  • The Jack Benny Hour
    • (uncredited)
  • Tausend Takte Übermut (1965)
    Tausend Takte Übermut
  • Hotel der toten Gäste (1965)
    Hotel der toten Gäste
  • Vivi Bach and Claus Biederstaedt in ...denn die Musik und die Liebe in Tirol (1963)
    ...denn die Musik und die Liebe in Tirol
  • Café Oriental (1962)
    Café Oriental
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos12

Official Trailer
Trailer 3:02
Official Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:20
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:57
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 3:10
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:30
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 3:10
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 3:46
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:34
Official Trailer
Theatrical Trailer
Trailer 3:28
Theatrical Trailer
Daniella By Night
Trailer 1:49
Daniella By Night
Lisa and the Devil
Trailer 3:21
Lisa and the Devil
Baron Blood
Trailer 2:13
Baron Blood

Personal details

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    • Official Site
    • November 5, 1940
    • Berlin, Germany
    • August 29, 1993 - present
  • Other works
    Doing paintings since the early 70s.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 2 Interviews
    • 5 Articles
    • 42 Pictorials
    • 152 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    When she appeared in Carry on Behind (1975), she received £30,000. She became one of the only two actors in the films (with Phil Silvers) to receive the highest ever Carry On salary. Kenneth Williams only received £5,000, a sixth of what she received.
  • Quotes
    I've had a wonderful career. I've made all kinds of films and played everything from a hooker to a nun. I know I've become quite a fine actress through my stage work and taking my job seriously -- and just living longer.
    • Sky-high bouffant hairstyle
    • Carry on Behind
      (1975)
      £30,000

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