Elke Sommer
Born
November 5, 1940 (84 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Berlin, Germany
Elke Sommer, born Elke von Schletz, is a German actress, entertainer and artist, who has starred in many Hollywood films. She was spotted by film director Vittorio De Sica while on holiday in Italy, and began appearing in films there in 1958. Also that year, she changed her surname from Schletz to Sommer, which was easier to pronounce for a non-German audience. She quickly became a noted sex symbol and moved to Hollywood in the early 1960s. She also became one of the most popular pin-up girls of the time, and posed for several pictorials in Playboy magazine, including the September 1964 and December 1967 issues. Sommer became one of the top film actresses of the 1960s. She made just shy of 100 film and television appearances between 1959 and 2005, including A Shot in the Dark with Peter Sellers, The Art of Love with James Garner and Dick Van Dyke, The Oscar with Stephen Boyd, Boy Did I Get a Wrong Number! with Bob Hope, the Bulldog Drummond extravaganza Deadlier Than the Male, The Wrecking Crew with Dean Martin, and The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz. In 1964, she won a Golden Globe award as Most Promising Newcomer Actress for The Prize, a film in which she co-starred with Paul Newman and Edward G. Robinson.
A frequent guest on television, Sommer sang and participated in comedy sketches on episodes of The Dean Martin Show and on Bob Hope specials, made 10 appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and was a panelist on the Hollywood Squares game show many times between 1973 and 1980, when Peter Marshall was its "Square-Master", or host. Sommer's films during the 1970s included the thriller Zeppelin, in which she co-starred with Michael York, and a remake of Agatha Christie's frequently filmed murder mystery Ten Little Indians. In 1972, she starred in two Italian horror films directed by Mario Bava: Baron Blood and Lisa and the Devil. The latter was subsequently re-edited (with 1975 footage inserted) to make a different film called House of Exorcism. Sommer went back to Italy to act in additional scenes for Lisa and the Devil, which its producer inserted into the film to convert it to House of Exorcism, against the wishes of the director.
In 1975, Peter Rogers cast her in the British comedy Carry On Behind as the Russian Professor Vrooshka.[2] She became the Carry On films' joint highest-paid performer, at £30,000; this was an honor that she shared with Phil Silvers (who starred in Follow That Camel).
Most of her movie work during the decade came in European films. After the 1979 comedy The Prisoner of Zenda, which reunited her with Sellers, the actress did virtually no more acting in Hollywood films, concentrating more on her artwork. She provided the voice for Yzma in the German release of The Emperor's New Groove.
Sommer also performed as a singer, recording and releasing several albums.
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Known For
Albert Speer und der Traum von Hollywood
Herself (archive footage)
2021
Wer weiß denn sowas?
Self · (2 episodes)
2015
Life Is Too Long
Alfis Mutter
2010
Elke Sommer erzählt...
Self
2010
Lafer! Lichter! Lecker!
Self · (1 episode)
2006
Filmlegenden. Deutsch
Self · (2 episodes)
2006
Ewig rauschen die Gelder
Mrs. von Korff
2005
Reblaus
Maria Rüppel
2005
Mario Bava: Operazione paura
Self
2004
The Curious Case of Inspector Clouseau
self
2002
Die WIB-Schaukel
self · (1 episode)
2001
Menschen der Woche
Self · (1 episode)
2000
Flashback
Frau Lust
2000
Nicht mit uns
Andrea Paretti
2000
Doppeltes Spiel mit Anne
Frau Lorenz
1999
The Last Days of Sharon Tate
1999
Gisbert
(6 episodes)
1999
Sunset Boulevard - 27 Meilen Amerika
Self - Actress
1997
Tietjen und Bommes
Self · (1 episode)
1997
Alles nur Tarnung
Jutta
1996
Die Harald Schmidt Show
Self · (1 episode)
1995
alfredissimo! Kochen mit Bio
Self · (1 episode)
1994
Florian III
Sonja Carpenter · (10 episodes)
1994
Twisted Sex Vol. 5
(archive)
1993
Happy Holiday
Isabella Scattini · (1 episode)
1993
Destiny Ridge
Anna Hansen · (1 episode)
1993
Severed Ties
Helena Harrison
1992
Schmidteinander
(1 episode)
1990
Training Your Best Friend
Self
1989
Himmelsheim
Helga Münzel
1989
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: The World's Most Exotic Vacation Resorts
Self
1988
Na siehste!
Self · (1 episode)
1987
Death Stone
Kris Patterson
1987
Nachtcafé
Self · (1 episode)
1987
Anastasia - The Mystery of Anna
Isabel Von Hohenstauffen · (2 episodes)
1986
Hollywood Ghost Stories
Herself
1986
Showgeschichten
Self · (1 episode)
1986
ZDF-Fernsehgarten
Self · (1 episode)
1986
Peter the Great
Charlotte · (4 episodes)
1986
Jenny's War
Eva Gruenberg
1985
Jenny's War
Eva Gruenberg · (4 episodes)
1985
Niemand weint für immer
Lou Parker
1984
Lily in Love
Alicia Braun
1984
The Winds of War
(7 episodes)
1983
St. Elsewhere
(1 episode)
1982
Inside the Third Reich
Magda Goebbels
1982
Krimistunde
(1 episode)
1982
Der Mann im Pyjama
Frau Lachmann
1981
Wetten, dass..?
Self · (2 episodes)
1981
A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square
Miss Pelham
1980
The Top of the Hill
Eva Heggener
1980
Heut' abend
Self · (1 episode)
1980
Verstehen Sie Spaß?
Self · (1 episode)
1980
Jamaican Gold
Ursula
1979
The Prisoner of Zenda
Countess Montparnasse
1979
The Double McGuffin
Prime Minister Kura
1979
The Fantastic Seven
Rebecca Wayne
1979
Die Pyramide
Self - Musician · (1 episode)
1979
NDR Talk Show
Self · (3 episodes)
1979
I Miss You, Hugs and Kisses
Magdalene Kruschen
1978
Bio’s Bahnhof
Self · (1 episode)
1978
The Astral Factor
Chris Hartman
1978
That's Carry On!
Professor Anna Vooshka
1977
The Love Boat
Benita James · (2 episodes)
1977
US Against the World
Self
1977
Nicht von gestern
Billie Dawn
1977
Meet Him and Die
Perrone's Secretary
1976
The Muppet Show
Self - Special Guest Star · (1 episode)
1976
The Swiss Conspiracy
Rita Jensen
1976
One Away
Elsa
1976
The Net
Christa Sonntag
1975
Carry On Behind
Professor Anna Vooshka
1975
Schnick-Schnack
Self · (1 episode)
1975
The House of Exorcism
Lisa Reiner
1975
Dinah!
Self · (1 episode)
1974
And Then There Were None
Vera Clyde
1974
Der große Preis
Self · (1 episode)
1974
Percy's Progress
Clarissa
1974
One or the Other of Us
Miezi
1974
The Six Million Dollar Man
Dr. Ilse Martin · (1 episode)
1974
Die Reise nach Wien
Toni Simon
1973
Lisa and the Devil
Lisa Reiner
1973
Je später der Abend
Self · (1 episode)
1973
The Bobby Darin Show
(1 episode)
1973
Baron Blood
Eva Arnold
1972
Probe
Heideline 'Uli' Ullman
1972
Perlico - Perlaco
1971
Dalli Dalli
Self · (1 episode)
1971
Dalli Dalli
Self - Candidate · (1 episode)
1971
Zeppelin
Erika Altschul
1971
Percy
Helga
1971
The Invincible Six
Zari
1970
Münchner Bilderbogen
Self · (1 episode)
1970
Wünsch dir was
Self · (1 episode)
1969
Unsere kleine Show
Self · (1 episode)
1969
The Wrecking Crew
Linka Karensky
1968
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
1968
They Came to Rob Las Vegas
Ann Bennett
1968
The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz
Paula Schultz
1968
Deadlier Than the Male
Irma Eckman
1967
The Corrupt Ones
Lilly Mancini
1967
The Venetian Affair
Sandra Fane
1967
Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!
Didi
1966
The Oscar
Kay Bergdahl
1966
The Jack Benny Hour
Elke Sommer / Maria Poppenini
1965
Tausend Takte Übermut
Herself
1965
The Money Trap
Lisa Baron
1965
The Art of Love
Nikki Dunnay
1965
Hotel der toten Gäste
Herself
1965
The Dolls
Ulla (segment "Il Trattato di Eugenetica")
1965
Zwischenstation
Self · (1 episode)
1964
Frontier Hellcat
Annie Dillman
1964
Der goldene Schuß
Self · (1 episode)
1964
A Shot in the Dark
Maria Gambrelli
1964
The Prize
Inger Lisa Andersson
1963
… denn die Musik und die Liebe in Tirol
Singer
1963
The Victors
Helga
1963
The Danny Kaye Show
Self · (1 episode)
1963
Seduction by the Sea
Eva
1963
Who Stole the Body?
Brigitte
1963
Nachts ging das Telefon
Mabel Meyer
1962
Bahía de Palma
Olga
1962
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self · (2 episodes)
1962
Un chien dans un jeu de quilles
Ariane
1962
Le Chien
Elle
1962
Das Mädchen und der Staatsanwalt
Renate Hecker
1962
Sweet Ecstasy
Elke
1962
Café Oriental
Sylvia
1962
Auf Wiedersehen
Suzy Dalton
1961
Geliebte Hochstaplerin
Barbara Shadwell
1961
Musik aus Studio B
Self · (2 episodes)
1961
Don't Bother to Knock
Ingrid
1961
Daniella by Night
Daniella
1961
Und sowas nennt sich Leben
Britta
1961
Love, the Italian Way
Greta
1960
The Warrior Empress
1960
Himmel, Amor und Zwirn
Eva
1960
Howlers of the Dock
Giulia Giommarelli
1960
Lampenfieber
Evelyne
1960
The Day the Rains Came
Ellen
1959
Ship of the Dead
Mylène Loureau
1959
The Jukebox Kids
Giulia Cesari
1959
La Pica sul Pacifico
Rossana
1959
Stars in the Ring
Self · (1 episode)
1959
Men and Noblemen
Caterina
1959
L'amico del giaguaro
Greta
1959
Cinépanorama
Self · (1 episode)
1956
Miss Universe
Host · (1 episode)
1955
Reflets de Cannes
Self · (1 episode)
1954
The Oscars
Self · (1 episode)
1953
Hallmark Hall of Fame
The Princess · (1 episode)
1951
The Bob Hope Show
Self · (5 episodes)
1950
Bambi-Verleihung
Self · (2 episodes)
1948