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Elke Sommer, 1960s Hollywood Star, Dies at 85
· Confirmed
In Short: Elke Sommer, a prominent figure in 1960s Hollywood, died on October 28 at her home in Los Angeles.
Elke Sommer, a striking blonde bombshell of German descent, passed away peacefully at her home in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles on October 28, 2020, at the age of 85, her stepson Sebastian Walther confirmed to German newspaper Bild.
Sommer had been experiencing declining health and was bedridden during her final months, according to ColombiaOne.com. She died of heart failure, as reported by Bild magazine.
Born Elke Schletz in Berlin on November 5, 1940, Sommer grew up in postwar Germany and initially aspired to become an interpreter, mastering several languages.
In 1957, Sommer moved to London and became an au pair for the family of actress Vicki Michelle. She was soon noticed by director Vittorio De Sica and began appearing in films throughout Europe.
Sommer achieved international fame thanks to her beauty, screen presence, and ability to perform in both European and Hollywood productions. Her breakthrough role came in the 1961 British comedy 'Don’t Bother to Knock,' opposite Richard Todd.
She starred alongside legends like Paul Newman in 'The Prize' and Peter Sellers in 'A Shot in the Dark.' Her final entertainment credit was voicing the character Nette in the 2017 animated short 'A Thousand Kisses.'
Sommer's career spanned several decades, with notable roles in films such as 'The Prize,' 'A Shot in the Dark,' 'And Then There Were None,' and 'Carry On Behind.' She also appeared in television shows including 'Inside the Third Reich,' 'Martin,' 'St. Elsewhere,' 'Fantasy Island,' and 'The Love Boat.'
In 1993, Sommer was awarded $3.3 million in damages from Zsa Zsa Gabor and her husband, following a bizarre feud that originated during their appearance together on the show 'Circus of the Stars' in 1984.
Sommer's longtime friend, photographer Erwin Schneider, told Entertainment Weekly that her health had steadily declined since the death of her husband, Wolf Walther, who died three months earlier after losing his battle with cancer.
Sommer's last wish was to be buried alongside her husband at the family’s grave site in Marloffstein, Bavaria, where her parents are also buried.
In a 1967 interview, Sommer said, 'Movie stars should be something extraordinary and above normal.' She added, 'I was always playing, and the only thing I could bring was my energy. So what is it, this sex appeal. Why was I voted in this list of most sexy women. It’s not because of my looks or anything; it’s because of the energy.'
What this adds
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed the death of an 85-year-old woman on Sommer’s block on October 28.
What's confirmed
- Sommer died on Wednesday, October 28, at her home in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, her stepson, Sebastian Walther, confirmed to German newspaper Bild.
- Sommer’s longtime friend, photographer Erwin Schneider, told the publication that “her health had steadily declined since” his death, and that she’s “finally been able to join him.” Per Bild, Sommer’s last wish was to be buried alongside her husband, whom she married in 1993, at the family’s grave site in Marloffstein, Bavaria, where her parents are also buried.
- “Movie stars … should be something extraordinary and above normal,” she said in a 1967 interview.
- Elke Sommer, the striking blonde bombshell of German descent who was a mainstay of 1960s Hollywood comedies and espionage movies including "The Prize" and "A Shot in the Dark," has died.
- Her final entertainment credit was voicing the character Nette in the 2017 animated short, "A Thousand Kisses."
- The Los Angeles Police Department told The Associated Press that it responded to the death of an 85-year-old woman on Sommer’s block Wednesday night.
- Sommer might also be remembered for a bizarre feud with Zsa Zsa Gabor, which originated during their appearance together on the show “Circus of the Stars” in 1984, where Sommer is said to have made comments about Gabor’s body.
- Actor and filmmaker Vittorio De Sica noticed her too, and soon she was working nonstop throughout Europe, in Italy, Spain and England, with the newly adopted surname Sommer.
- In 1993, a jury ordered Gabor and her husband to pay Sommer $3.3 million.
- According to the German newspaper Bilt, Sommer died on Wednesday (28 October), with her photographer friend Erwin Schneider telling the outlet that Sommer “could never have imagined a life without her beloved ‘Papa Bear’,” – in reference to her husband Wolf Walther, who died in July at the age of 77.
What's still developing
- Sommer soon captured the attention of international filmmakers and rocketed to Hollywood stardom.
- With her gift for languages, Sommer made her first film in English, the 1961 British comedy Don’t Bother to Knock, opposite Richard Todd, and was billed as one of the “six most exciting women in the world” alongside Melina Mercouri, Jeanne Moreau and Romy Schneider in Carl Foreman’s 1963 war fable, The Victors.
- Born Elke Schletz in Berlin in 1940, she was discovered by Italian filmmakers during a 1958 trip to Italy.
- In her later career, Sommer transitioned primarily to painting, alongside occasional film, television, and voice-acting projects—including voicing Yzma in the German dub of Disney's The Emperor's New Groove.
- Berman, who had seen her in a German drama that screened for the Golden Globes, and offered her a role in “The Prize” where she played chaperone and love interest to Newman’s Nobel Prize-winning character.
Sources
- ColombiaOne.comlink
- Entertainment Weeklylink
- La Voce di New Yorklink
- LiveNOW from FOXlink
- News-Heraldlink
- Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazettelink
- TMZlink
- The Boca Raton Tribunelink
- The Guardianlink
- The Independentlink
- Varietylink
- Uzalendonewslink
- Bozemandailychroniclelink
- The Hollywood Reporterlink
- Wvgazettemaillink
- Daily Top Vibes — video link